Council Tackles Variety of Issues in Tuesday Meeting
A date was set for a public hearing on the rental restriction overlay that will take up part of the Glencairn neighborhood, a pair of recently rejected projects were again floated and the question of whether or not to appoint a Council member’s spouse to a city commission were all topics of the Tuesday (Feb. 6) East Lansing City Council meeting.
The meeting also saw the minutes from the Nov. 2 special regular City Council meeting finally approved, with no indication as to why they were held onto for so long.
Unlike the marathon-length meetings Council has recently held, the Tuesday assembly lasted less than 90 minutes before Council left for closed session.
Nov. 2 special City Council meeting minutes approved.
At the start of the meeting, three sets of meeting minutes were approved. Among those were the minutes from the Nov. 2 special City Council meeting.

The meeting has drawn attention because it was quietly added to the city calendar the day before it was held. The meeting took place at City Hall, instead of the Hannah Community Center, and was done almost entirely in closed session. The meeting was the last for three of the four members who attended, as a Council election was held days later where Noel Garcia lost his bid and then Mayor Ron Bacon and Mayor Pro Tem Jessy Gregg did not seek reelection. Now Mayor and then-Councilmember George Brookover was absent.
Despite the quiet lead-up to the special Nov. 2 meeting, major decisions were made. Council voted to accept the findings from Independent Investigator Randall Secontine that assertions of charter violations made in an anonymous complaint were without merit, and to hide Secontine’s report behind attorney-client privilege. Council also voted to give City Attorney Anthony Chubb settlement authority on a pair of lawsuits and reached a tentative collective bargaining agreement with the Capitol City Labor Program East Lansing Police Department Supervisory Division.

The minutes were approved without discussion as to why the Nov. 2 minutes had been held for so long. ELi has reached out to the city media portal requesting information on why the meeting minutes were approved Tuesday and not in the past. We asked Mayor Brookover the question previously and have had no response. Councilmember Mark Meadows said previously he does not know why they hadn’t been approved.
Glencairn rental restriction overlay public hearing set for March 5.
The rental restriction overlay that would cover parts of the Glencairn neighborhood was a point of controversy when it was first raised at a City Council meeting in November. However, with many of the questions answered by city leaders and staff members about who is allowed to stay in a home without a rental license and what an overlay actually is, it seems the controversy around the overlay has largely subsided.

Still, some community members spoke during public comment about wanting to also be included in the district. Since Council was only voting to set a public hearing and not on whether or not to approve the district, Council did not change the district during the Tuesday meeting. The borders could still be changed at the March 5 public hearing or a later meeting if a decision is pushed farther down the road.
It was announced that information about the overlay is being mailed out before the public hearing and will be sent to many homeowners who live near the district, not just those within the proposed borders.
Brookover took time to stress there does not need to be a vote on whether or not to approve the overlay at the March 5 meeting, just that there will be a public hearing.

There are three types of rental restriction overlay districts that can be formed in the city. This request is for an R-O-1 overlay, which is the strictest type and will essentially halt rental licenses for single-family homes from being issued in the proposed district. Currently, there are about 150 properties within the district’s borders, however that could be amended by Council, as several residents have requested the borders be extended.
Currently, there are 20 rental restriction overlays in East Lansing. Proponents for the overlay have cited a desire to prevent Airbnbs and student rentals as reasons for adopting it.
Recently rejected B&B and gas station proposals reenter Council discussion.
The last City Council meeting, held Jan. 23, saw a rezoning request that would allow for a home at 730 Grove Street to be transitioned to a bed and breakfast and a proposal to build a new gas station on the corner of Abbot Road and Saginaw Street rejected. At Tuesday’s meeting, both projects were reintroduced.
The B&B was referred back to the Planning Commission, requesting the same RM-32 rezoning as before but with the condition that the property is used for a Class B multi-family dwelling. Principal Planner Landon Bartley said the Class B classification is what the city currently uses for B&Bs.

