Although it’s taken awhile, we were pleased last week to report that the state of Michigan is finally getting involved in a meaningful way with trying to solve the issue of a lack of affordable housing in Superiorland.

Locally, Community Action Alger Marquette has partnered with the Michigan State Housing Development Authority to create Michigan’s first-ever Statewide Housing Plan, a five-year initiative charting priorities, goals and strategies to address the complex challenges impacting housing equity.

Locals alone, as we have reported in numerous previous occasions, have been looking hard at this issue, with the Lake Superior Community Partnership leading the planning effort.

Individually, the cities of Marquette, Negaunee and Ishpeming have all sharpened focuses on this issue, which has finally been idientified as not only important but critical.

The SHP outlines five statewide housing targets that represent the minimum of what will be accomplished from plan activities, including the preservation and creation of 75,000 affordable housing units, stabilization of 100,000-plus households’ housing, increases in home energy and efficiency in 15,000-plus households and more.

Additionally, the plan also outlines eight priority areas, each with its own set of goals, strategies and outcome measures to guide action planning in regions across the state, as well as 37 goals and 134 strategies to create more robust pathways to safe quality, affordable housing for all Michiganders, a state press release stated.

File all of this under better late than never. A lot of people here and elsewhere have been talking about this issue for some years but next to nothing was done about it.

It is nice to see the state finally stepping up and getting involved.