Prowling Ordinance, Attainable Housing District Headed to Commission Vote

Two proposals that have generated the most public comment at Traverse City commission meetings this year are headed to a vote tonight (Monday). Commissioners will consider approving new prowling and trespassing laws and establishing a new Attainable Housing District, a designated area where property owners can apply to receive a tax reduction in exchange for providing rental housing.

Prowling/Trespassing Ordinances
New proposed prowling and trespassing laws generated lengthy and at times combative public comment when they were introduced at the commission’s October 5 meeting. Several commenters accused the city of targeting the unhoused with the new rules and said they would infringe on individual rights. An outburst by one commenter, who began screaming obscenities at commissioners, required the meeting to halt so he could be escorted from the building.

The draft prowling ordinance states that “no person shall knowingly prowl after dark about premises owned or leased by another without the express or implied consent of that person.” The proposal requires a police officer to give someone suspected of prowling an opportunity to explain their presence before an arrest, unless they flee or circumstances otherwise make it “impracticable.” The new trespassing rules state that a police officer can request that anyone violating the city’s parks ordinance leave a park for three days. If the individual refuses to leave, they can be “charged with and/or arrested for trespassing.”

Supporters of the laws said they would serve as important tools to address problematic behavior in public parks – including Hull Park – irrespective of housing status. Traverse Area Community Sailing said the future of their organization is at risk without addressing recurring issues at Hull Park that have included assaults, drug and alcohol use, trash, and human feces on docks. City Manager Benjamin Marentette urged support for the proposed changes while also affirming the city’s commitment to addressing homelessness through a variety of humane strategies. Commissioners voted 5-1 to move the ordinances forward to an enactment vote (Mitch Treadwell was opposed and Lance Boehmer was absent), with the new laws to take effect October 29 if approved by the board tonight.

The ordinances have attracted opposition from several significant groups since their introduction, including the ACLU of Michigan, Michigan Coalition Against Homelessness, and National Homelessness Law Center. In a Facebook post Friday, the ACLU of Michigan said the ordinances “could give police sweeping authority to arrest people based on vague suspicions or ban them from public parks without meaningful due process protections. These proposals threaten everyone’s rights, but our unhoused neighbors are especially vulnerable to discriminatory enforcement.”

TCPD Chief Matt Richmond previously said the ordinance language was shaped by input from commissioners – who first considered a prowling law in 2024 – as well as the ACLU. However, the ACLU of Michigan clarified in its post that it “raised constitutional concerns about the prowling ordinance last year, and the city indicated it would not move forward. Now, the city has revived the proposal without notifying us and introduced an additional trespass ordinance. We opposed it then. We oppose it now.”

The group said the proposals could “threaten First Amendment rights, including the right to protest” and allow individuals arrested “to face up to 93 days in jail for conduct defined by vague language that leaves too much room for police discretion.” The organization urged commissioners to reject both proposals, saying “our unhoused neighbors are community members who deserve dignity, resources, and support – not policies that criminalize their presence in public spaces.”

Richmond noted in a memo that the language of both ordinances has been reviewed by the city’s legal firm, The Kelly Firm.

Attainable Housing District
Another topic that drew an overflow crowd to the Governmental Center in September is back for possible action tonight: establishing an Attainable Housing District. The proposal would establish boundaries in which owners would be eligible for a property tax reduction for providing up to four rental units.

Owners must meet several eligibility standards, including being in the R-1a, R-1b, or R-2 neighborhoods and making a new investment of more than $5,000 into the rental property. The goal of Michigan’s Attainable Housing District program is to incentivize owners to fix up their properties to provide rental housing. While state law says tenants in such units can’t earn more than 120 percent of the area median income (AMI), communities can target a lower threshold.

That’s one recommendation from staff, who suggested a scoring rubric in which applications aimed at 81-120 percent AMI would get zero points. A maximum 80 percent AMI would get 15 points, a maximum 70 percent AMI would get 25 points, and a maximum 60 percent AMI would get 40 points. Bonus points are available for going even lower. Other scoring criteria include complying with the city’s electrification policy, submitting to an audit to ensure compliance, and providing a public benefit to the project. Short-term rentals aren’t eligible for the program.

The higher an applicant scores – up to 80 points – the longer of a tax break they can receive. While the law allows up to 12 years, Traverse City’s initial term is recommended to be capped at five years since it’s in the pilot phase. Applications with “exceptional and documented public benefit” could receive up to seven years. Since much of the previous public criticism of the proposal seemed rooted in confusion over how it would work, staff clarified in a memo that the district does not change any existing city zoning, that a public hearing is required for every application, and that certificates don’t automatically transfer when a property sells but require a new application from the new owner.

Commissioners will consider establishing the district tonight and also giving feedback on the scoring criteria/review policy, which Assessor Amy Robbins said could be updated anytime by the board.