A new tool is in the works that could help bring more housing to Grand Traverse County: a zoning atlas, or an interactive map that compiles zoning rules and parcel data to show where housing can be built (or not) – and where regulations could be changed to encourage more development.

The Grand Traverse County Economic Development Corporation (EDC) recently approved contributing $40,000 toward an $88,000 proposal from Housing North to develop a zoning atlas for Grand Traverse County. The region will be the second pilot area for such a tool after one was recently created covering 85 local jurisdictions in Ottawa, Kent, and Muskegon counties downstate. Michigan is one of 30 states that have begun a coordinated effort to develop a zoning atlas statewide in partnership with the National Zoning Atlas project.

“The rising cost of housing and a broader mismatch between Michigan’s housing stock and housing needs have fostered local, regional, and statewide interest in the need for reform,” according to the Michigan Zoning Atlas website. “There is growing interest in investigating zoning reform, especially to allow for more diverse housing types that can offer more affordable options that are near jobs and amenities. Many communities are realizing they lack the diverse forms of housing needed for today’s populations, but in many cases policymakers are flying blind: there is no consistent, high-quality data describing the boundaries and details of Michigan’s zoning codes.”

With the EDC’s support, Housing North is partnering with Flywheel Companies, the University of Michigan, and the Michigan Association of Planning to create Grand Traverse County’s zoning atlas. “This will include a database and interactive map of all the housing-related zoning codes in the county,” according to the proposal. “The value of this resource will be a shared understanding among policymakers, lenders, developers, and nonprofits of exactly what types of housing can be built in the county and where it is currently permitted. We can then benchmark our known housing needs against the current state of regulation to determine what changes might be most beneficial to the community.”

Yarrow Brown of Housing North – who is working on securing grant funding to cover the rest of the project budget – says the project will also include digitizing local zoning maps and adding in infrastructure and GIS data, such as showing where wetlands or other natural resources are located. Those layers of information can help reveal bigger-picture patterns, Brown says, such as that a township has its high-density zoning clustered in wetland corridors. “Does that make sense?” she asks. It can also reveal, for instance, that a community’s zoning is overwhelmingly focused on single-family homes, which might be hindering building multi-family apartments, duplexes, or other types of desired diverse housing.

Beyond the zoning atlas, the project also calls for growth corridor mapping and scenario modeling – showing how housing growth could look under the status quo versus under different zoning changes. The mapping will also show “underutilized, vacant, blighted, and functionally obsolete properties along major corridors throughout Grand Traverse County with access to water and sewer infrastructure,” identifying possible sites for redevelopment.

Brown says the zoning atlas and related tools will not only be useful for developers and local leaders, but also for citizens looking to better understanding their community’s zoning. “If you want to better understand Traverse City’s need for zoning reform, you could get that vision,” she says. The project is expected to kick off in November and take a year to complete, with public meetings planned along the way to engage residents in the process and teach them on how to use the final product. “It’ll be developed collaboratively,” Brown says. “We want to hit the ground running as soon as possible.”