City of Negaunee Joins Intergovernmental Housing Task Force

The Negaunee City Council recently adopted a resolution to join the Marquette County Intergovernmental Housing Task Force. This Task force is a consortium of local governments working together to advocate for state resources, identify regional solutions, leverage funding opportunities, and examine best practices related to housing challenges in Marquette County.

Marquette County must address the full range of housing needs facing all income levels and household types, as documented in the 2020 Marquette County Housing Needs Assessment, including home rehabilitation, new housing development, and redevelopment. These housing needs have a County-wide impact on our economy, workforce, and infrastructure that requires intergovernmental collaboration and response.

Currently there is a lack of resources and programs specifically designed for families or individuals in attainable housing, creating additional challenges in meeting the needs of the County’s workforce.

Working together and recognizing housing as a regional issue will be key in finding solutions. Some solutions may include local, County, regional, or State activities and tools such as zoning updates; development benefit agreements; tax incentives: Land Bank Authority and brownfield redevelopment incentives, consideration of innovative and diverse housing types; community awareness and educational efforts; new funding sources; and innovative partnerships.

Negaunee, like others, recognizes that this task will not be easy. It will take the community resources, political will, industry innovation, and public input to pull together to find solutions for this very important issue.

Questions concerning this release may be directed to the attention of the City Manager, Nate Heffron at (906) 475-7700 ext. 11.