The Traverse City Planning Commission says “granny flats” could be a good way to combat the city’s affordable housing problem. The commission voted last night to allow homeowners throughout the city to build small apartments on their property.
Commissioner John Serratelli said the move was driven in part because of comments from downtown business owners.
“They had numbers of jobs that were unfilled because people could not afford to live in close enough proximity that they would accept the jobs,” said Serratelli.
Some residents – like John Vlack – are concerned that granny flats will change the character of their neighborhoods.
“It really worries me when you take a thriving neighborhood and dramatically change it into something that’s totally different," said Vlack. "(There’s) going to be less green space, fewer views, more noise (and) more pollution. You can’t deny that.”
The zoning changes come with several restrictions. Only 10 granny flats could be built per year and they would have to be 800 square feet or smaller.
Granny flats have been allowed in the Traverse Heights neighborhood since 2013 but nobody has applied to build one.
The zoning changes will now go to the Traverse City Commission.