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Consultants tell Battle Creek City officials zoning changes, incentives and ADUs can expand affordable housing supply
Summary
At a City of Battle Creek workshop, consultants urged regulatory updates, modest incentives and wider use of duplexes and accessory dwelling units to meet workforce housing needs, citing rent benchmarks for teachers, EMTs and service workers and an inventory of 1,378 vacant parcels for infill.
Consultant Ryan Kilpatrick told a City of Battle Creek workshop that modest zoning changes, targeted incentives and strategic use of accessory dwelling units (ADUs) and duplexes could expand housing affordable to local workers and reduce displacement pressure.
Kilpatrick, who led the presentation, framed the session as an interactive exercise asking builders, developers and public officials what housing products they can build that would at least break even in today’s market. "If we don't build new housing for the new folks who are moving in ... they will create displacement pressure," he said, urging the group to consider both affordable and market-rate options.
Why it matters: Kilpatrick and the consulting team said the city’s household mix — 65% one- or two-adult households and only 28% families with children — does not match the predominant housing stock of large single-family homes. They argued this mismatch calls for more “missing‑middle” housing types such as small single-family houses, duplexes, narrow-lot…
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