City officials in Charlevoix recently sent letters to landowners about the possibility of rezoning their property.
It’s the latest move by the city to try and address the ongoing shortage of middle-income housing.
The City of Charlevoix’s zoning administrator Jonathan Scheel says the city is short by roughly 800 homes for its workforce.
Recent initiatives include the city council passing ordinance amendments and revising the single-family zoning regulations.
And this latest letter to property owners asks them to consider rezoning extra land they might have.
Scheels says some homeowners have side lots that could be developed into a duplex.
"They have two lots, and they have just a gigantic side lot. This incremental solution of our housing problem, if we could put another additional house on this block that block this block," said Scheels.
Scheels says there are no magic bullets to solving the housing issue but there has been positive feedback from property owners.
"When houses sell up here, many, many of them, the vast majority of them go into second homes, so the trend is not good."
