Commission on the Environment Discusses Proposal to Increase Recycling Accessibility
East Lansing is exploring a way to make recycling more accessible to people living in multi-family housing complexes.
At the Monday, June 17 Commission on the Environment meeting, the commission discussed a potential city code update that would require multi-family housing complexes to have recycling services on site. The commission voted unanimously to write a letter recommending City Council refer the amendment to the Planning Commission for review.
Currently, this section of the code requires new multi-family housing complexes to have recycling services. However, the code was updated in 2007, and excludes buildings constructed prior to that year, leaving many renters without on-site services.
A subcommittee has explored different policy solutions to this issue and has ultimately decided on recommending that the ordinance be amended to remove the exemption for pre-2007 properties.
If the code is amended, it would make some property owners out of compliance with the city code. That doesn’t necessarily force their hand in adding recycling services, but it could limit how the property is developed going forward.
“If a building wanted to add a substantial addition or parking lot, they would have to come in compliance with that code, and one of those [requirements] would be recycling,” Commissioner Michael Townley said.

If the amendment is referred to the Planning Commission, the Commission on the Environment requested some questions be answered.
“We would like the Planning Commission to consider whether or not it’s practical to do these things and whether there are exemptions or alternatives to the traditional dumpster because of restrictions that may exist,” Townley said. “We also recommend that they consider the level of modification it may trigger if the site is out of compliance and needs to be updated.”
Commissioners agreed that it would be good to look into alternatives to the traditional recycling dumpster found in some residential parking lots, as many multi-family housing complexes do not have room for one of these dumpsters.
Some commissioners expressed concerns that requiring pre-2007 buildings to provide recycling services will serve as a disincentive for property owners to update complexes.
“I think we can all agree that updating and providing incentives to add recycling facilities is a good thing,” Commissioner Chris Conn said. “But I wonder about unintended consequences. Could be a disincentive for buildings to upgrade their buildings so they don’t have to add on that cost of recycling.”
Unanimously voting to draft the letter with clarifying questions was the only action the commission took at the June 17 meeting.
East Lansing adds Michigan Healthy Climate Corps member.
East Lansing was one of 30 Michigan communities selected to host a Michigan Healthy Climate Corps member and the Commission on the Environment was introduced to the city’s corps member, Brion Dickens, at the June 17 meeting.
Dickens came to East Lansing in April and will stay with the city until November, focusing on solar energy. He has spent the last few months looking at city owned parcels and walking through buildings and rooftops of parking garages that could be used for solar energy generation.

Dickens believes there is potential to partner with agricultural entities to produce solar energy.
“I’m really just looking at parcels, and I’ve identified some that have great potential,” Dickens said. “I have a strong belief that we need to move solar into an agrivoltaics output instead of traditional solar, and I’ve got one parcel in mind that’s along 127 that I think would be the biggest diamond in the rough for the city of East Lansing to do an agrivoltaics plot.”
Agrivoltaics is the co-habitation of agricultural production and solar energy production. This could be crop or livestock production underneath or between solar panels to make the most of space.
Dickens will continue to do research on areas where solar energy could be prioritized.
“The projects that are really the best are the ones where people go to the ribbon cutting and forget about it, cause it just does its work well in the background,” he said.
Some community members have already expressed interest in solar power. An event called Solarize East Lansing will be held Wednesday, July 10 at the East Lansing Public Library to bring neighbors together to learn more about financial help for those who invest in solar energy.

Commissioners discuss mass timber, incentivizing “green” developments.
The commission revisited the mass timber ordinance brought to the city by representatives from Midwest Strategy Group and Michigan State University.
Last July, the Planning Commission made a recommendation for the City Council to consider forming a study committee to review proposed zoning ordinance revisions pertaining to mass timber.
Council requested the issue return to the Planning Commission to form a study committee to review the amendments proposed by Midwest Strategy Group and Michigan State University.

This study committee met multiple times and has formed an approach to incentivize mass timber building as well as other community priorities through earning and spending points.
Developers can earn points by incorporating mass timber, LEED [Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design] certification, net zero certification or affordable housing into their projects. The city would allow developers to “spend” their points by being more flexible with zoning laws, like allowing buildings to exceed height limits or reduce minimum lot areas.
Upon review of this proposal, many commissioners expressed concerns about the points awarded for each priority.
“The table with the points was interesting to me,” Chair Tom Alwin said. “Seems weird to me that mass timber gives you a whole other point beyond platinum [LEED]. Is there a reason?”
Commissioner Barb Andersen explained the benefits of mass timber.
“One big benefit of mass timber is it’s better for the environment compared to steel in terms of greenhouse gasses and making the building,” she said.

New Commissioner Danielle Beard echoed the benefits of mass timber, but expressed a wish to hear more about “the pros and cons.”
“Giving mass timber construction three points over one or two, I would like to know where that rationale comes from,” she said.
Commissioners agreed that there was confusion about the point-values awarded to each city priority and wished to know where the values came from.
“I would make the recommendation that points be scaled according to environmental impact,” Commissioner Jill Steiner said.
The commission agreed, expressing a wish for point-values be looked at again and for a definition of “environmental impact” be taken into consideration.