North End Landing FAQ
Vanguard is committed to producing, maintaining and supporting affordable housing in the North End. Therefore, all our projects will have an affordability component to them. Vanguard’s staff is skilled in seeking financing opportunities for our projects that enables us to do this.
Residential taxes will not see increase with the development of this project. This is because Michigan voters approved the Headlee Amendment into our constitution. The State of Michigan’s Budget Office’s website states:
“In 1978, Michigan voters approved the “Headlee” tax limitation amendments to the Michigan Constitution of 1963 (Article IX, Sections 24 – 34). Article IX, Section 26 establishes an overall limitation on total state spending each fiscal year. The “Headlee” Amendment also creates two significant limitations on the fiscal relationship between state and local units of government.
Article IX, Section 29 prohibits the state from reducing its share of existing state-mandated programs and requires the state to reimburse local governmental units for any new state-mandated programs.
Article IX, Section 30 prohibits the state from reducing the proportion of total state spending paid to all units of local government as a group below the proportion in effect in fiscal year 1979.”
More information on the Headlee Amendment can be found here.
We recognize and agree with the demand for public space in community development projects. We believe such common space is optimal for the social health of the community. Vanguard is actively seeking additional financing that will ensure us to include a detail such as this in North End Landing. In the meantime it is our intention to continue to gather community feedback on what type of public space North Enders would prefer. Once more information on our plans for a public space are ready to be revealed, we will include it here.