Council Approves Toned Down Caption to be Placed on Ballot with Charter Amendment

City Council approved an “explanatory caption” to be put on the ballot above a proposed charter amendment that would impact the city’s housing and rental laws, but with wording that is much less harsh than initially proposed. 

The caption will read as follows: 

“The proposed charter amendment below was initiated by a citizen initiated petition and not the East Lansing City Council.”

Tuesday, ELi reported that the city scheduled yesterday’s (July 31) special meeting to consider adding a caption that would have been much more likely to sway voters against the charter amendment. The caption initially proposed was:

“The proposed Charter amendment below was initiated by a resident petition. The City Council believes that the proposed Charter amendment contravenes existing laws of the State of Michigan, including but not limited to the Home Rule City Act, MCL 117.1, et. seq.; and the Michigan Zoning Enabling Act, MCL 125.3101, et. seq.”

Removing the section stating City Council believes the proposed amendment contravenes existing laws is a victory for the group advocating for the amendment. The new caption states the process in which the proposed amendment reached the ballot, not a belief held by the local governing body. 

“The City Council’s decision to use a neutral title is a win for democracy,” Patrick Rose, an attorney and one of the lead proponents for the charter amendment wrote to ELi after the meeting.

“The law requires a caption to be just a title or a heading, not commentary or advocacy for or against the proposal,” he continued.

The proposed charter amendment has been a top discussion point at city meetings in recent months. The group advocating for the amendment believes the city should not use relationship-based criteria to limit who can stay in a home.

At past meetings, Councilmembers Mark Meadows and Erik Altmann have voiced their opposition to the charter amendment. They have said they believe the amendment could make city housing and rental laws harder to enforce and it could unravel the rental restriction district system employed by the city. The group in favor of the amendment has pushed back against these claims. 

Meadows was absent from the July 31 meeting. Altmann motioned for the language to be changed. He said charter amendments proposed by the city are vetted by the city attorney, go through a public input process and the officials proposing them are elected and therefore held accountable.

“These things do not apply to charter amendments proposed through an initiatory petition,” Altmann said. “That’s a critical difference.”

Altmann’s motion to amend the language passed 3-1, the same margin the decision to add the caption passed with. Councilmember Dana Watson voted against both motions. 

Prior to council’s vote, several residents spoke during a public comment period that saw a deep divide in opinions. 

Those in favor of the charter amendment and against the initial caption said adding the language would interfere with the democratic process.

“The City Council rejected the original proposed ‘explanatory caption’ because it gave biased and inaccurate information by falsely alleging the Amendment contravenes state law,” Rose wrote to ELi following the decision. 

Ingham County Commissioner and Attorney Mark Grebner said he has worked on hundreds of ballot initiatives and has never seen a caption added to an initiative like the one initially proposed. He said a court would likely overturn the city’s decision if it did add the initial language. 

“What you have got, frankly, is inflammatory and it is advocacy,” Grebner said. “I don’t believe the courts will allow it… I’ve never seen a case where a public body added language to argue ‘Yes’ or ‘No.’”

Several residents spoke in support of the initial caption language and against the charter amendment at the meeting. Many of these residents agreed with Altmann and Meadows that the charter amendment could hurt the city’s ability to enforce its laws and the rental restriction zones. They believe the current regulations are effective, and an amendment would cause an increase in short term rentals like AirBnBs. 

“I’m very much in favor of the proposed clarifying ballot language or any other clarifying ballot language that explains what this [amendment] language is actually going to do in this city,” resident Kristin Good said before council altered the caption.

Additionally, speakers who oppose the charter amendment accused petitioners of misleading residents to convince them to sign the petition. Some also said the housing code should be addressed through ordinance changes. At the July 23 council meeting, Meadows said the city will soon reveal a draft of ordinance changes that address some resident concerns about the housing and rental codes. 

Before the ballot initiative is officially approved to go before voters, it will be reviewed by the state. Last year, a proposed charter amendment to switch City Council elections from odd to even-numbered years was shot down by the governor’s office. 

Assuming the state does not intervene, East Lansing residents should expect to vote on the charter amendment at the Nov. 5 general election.