Council Not Sold on Proposed Short Term Rental Legislation
As East Lansing and other municipalities grapple with ways to regulate short term rentals, more work will be needed before City Council signals its approval for the latest legislative effort going through the state house.
Maureen Watson-Bolger of McAlvey Merchant & Associates, the city’s lobbyist, presented an eight-bill package at the March 12 City Council meeting. The legislation would create a registry for short term rentals and allow local governments to revoke short term rental licenses for those who break city ordinances. However, ambiguous language in the bills left some Council members concerned that the legislation could interfere with the city’s Rental Restriction Overlay system.

Also at the meeting, there was a brief announcement that city staff has taken steps to map out how department priorities align with the priorities laid out by Council. Additionally, the East Lansing Independent Police Oversight Commission (ELIPOC) chair shared his thoughts on potential changes to the ordinance governing the Commission during public comment.
Council also heard a presentation from the Municipal Employees’ Retirement System (MERS) on the city’s pension liability, which ELi will cover in a separate report.
City Council not ready to support proposed legislative fix for short term rental regulation.
Watson-Bolger said the proposed legislation, which was introduced last month, would give more control over short term rental regulation to local governments than past proposals at the state level. However, it does not allow for an outright ban.
This gave Councilmembers Erik Altmann and Mark Meadows and Mayor George Brookover pause because of the Rental Restriction Overlay (RRO) system employed in East Lansing. RROs allow residents to petition for sections of the city to restrict rental licenses from being issued. There are three types of RROs, and the most restrictive and popular type essentially bans rental licenses from the area.

Though Watson-Bolger said she believed the legislation would still allow for the overlay approach, Council was not sold, as members expressed concern that the law would clash with the city’s ordinance.
“I think a judge or a clever attorney would be able to challenge the overlay zone if this particular language were in effect,” Meadows said.
The city’s Planning, Building and Development Director Annette Irwin said City Attorney Anthony Chubb is working on proposed language to insert into the bill that would protect overlay districts.
Watson-Bolger said the bill sponsors were open to amending the legislation after receiving feedback, and allowing local control is a goal.
Brookover also had concerns about cost. While there are sections of the bill that would increase taxes on short term rentals, the amount collected would likely not be significant, according to Irwin. Brookover worried that the costs to manage the short term rentals would outweigh the new funds recouped.
“If they’re going to make us start regulating something more, which I think they are, then I’d like some money to come to the city to help us regulate it,” Brookover said. “Annette’s [Irwin] got enough to do.”
Near the end of the discussion, Councilmember Dana Watson said she has asked for more frequent meetings with the lobbyist and there are other bills she would like updates on. Specifically, she would like to know more about House Bill 4947, which could give municipalities options to control rent increases.
“The median age in the city of East Lansing is 21,” Watson said. “Typically, 21-year-olds don’t own houses. So while we’re advocating hard for folks that own homes, it’s important that we do the same for more people in our community.
“A lot of people are getting into funky renting situations that I would love an opportunity for City Councils to assist in or weigh-in on.”
Watson-Bolger said she would come back to meet with Council. Brookover said they would look for a meeting in April or May to schedule that appearance.
ELIPOC chair takes issue with proposed amendments to ordinance governing Commission.
Last week, Council did a first reading of several amendments to the ordinance regulating ELIPOC. This week, Commission Chair Ernest Conerly spoke during public comment to voice opposition to some of the changes.

At the March 5 meeting, the city’s labor counsel explained the amendments were being made due to ongoing litigation with one of the police unions. The textual amendments clearly state that ELIPOC does not have disciplinary power over individual officers. The Commission has not played a disciplinary role over officers in its more than two years of existence.
While Conerly is not trying to expand ELIPOC’s power, he noted the Commission does not have objections to several of the amendments, he had concerns that other amendments might harm the Commission.
Specifically, Conerly objected to the Commission’s purpose statement being changed to say ELIPOC is “advisory” and that it does not have administrative authority.
“The purpose statement should remain a clear statement of why the Council established the Commission,” Conerly said. “Stating those roles that ELIPOC does not possess is confusing.
“Adding the word ‘advisory’ would also interfere with the Commission’s ability to pursue recommendations, dig deeper into investigations, seek the city manager’s appeal or disagree with the findings of the police department.”
Conerly went on to question amendments that say the Commission won’t recommend discipline based on complaints. He worried that the Commission making recommendations within its scope in response to complaints, like “further training,” could be considered discipline. He thought it would be better to change the language to clarify ELIPOC does not “determine” aspects of discipline or if employees are disciplined at all.
Council receives “progress report” on strategic planning.
Last month, Council set its top 10 priorities for 2024 and 2025. At the March 12 meeting, Belleman provided Council with a “progress report” with feedback from staff on how the city’s department priorities fit alongside Council’s priorities.
Belleman said he will take this feedback to develop goals, with actionable items that can be reported back on over time. This section of the meeting featured little discussion. The updated priorities can be read here.