GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — City leaders voted yes to new housing changes in Grand Rapids. However, not everyone is on board with the new plan. Some said it will help the housing issue impacting many; others said it does the opposite.
"We know that housing is needed in our community, we know a big part of the problem is, is quite frankly, we just don't have enough housing," said Grand Rapids Mayor, Rosalynn Bliss.
On Tuesday night, Grand Rapids city leaders voted to approve the proposed zoning changes to increase housing in the city. After an assessment from last year, city leaders found that the city needs 14,000 new units by 2027 to keep up with the demand for new housing.
Bliss said there were many recommendations at the city meeting.
"The recommendations that are before us tonight, many of them are considered really quite incremental changes where we are looking at is there a way to allow for more smaller infill. Our goal is to figure out what do we need to do around zoning and land use to create more opportunity for smaller scale housing opportunities," said Bliss.
Some of the proposed changes include eliminating the partial owner occupancy rule, changing the review process for some developments and increasing the number of unrelated people living in the unit from four to six.
Even with these new improvements, not all residents are on board with the new plan. One resident said her major concern is about the Black and Brown neighborhoods being underinvested.
"I don't think the city has a plan for them. When you've got a community that has a housing shortage, the people that are, you know, most vulnerable are the ones that are going to have to be moved or move. And we've already got 1100 homeless people in in the city," said Grand Rapids resident Lisa McManus.
Another resident believes the new plan will help housing in the community.
"I think it's going to do a lot of help to addressing the housing shortage and prices in our communities, but this is only a first step or an initial step," they said.
City commissioners said planning for the new zoning changes will be implemented within the next 30 days.
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