Development and Planning

Image: Back of vacant, blighted building at Grand River and Evergreen Avenues, just east of the Peoples Church memorial garden.

Last night, East Lansing’s City Council voted unanimously to approve Ordinance 1360, which makes it easier for the City to decide to tear down a dangerous building when “the cost of the repairs would exceed 100 percent of the true cash value of the structure as reflected on the city assessment tax rolls.” The ordinance’s passage could ultimately lead to the City moving to demolish dangerous vacant buildings.

A recent presentation to East Lansing’s Downtown Development Authority (DDA) unveiled the Brownfield tax increment financing (TIF) plan for the proposed mixed-use redevelopment where Spartan Avenue meets Grand River Avenue. If all goes as presented to the DDA, the developer will be asking East Lansing’s City Council to approve $9.5 million in TIF reimbursements for expenses related to the redevelopment.

East Lansing’s City Council’s meeting this coming Tuesday night will include three public hearings that touch on “hot” issues in town: vacant, blighted buildings downtown; campaign finance disclosure; and the protection of trees.

Image: City Manager George Lahanas and former mayor Nathan Triplett

Image: Some of the blighted buildings downtown that may be demolished if a new "dangerous buildings" ordinance passes.

The new East Lansing City Council meets for the first time this evening, and their first agenda indicates this Council intends to move quickly on a number of politically hot issues, including blighted vacant buildings downtown, the ethics of campaign contributions, and a question of whether the City or the State should have say over whether landlords can make certain changes to nonconforming rental houses.

Above: Artist's rendition of the plan for the Grove Street Alley

The East Lansing Artist Alleys crowdfunding campaign, which officially ends at 11:59 PM tonight, has reached its $45,000 fundraising goal.

The goal was met Tuesday, November 10, two days ahead of schedule. As of this writing, $46,785 has been raised from 118 supporters. Donations came from local individuals, organizations, and businesses.

Above: Nathan Triplett and Mark Meadows

ELi has learned—and has confirmed with multiple sources—that East Lansing’s Mayor Nathan Triplett has been pushing a landlord-friendly bill at the State level for many months and that now, since being voted out of office on Tuesday, Triplett has been working with East Lansing landlords to push the bill through quickly.

Photo: Recent groundbreaking ceremony for the project now called “300 Grand,” formerly known as “The Gateway.” In the photo, members of the DDA/BRA, which approved a $1.9 million TIF for this project, include DTN’s Colin Cronin (third from left) and Mayor Nathan Triplett (second from right).

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.

A key piece of publicly-owned land that most people assume is an official park soon will be one.