The City of Traverse City will host a community workshop on housing policy at the City Opera House on June 18 at 6pm featuring "presentations and discussions aimed at addressing the critical issues surrounding housing in our community," according to a city release.

The city will feature speakers from Flywheel Community Development Services and the Michigan Association of Planning to present "data-driven options to support effective housing strategies that cater to both local and regional needs," according to the release. "The program will delve into the complexities of housing policy, highlighting the necessity for thoughtful and customized approaches rather than generic, one-size-fits-all solutions."

The workshop will also serve as a joint meeting of the city commission, planning commission, and TC Downtown Development Authority. "Attendees will gain insights into how the City of Traverse City fits within the broader northern regional housing and employment system," according to the release. "The session will also explore the unique challenges faced by different communities, emphasizing the importance of tailored strategies to address specific local issues."

Information about the event speakers is provided below.

Ryan Kilpatrick, AICP & EDFP
Owner, Flywheel Companies
Ryan Kilpatrick has a background in economic development, housing finance, community design, and development finance. As the founding executive director of Housing Next, he helped to define access to housing as a core economic development issue for West Michigan through data-oriented dialogue and partnership with employers, local municipalities, chambers of commerce, and developers. Kilpatrick now leads a private consulting practice called Flywheel Community Development that is designed to help local communities build momentum around housing and economic development best practices.

Kilpatrick has nearly 20 years of experience supporting local units of government with technical assistance and best practice implementation through planning, zoning, process improvement, and the use of financial tools to create economically vibrant communities. He has a Masters in Design for Social Innovation from Kendall College of Art & Design and a B.A. in Community Development from GVSU. Kilpatrick is a certified professional with the American Planning Association and the National Development Council’s Economic Development Finance Professional. He is also the co-author of the Michigan Statewide Zoning Reform Toolkit. His current client roster ranges from villages of under 1,000 people to the second largest city in the state of Michigan, and about a dozen cities, townships, and counties in between.

Leah DuMouchel, AICP
Director of Programs and Communications, Michigan Association of Planning
Leah DuMouchel is Director of Programs and Communications at the Michigan Association of Planning (MAP), a chapter of the American Planning Association serving nearly 4,000 professional community planners and elected and appointed land use decision makers. Her current projects include a MEDC-supported Zoning Atlas for local communities to support better housing supply, access, and affordability by modernizing their zoning codes, and a MSHDA-supported study of communities using MAP’s Zoning Reform Toolkit to welcome more housing.

Prior to coming to MAP, DuMouchel was a principal in private consulting practice at Beckett & Raeder, Inc. She holds credentials from the American Institute of Certified Planners, the Congress for the New Urbanism, the National Charrette Institute, and the Form-Based Codes Institute, and she is a member of APA’s Sustainable Communities Division and its Planning and the Black Community Division.