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Housing
The Tri-County Regional Planning Commission has a history of studying and planning for the housing needs of the Greater Lansing region's residents. By working with developers, realtors, nonprofit organizations, municipalities, economic development agencies, and other partners to assess the diversity in regional housing needs, we can develop regional housing strategies that provide safe, healthy, affordable, accessible, and attainable housing for all in a community of their choice.
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South Central Regional Housing Partnership
The Michigan State Housing Development Authority (MSHDA) published Michigan’s first Statewide Housing Plan in 2022 and established the Michigan Statewide Housing Partnership, which called for the creation of Regional Housing Partnerships (RHPs).
Tri-County, in partnership with the Capital Area Housing Partnership (CAHP), is leading the facilitation of this RHP effort for the tri-county region, serving Clinton, Eaton, and Ingham counties (Region I). This RHP, known as the state's South Central Regional Housing Partnership, has brought stakeholders from across the region together to develop a five-year housing action plan that addresses local and regional housing needs, builds on the region’s existing networks and housing ecosystem, and aligns with the priorities, goals, and strategies identified in both the Statewide Housing Plan and Tri-County's recent HousingDrives study.
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A variety of public, private, and nonprofit stakeholders that work with housing in the region participated in two RHP Summits and five working group sessions from July through September 2023 to help the community create a path for action. Members of the community were also invited to participate in a public workshop in August and a comment period from September 1-15, 2023 to provide feedback on regional housing priorities and the draft plan. Tri-County and CAHP incorporated this feedback and results from HousingDrives to develop a Housing Action Plan and submitted it to MSHDA at the end of September 2023.
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The Housing Action Plan selects the top goals (five in total) and strategies that community leaders have identified as most important to prioritize for our region that support the state's plan. It also details who will serve as champions to help achieve these goals and establishes key performance indicators to measure progress over time.
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Teams of local housing experts and advocates will continue working together over the next several years to implement actions that equitably educate and empower residents to live in the housing of their choice, stimulate and incentivize development to expand housing options, rehabilitate and preserve existing rental units and homes, support those experiencing homelessness and improve housing stability, and foster collaboration and information sharing between public and private organizations.
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HousingDrives: A Regional Housing Assessment
With changing demographic and employment characteristics expected over the years ahead, it is important for the region’s stakeholders to understand the various types of housing available in our region and the policies and trends that influence our future housing needs. Tri-County has developed a Regional Housing Assessment of the three-county area to better understand these existing trends and barriers in today's housing market.
The outcome of this project provides economic developers, housing and real estate professionals, municipal leaders, and other community organizations the data needed to make informed decisions that support meaningful development choices and housing opportunities. The project began near the end of 2021 and concluded public engagement opportunities in fall 2022. Visit HousingDrives for more information.
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Past Initiatives
With support from Mid-Michigan Program for Greater Sustainability HUD grant funding, Tri-County partnered with the School of Planning, Design, and Construction at Michigan State University and the former Greater Lansing Housing Commission (now administered by the Capital Area Housing Partnership) to conduct a study and create a plan for the future of Mid-Michigan's affordable housing.
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The Regional Affordable Housing Study completed in 2013 worked to provide an accurate diagnosis of current housing and set goals to improve housing affordability across the region. The study team compared the changes of the information on demographic and socioeconomic characteristics of population and households and physical and socioeconomic characteristics of existing housing stock in Mid-Michigan using census data collected in 2000 and 2010, among other methods.
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The 5-year Comprehensive Regional Fair and Affordable Housing Plan provided an analysis of data trends in the tri-county area and assessed the anticipated housing needs in the upcoming years. Partners made an inventory of planned housing projects from housing developers in the City of Lansing and incorporated the opinions and needs of traditionally underrepresented individuals in the community.
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