Housing Strategy

The City of Battle Creek lacks sufficient housing to support existing and future residents. The following documents are three pieces of the puzzle that play an important role in the future of housing for Battle Creek. While there is some overlap between the documents, they each address different aspects of making sure the city is able to provide equitable, safe, and affordable housing for existing and future residents. 

2024 Battle Creek Housing Action Plan: In collaboration with Battle Creek Unlimited, the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, and various stakeholders, the city undertook the development of the 2024 Battle Creek Housing Action Plan, which was adopted in March of 2024.Generally, this plan analyzed data to help the city and its partners identify leads, allocate resources, establish evaluation metrics, and establish a timeline for action to analyze land use and regulatory tools and development feasibility tools related to housing. A key recommendation of the plan is to establish a trust fund for nonprofit development of housing with a goal set for $10 million.

2025-2029 Consolidated Plan: With the input from the community, the Community Development Division undertook the development of the 2025-2029 Consolidated Plan. The City Commission approved the plan on June 17, 2025. The plan describes how the city will allocate Community Development Block Grant and HOME Investment Partnership funds to meet the needs of low –and moderate-income people in Battle Creek and it will include a housing needs assessment. Every five years, the City of Battle Creek is required to update the Consolidated Plan.

2026 Master Plan Housing Strategy: With the guidance of the Housing and Community Development Steering Committee on the community engagement plan, the city in collaboration with the community, city partners, and various stakeholders will develop the 2026 Master Plan housing strategy. The outreach process and development of the housing strategy of the Master Plan will begin at the end of July and be ongoing through 2025 and well into 2026. The plan will address critical housing challenges facing the community and summarize the community’s vision for housing to guide future housing policy. 

This streamlined community engagement plan outlines a cost-effective approach for a meaningful and inclusive public participation process to better understand the community’s housing vison.