Zoning laws dictate much of what can be built across the state of Michigan.
They have a tremendous impact on our economy, the environment, and our society. In collaboration with local, state, and national stakeholders, we are leading the creation of the Michigan Zoning Atlas – which will depict key aspects of zoning codes in an online, user-friendly map.
The Michigan Zoning Atlas is launching with a pilot in the Grand Rapids region, encompassing 85 local jurisdictions in Ottawa, Kent, and Muskegon Counties.
Why map zoning now?
The need to understand zoning codes – the local laws that shape the location and character of new development – has taken center stage recently in Michigan.
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. There is growing interest in the state for investigating zoning reform, especially modifying low-density single family zoning codes to allow for denser, more diverse housing types.
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, updated, and high-quality data describing the boundaries and details of Michigan’s zoning codes. As a result, planners and other municipal professionals, along with elected and appointed land use officials, are not prepared to identify where reforms are needed, and state policymakers lack the granular detail needed to implement visions like the Michigan Statewide Housing Plan. Furthermore, efforts of the business community, such as homebuilders and land developers eager to build a wider variety of housing types, are often stymied by local codes that prohibit innovative solutions to contemporary challenges.
Michigan is one of 24 states that have begun a coordinated effort to create a Zoning Atlas of their own. The National Zoning Atlas project offers a framework and blueprint so that the results will be compatible, and peer support to the research teams.
Grand Rapids Region Pilot
An urban region experiencing fast growth, stakeholders in Grand Rapids are actively working on how to foster more diverse housing through the Housing Next program. The Grand Rapids pilot is allowing us to develop the methodology and experience to expand to create a statewide atlas while also resulting in data which could be used for an immediate impact.
We intend to publish the data and map from our Grand Rapids pilot by the end of 2023.
Partner Organizations
The University of Michigan participants are affiliated with the Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning and the Graham Sustainability Institute, leveraging existing data and involving U-M graduate students as research assistants.
Michigan Association of Planning exists to promote quality community planning through education, information and advocacy, statewide. MAP pursues this goal through a range of conferences, events, and educational resources targeting professionals and citizens involved in community development and planning.
Housing Next is a pilot initiative in Kent and Ottawa counties which partners with local governments, developers, and nonprofits in West Michigan to remove barriers to the creation of equitable housing choices at all price points.
Team
Robert Goodspeed, Associate Professor of Urban and Regional Planning at the Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning, is leading the collection of zoning district boundaries data, and will co-supervise the research assistants conducting code interpretation, and lead the development of further stages of the project. Sarah Mills, a Senior Research Area Specialist at the Graham Sustainability Institute, is an expert on renewable energy policy and land use planning, and has already created a preliminary zoning database focused on wind and solar siting issues which will form the basis of the database we seek to create.
Andrea Brown and Leah DuMouchel from the Michigan Association of Planning (MAP) have published a Zoning Reform Toolkit: 15 Tools to Expand Housing Choice. The Zoning Atlas project is designed to further the reach of the guide by compiling data to support the implementation of these tools as well as help match communities with specific, effective applications of the tools. A participant in statewide policy conversations, MAP also convenes regular educational events among their extensive network of member professionals throughout the state. For this phase, they will advise the crafting of the project to maximize use for professional education.
Ryan Kilpatrick and Brooke Oosterman staff Housing Next, an organization that partners with local governments, developers, and nonprofits to remove barriers to the creation of housing at all price points. They will facilitate connections to local elected officials, as well as advising the creation of data to answer local zoning reform questions.
Zoning Reform Toolkit: 15 Tools to Expand Housing Choice + Supply: A 2022 report designed to help municipal leaders implement zoning reform.
Michigan’s Statewide Housing Plan: A 2022 plan led by the Michigan State Housing and Development Authority is the state’s first collaborative statewide housing plan.
Grand Rapids, Kent County, and Ottawa County Housing Needs Assessments: 2020 and 2021 reports which document housing needs in the Grand Rapids area, the atlas pilot location.
Michigan Zoning Database: A database documenting the considerations of renewable energy within the 1,856 jurisdictions in the state, which our project is building on.