When the project was rejected, Council members largely stated it was because they were concerned about other uses the property could take on if given the expansive RM-32 zoning.
Property owner Michael Zawacki is hopeful adding the Class B condition is enough to gain approval. If the property is sold, the Class B condition is carried over to the new owner.
The agenda item for the project reads, “The applicant for the rezoning has voluntarily offered to condition the rezoning on, among other things, limiting the potential future uses on the parcel to a ‘non-owner-occupied bed and breakfast or inn.’”
The gas station from American Gas & Oil was reintroduced during public comment by Steve Witte, a project manager with the engineering firm Nederveld, Inc, which created the design for the proposal.
While the proposal was not on the meeting agenda, Witte handed members of Council papers containing design changes before he spoke. He said the new plan will include one electric vehicle charging space and a second space that will be “EV-ready,” meaning it will have the infrastructure to add an electric vehicle charger in the future. (Brookover made his desire for an electric vehicle charger at the site clear at the previous Council meeting.)

Council also cited issues with the project’s design before it was rejected. While the new design was not in the agenda packet because Witte spoke during public comment, he did highlight some changes that are included in the new proposal.
He said the new plan adds green space to the corner of the site, with pavement pulled farther off the intersection. A retaining wall is proposed that is about 4 feet farther from the road than the wall that currently exists. This will allow room for landscaping between the wall and roadway.
Witte said the wall will provide sufficient screening for the site, after Council complained about how the last proposal made the gas station more visible than the current structure.
Kathy Swedlow, wife of Councilmember Erik Altmann, is appointed to the Police Oversight Commission.
It was a bit of a surprise to see an appointment to the East Lansing Independent Police Oversight Commission (ELIPOC) on the meeting’s business agenda, as commission appointments are usually done on the consent agenda. Councilmember Dana Watson explained discussion around the appointment was necessary because the candidate, Kathy Swedlow, is married to Councilmember Erik Altmann.
“For transparency purposes, I thought it would be valuable to talk about her appointment and approve her appointment together,” said Watson, who recommended the appointment.

Chubb clarified appointing Swedlow does not violate the city charter.
After Watson, who serves as co-Council liaison to ELIPOC, explained she had interviewed Swedlow and she was a “great” candidate. She also talked about the anti-nepotism resolution Council passed and whether or not it was morally correct for people closely connected to members of Council to serve on commissions.
Brookover gave three reasons why he was comfortable with the appointment. First, Watson had interviewed Swedlow and saw her as a worthy candidate. Second, the city commission’s are unpaid positions and the nepotism resolution addresses paid positions. Finally, Brookover said it would be “inappropriate” to disqualify people from commission positions just because their domestic partners have close ties to the city.
“I think it was very correct for you to bring it to us,” Brookover said to Watson. “But I think in this circumstance, I think that it’s entirely justified and proper [to appoint Swedlow].”
“Ditto,” Meadows said after Brookover laid out his reasoning.
Council voted 4-0 in favor of Swedlow’s appointment, with Altmann recusing himself from the vote.
Swedlow’s application shows she has a juris doctorate from City University of New York Law School and 30 years of experience as an attorney, including experience in criminal defense.
“I recognize the need for policing, and I think every system should be evaluated for improvement,” Swedlow wrote in her application. “I want to be part of a transparent process that helps to make East Lansing better for both its residents and those who visit our community.”
Next week’s City Council meeting is canceled.
Council voted to cancel next week’s discussion-only meeting, as it falls on the one-year anniversary of the Michigan State University mass shooting.
City Manager Robert Belleman said canceling the meeting will commemorate the tragedy and also allow the Hannah Community Center to be used to support students and residents. He also said Council should look at possible Fridays and Saturdays in February to conclude the city’s strategic planning process.
City Council’s next scheduled meeting is for 7 p.m. Feb. 20 at its regular location in the Hannah Community Center. ELi will keep an eye on the calendar to see if a meeting is added to conclude strategic planning.