Developer Removing Trees along Northern Tier Trail Without Permission

Image: photo taken at about noon today.

As we reported in this week’s Council Capsule, last night East Lansing’s City Council discussed allowing a developer to create a paved spur attaching the Northern Tier Trail to Chandler Road. City Council is due to vote on the issue next Tuesday.

But moments ago, I stopped by the property to discover the developer has already been tearing out large numbers of trees and shrubs and preparing the ground for paving. As shown in the photo above, the site is an active construction site, with large machinery and numbers of workers changing the once-wooded stretch into a road.

The reason I went to the location today was because of the unusual discussion about this at Council last night, including a question from Mayor Pro Tem Diane Goddeeris about whether litigation had occurred on this issue, because work was started before permission. When she asked the question, there was audible snickering in the audience, although I could not tell from whom or why.

The development in question is called “The Rocks” and is part of the Chandler Crossings complex of rentals owned by a company called Westpac. The space in question was described by last night by City Planning Director Tim Dempsey as being about 1300 feet long and 60 feet wide. It runs from Chandler Road (what Abbot Road is called north of Lake Lansing Road) to the Northern Tier Trail towards the soccer complex.

According to Dempsey’s memo on the matter, the developer has “offered to pave a 1,300 ft. long pathway…and improve the landscaping along this section. They also propose to connect two areas from their residential complex to the new trail. The connection would restrict vehicular access but would allow emergency vehicles a secondary access point should that be necessary. In addition, the paved trail enhances the emergency access point to the City’s Soccer Complex,” which otherwise must be reached via a winding road off Chandler Road.

According to the same memo, “The City would have long-term maintenance and replacement responsibilities” and “[m]aintenance of the mowed buffer area may fall upon the City in the future.” Council has been presented with a proposed licensing agreement.

The developer had asked to buy the property but City Manager George Lahanas said last night that this was complicated by Department of Natural Resources (DNR) issues.

At the site this afternoon, I spoke with the workers who said they had been told they were clear to do the work. I explained to them what I know, and also called the City Manager’s office to advise the City of the situation.

ELi will continue to follow this story.

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