Nate Heffron, city manager, city of Negaunee

NEGAUNEE — Affordable housing, attainable housing, just housing, is an issue on the minds of many here in Marquette County, our state, and the nation.

What can we as a local government do to help fix the problem besides acknowledging that the lack of housing in our area does need to be addressed?

I don’t have that answer, I’m not sure anyone does. The question always lies with defining what makes housing affordable or attainable?

Those definitions differ depending on the community. But a community is made up of many individuals, people who come from different backgrounds and incomes levels.

That’s why stakeholders should never focus on an individual class, but instead, make it possible to develop a variety of housing choices. The good news is, there are some tactics we can employ that have been proven to work in the past.

The city has been working for months as a partner on the Marquette County Intergovernmental Housing Taskforce. The taskforce is in the process of finalizing a Housing Target Market Analysis.

This analysis will help us better understand the types of housing we have and what the people in Marquette County need going forward. Focusing on specific housing needs will address what the market — people looking for housing in the area — is demanding.

This will allow our communities to work together to attract developers who meet the needs of our communities based on facts, not speculation.

With this solid information, our communities can take advantage of state and federal programs that could assist in developing housing.

In some cases, communities may have to find a creative approach. Just a few years ago the city took action by selling excess city property to promote the construction of new housing through a development agreement. Land being one of the factors causing housing costs to be unattained or unaffordable.

Because the city sold the land at a discount, the developer in turn can offer the house for a lower cost, rather than paying $25,000 to $50,000 for just a city lot.

One home is under construction right now under this agreement, with three more on the way.

Private property is also being developed, with the newest subdivision of Maple Ridge off of Mass Street under construction. This new development alone could provide 27-new homes.

The city worked with the developer with brownfield funding that allowed them to take advantage of tax incentives to install water, sewers, and street bases which are another major expense adding to the cost of housing.

This project is still underway, but one home has already been constructed.

Although other homes are being built in Negaunee on other private properties, it is at a slower rate than what is needed. Without homes our communities cannot grow.

Should our population continue to shrink in the Upper Peninsula, our way of life may end. Meaning, less people will lead to less jobs, less business, less tax base, to less governmental services.

Not a good position to be in. That’s why it is critical to take action.

I, like others, hope that we can figure out this issue and work with our partners to achieve our goals of developing more housing, not only in Negaunee but our region.

We have something to fight for, something worth preserving, it’s time to get building!

EDITOR’S NOTE: Nate Heffron is city manager of the city of Negaunee.