Council Passes Ordinance to End Pretextual Stops, Considers New Building Incentives
Council passed an ordinance ending pretextual stops in most cases, but continued to hear concerns about one aspect of the ordinance: Loud exhaust.
Pretextual stops are done by officers to conduct a speculative criminal investigation, and not because a driver is a threat to public safety. The ordinance was previously recommended by the city’s independent police oversight commission. The full list of violations included in the ordinance are:
- Cracked or chipped windshield
- Loud exhaust
- Tinted windows
- Object hanging from rearview mirror
- Cracked, broken or burned-out tail lamp where at least one tail lamp remains functional and properly illuminated
- Registration plate lighting violations
- Registration plate violations regarding plate height or attachment
- Location of registration sticker
- Peeling registration sticker
- Location of temporary or paper registration plate, so long as it remains visible from the rear of the vehicle
- Defective equipment
- Other non-safety violations
- Registration tags expired less than 90 days
Proponents for the ordinance say it helps reduce bias in policing and frees up officers’ time to enforce more serious offenses.
Several residents spoke at the Oct. 15 meeting asking that loud exhaust be removed from the ordinance. Local musician Jerry Sprague said loud cars are hurting his performances.
“It’s gotten so extreme that when I perform and sing at Harper’s on the deck on Wednesdays, there are times I have to stop,” he said.
Several other residents spoke about loud cars interrupting sleep and interactions downtown.
However, at the Oct. 1 council meeting when the ordinance was previously discussed, it was said that enforcing noise violations isn’t simple. ELPD doesn’t have the technology to get a decibel reading on moving cars. This makes it difficult to prove violations in court and leaves the decision to pull drivers over largely up to the discretion of officers.

Councilmember Erik Altmann previously proposed that loud cars be put on the next discussion-only meeting agenda, and Mayor George Brookover said it would be. Councilmembers Mark Meadows and Dana Watson both said it would be productive to look at all factors contributing to noise in the community at that meeting.
Altmann motioned to have the vote on pretextual stops be delayed until after that meeting. Council voted against that motion with Mayor Pro Tem Kerry Ebersole Singh joining Altmann voting to delay, and Watson, Meadows and Brookover voting against.
Altmann asked Interim Police Chief Chad Pride what scenarios an officer would pull someone over under the ordinance for loud exhaust.
“We would have to have a complaint from a community member,” he said. “If somebody called and complained, and said ‘At this time, 7 o’clock every night, there’s a loud vehicle that drives through here,’ I think that the reasoning behind stopping the cars that have altered exhaust [is there].”
There is a state law against modified mufflers, but a decibel reading is needed to enforce the law, Pride said.
Pride spoke about concerns he had about other violations included in the ordinance.
Specifically, he asked if a cracked windshield could mean a “spider web” windshield. He also said he believes tinted windows prevent eye contact communication between drivers and pedestrians, and some drivers may hang large objects that obstruct vision from their rearview mirrors.
There is a clause within the ordinance that allows police to enforce the outlined infractions in instances “where an officer reasonably believes, based on articulable facts, that the violation is of a nature or magnitude that poses an immediate risk of harm to person(s) or property.”
Watson said Pride’s assessment is his opinion of what pedestrians and drivers should do and she, for example, tells her children to watch the wheels of a car to tell if it’s safe or not to cross the street. She also said car windows can have some tint.
Meadows said there is a lot of ambiguity in the ordinance because it is inherited from the existing laws. He said “loud” exhaust means something different from person to person and enforcing these laws relies on the subjective opinions of officers.
“We need some objective standard that tells us when this is a violation and when it isn’t,” he said. “It has been used in some police departments just as an excuse to pull people over.”
Meadows said the ordinance can be revisited later on if changes are needed, and he thinks it’s a good change at this time.
Ultimately, council voted 4-1 in favor of the ordinance, with Altmann being the vote against.
The city is missing key employees–and struggling to find replacements.
During a short but important exchange, City Manager Robert Belleman said the city is struggling to attract qualified employees to fill key positions.
Watson asked for an update on where the city stands in its search for a new police chief, as Pride has served under interim status since former Chief Kim Johnson was placed on leave in April and resigned the following month. Belleman said he is waiting for a response from two firms on proposals to help with the search and selection process. He’s hoping to have proposals for the search presented to council at the Nov. 19 meeting.

Belleman said he’s expecting the position to be advertised in early 2025, interviews to happen in February or March, and for a new chief to be hired in April.
Belleman said putting together a good search process is important because the city has been unable to fill the vacant finance director position. Interim Director Andrea Smith has led the department since Penny Wright stepped down in April. He said the city was unsuccessful in finding a new finance director in the latest round of interviews.
“The city is not attracting the best candidates for the positions,” Belleman said. “So, trying to hire individuals to help us with that recruitment process would be beneficial in the long run.”
Currently, three of the city’s 12 departments are headed by interim directors, as Ron Lacasse has served as interim director of the Department of Public Works since Scott House resigned from the position in June.
Additionally, a fourth department will need new leadership, as Clerk Marie Wicks plans to step down following November’s election, Belleman said.
Public hearing on new development incentives, mass timber held.
For several months, the city has been developing incentives for developers who include desired components with projects. At the Oct. 15 meeting, council held a public hearing on the ordinance that would establish the incentives and gave initial feedback. There was not a vote on the ordinance at the meeting.
More than a year ago, the city put together a committee specifically to look into mass timber, a type of construction that is considered environmentally friendly and is made of solid wood panels.
The committee and city commissions developed a system that awards developers points for including desired features in new buildings. If the resolution is eventually approved, points could then be used to bypass council approval that is usually needed for special use permits to add height to buildings or reduce the minimum lot size requirement.
Points can be earned by making at least half of units affordable, obtaining LEED certification (Leadership in Environmental and Energy Design), obtaining net zero building certification or building a mass timber structure.

There are two thresholds of low income housing a developer can include to receive points, at 30% and 60% of the area median income for half of units. In August, Principal Planner Landon Bartley told ELi via email that if the ordinance were in place and a development were to appear today, rent would be capped at $1,385 per month to meet the first tier and $692 per month to meet the second tier. Units must stay affordable for 20 years.
Tim Mrozowski, who served on the study committee and is chair of the city’s Building Board of Appeals, said mass timber is the most incentivized because there are other incentives already available for meeting the other desired qualities.
There are limitations on how points can be spent. 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.

While mass timber is widely seen as an environmentally-friendly building practice, Altmann said a study was shared at a Commission on the Environment meeting that said it might actually be harmful if mass timber becomes too popular because of the trees cut down to create the materials.
Sandra Lupien, the director of the mass timber program at Michigan State University, said that article takes an unusual position, and right now the U.S. is growing significantly more wood than it is using, though most of the wood used in mass timber constructions does come from other countries.
Lupien said mass timber is seen as more sustainable and efficient, but like with anything, we need to keep an eye on how much we’re harvesting and make adjustments if needed.
“The people who are mostly speaking and writing on this matter believe that we have enough wood,” she said.
Mrozowski, who works as an architect, is hopeful the incentives bring more unique buildings to East Lansing, if council approves the ordinance.
“These buildings turn out to be really nice buildings,” he said. “They’re hard to do, they require an expert design team… I want to see great buildings in East Lansing.
“I would like to incentivize creativity and thoughtful approaches to design in the city of East Lansing.”