Council Roundup: City Leaders Again Float Gas Leaf Blower Ban, Discuss Development Authority

A presentation about switching city equipment from gas to electric-powered tools evolved into the East Lansing City Council discussing a possible ban on gas-powered leaf blowers for all residents. 

The conversation came after Department of Public Works employees gave generally positive feedback about the department expanding its use of electric tools, though they did have issues with the short battery life of electric blowers. Mayor Erik Altmann asked if council members were interested in establishing an ordinance to phase out gas-powered leaf blowers, as some other communities have done. 

“My preference would be for us to develop an ordinance, so that we can at least discuss the details and provide the public the opportunity to comment on it,” Councilmember Mark Meadows said. 

If the city does ban gas leaf blowers, they would be phased out. It is unclear what the details of the phased ban would be, but Altmann said it could be done over a number of years to give the community the chance to “get used” to the new rule. 

“You ban them over the summer, when they’re not in heavy use, at least initially, and you get people used to the idea of converting to the electric [blowers],” Altmann said. “Then slowly, you project four or five years down the road you say there’s going to be no more [gas blowers].”

It is not the first time the council has contemplated a possible ban on gas leaf blowers, which are significantly louder than their electric counterparts. The topic came up last year in a council discussion. 

Councilmember Steve Whelan raised concerns about the potential cost a ban could place on residents.

“I want to be careful of a new burden for our taxpayers. It’s already hard enough to take care of our houses, and I would not want things not to be taken care of because of the burden of the extra cost,” Whelan said. “I think it’s a great example we’re setting. I’m just a little bit concerned about a mandate.”

“I think I’m with Councilmember Whelan in regards to the apprehension of the affordability and the expense it costs to invest in that,” Mayor Pro Tem Chuck Grigsby said.

The Lansing Board of Water & Light is offering rebates for people to trade in their gas appliances for electric, Altmann said.

No final decisions were made, but the council asked the DPW to move forward and develop a draft ordinance to present for community feedback. 

Council conflicted over certification that could improve finances, but shift power from council.

Principal Planner Landon Bartley endorsed joining the Redevelopment Ready Communities program offered by the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, but some council members gave pause because becoming a Redevelopment Ready Community may relinquish some council power to the city’s Planning Commission or staff. 

Becoming Redevelopment Ready Community certified would give the city access to new grant opportunities, MEDC employees would become available to assist the city in advancing developments and would likely improve the city’s financial position, the agenda report says. Perhaps most importantly, it would send the message to businesses that East Lansing is looking to develop. 

“I think the biggest benefit of the RRC designation would be that we’re essentially putting a big flag out and saying East Lansing is open for business,” Bartley said. “There are firms that start by looking at the certified communities map and say, ‘What cities are ready to take our business, ready for us to build in?’”

To become a Redevelopment Ready Community, the city implements a series of standards from the MEDC. Bartley estimated the city is more than halfway in implementing required standards already, but more thorough analysis is needed to determine exactly how much more there is to do. The process helps pull the city into line with best practices, which Bartley said will improve the development process. 

“They’re best [practices] for a reason,” Bartley said. “They’re good things to do. Staff wants to do this. We really want to make this change and become certified because the practices are best.”

Council members were generally excited about the possibility of becoming certified. However, Altmann said that when the city previously explored joining the program in 2014, it found that council would have to give more decision-making power to the city’s Planning Commission, which prevented council from moving forward. 

Altmann continued to say that the failure of the Center City II proposal has made the community weary of development, and some residents may oppose shifting decision-making powers away from elected officials. 

Michelle Parkkonen from the MEDC said the certification process has flexibility because there isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach to development. She said a community discussion should happen about what approach works best for East Lansing, and what approvals should be handled administratively, by the Planning Commission or council. 

“This is not the right fit for every community, and there are communities that do not necessarily want to shift that authority to an administrative approval,” Parkkonen said. 

Altmann also expressed concern about accelerating the development process.

“I understand the time is money argument, right, from developers,” he said. “But time is also understanding from the community’s perspective… There’s two competing interests here.”

Bartley said he thinks there are ways to get proper community feedback, suggesting the city could have events to introduce developments outside of city meetings. 

No decisions were made, but Altmann said it seems like “everybody is enthusiastic to see where this could go.” 

Community members calling for removal of police chief shift approach. 

For months, public comment at council meetings has featured speakers calling for the removal of Police Chief Jen Brown amid ongoing controversy over Brown’s actions following an incident where an ELPD officer pepper sprayed two Black men downtown. 

This meeting also saw several speakers calling for Brown’s removal. However, advocates – which included members of the city’s police oversight and human rights commissions – said they were shifting their approach. During their five-minute public comment allotment speakers would read from Michelle Alexander’s “The New Jim Crow.”

“Since we aren’t the experts, we’re going to turn to the experts and we’re going to read and we’re going to educate,” East Lansing Independent Police Oversight Commission Vice Chair Kath Edsall said.  “We will continue this as the education of East Lansing evolves.”

Some speakers spent a couple minutes making their own comments, before spending their remaining time reading from where the last speaker left off in the book.

Lucas Day contributed to this reporting.