City Council Passes Building Incentives System, Picks Firm to Lead Search For New Police Chief

The East Lansing City Council voted to pass an ordinance that encourages developers to include desired features in their projects at the Nov. 19 meeting. 

More than a year ago, the city formed a committee to study the impacts of mass timber, an environmentally friendly type of construction that is made of thick, compressed layers of wood. The committee helped develop an incentive system that gives developers points for including mass timber in a project, obtaining net zero or LEED (Leadership in Environmental and Energy Design) certification or making units affordable for 20 years. 

Developers can then use points to add height to buildings or reduce minimum lot size requirements without obtaining a Special Use Permit. 

At the Nov. 19 City Council meeting, council voted to approve the ordinance after making significant changes to the point structure and giving council the ability to review points being distributed and spent.

Coming into the meeting, the structure gave one point to developers who obtain Gold LEED certification, two points for obtaining Platinum LEED certification, two points for obtaining net zero certification and three points for creating a mass timber structure. 

Councilmember Erik Altmann motioned to change the incentives to be two points for Gold LEED certification, three for platinum and one point for building a mass timber structure. The points for net zero certification remained at two. Mayor George Brookover suggested mass timber structures be worth two points, a suggestion Altmann accepted. The motion passed unanimously. 

Additionally, the amendment gives developers a bonus point for obtaining LEED certification and meeting an affordable housing threshold. Previously, a bonus point could be earned by building a mass timber construction and including affordable units. 

“I’ve heard a lot about mass timber, I’m pretty neutral on the construction methodology,” Altmann asked. “I would really like to see LEED buildings in our city… They’re the whole package, they address occupant health, they address stormwater, and those considerations sort of go beyond the mass timber in my mind.”

Despite council opting to decrease incentives for mass timber and increase them for LEED certification, Sandra Lupien, who served on the city’s mass timber study committee and is the director of MassTimber@MSU, was upbeat about the ordinance passing. 

In response to an email from ELi following the meeting, she said that the ordinance passing signals that the city welcomes “decarbonizing its built environments.”

“From a mass timber perspective, we hear the same thing from building developers and owners across the state: ‘We love mass timber, we want to choose mass timber, but as early adopters, we need help to make it pencil out,’” Lupien wrote. “East Lansing has become the first city in Michigan and one of the first in the U.S. to directly address that need through policy, setting an example for other communities.”  

The affordable housing component of the incentive system remained untouched. Developers can earn one point if at least half of units are affordable to people making 60% of the Area Median Income (AMI) and two points if half of units are affordable to people making 30% of the AMI. The units must stay affordable for 20 years. 

In August, Principal Planner Landon Bartley explained that the AMI is $92,300 now, and “affordable” means that renters don’t spend more than 30% of their income on housing. This means if a development were to appear today, rent and utilities would be capped at $1,385 per month to be in the first tier and $692 per month to be in the second tier. 

The second part of the ordinance that council amended is how points are distributed and spent. Previously, the ordinance allowed developers to bypass council involvement to obtain and use points, instead the city’s Planning and Zoning officials would vet the process. Councilmember Mark Meadows motioned to have council approve points that are distributed and spent. 

“I have a real problem with delegating the authority with regard to the spending of the points and establishing the points to staff,” he said. “I believe that is really a function of the City Council, and no matter what happens we’re going to get blamed for it. We may as well own it by reviewing it.”

Meadows’ amendment passed 4-1, with Altmann voting against. 

Developers can add one story per point, and there are caps in place for how tall buildings can be in different zoning districts. At a previous meeting, Bartley explained that in the most dense residential districts and low density business districts, one story can be added. In more dense business districts, two stories can be added, and in the downtown area, developers can add as many stories as points allow.

Bartley explained that incentive systems have been used in other places, but East Lansing’s structure is unique. This means time will tell how effective the ordinance is. 

Councilmember Dana Watson asked when the city will know if the system is working. 

“Hopefully by the time I die,” Brookover responded. “Here’s my view, we don’t know if it’s going to work or not. What we’re trying to do is create a situation where we hope it works.”

Firm picked to lead police chief search. 

In April, former Police Chief Kim Johnson was placed on leave after an internal complaint was made against him. The following month, he resigned. 

Since Johnson’s departure, Chad Pride has served as interim police chief. Now, the city is moving forward in its search for a new chief, as Baker Tilly was chosen to lead the search for a new chief. 

The city will pay $29,750 for the search, plus an additional $300 per hour if the city asks for work outside of the base proposal. The search is estimated to take 14 weeks. 

New housing ordinances referred back to subcommittee, housing commission. 

In August, the city revealed a draft of revisions to the housing and rental codes, which city leaders said address concerns that residents have raised in recent months. 

The revisions were reviewed by the Housing Commission and sent back to council to vote on at the Nov. 19 meeting. However, City Manager Robert Belleman recommended the ordinance be sent back to the subcommittee that originally drafted it, which includes Meadows, City Attorney Anthony Chubb and Planning, Building and Development Director Annette Irwin.

Belleman made the recommendation so the subcommittee can review the feedback from the Housing Commission and see if changes need to be made after voters approved Proposal 1, a charter amendment impacting the city’s housing and rental regulations. Council took Belleman’s recommendation. 

After the subcommittee  does its review, the ordinance will go back to the Housing Commission before returning to City Council. 

During the public comment portion of the meeting, several residents who were in favor of Proposal 1 said they have heard the city is discussing taking legal action to nullify the effects of the charter amendment. ELi is working on a separate report about this portion of the meeting, and the possibility the city takes legal action in response to the amendment passing.