East Lansing Approves Parking Lot Loitering Ban, Tosses Out Camping Ban Amid Public Outcry
A months-long saga that included many late night hours of public debate in East Lansing City Council meetings has come to a close as council members voted Tuesday to approve a ban on loitering in parking areas and reject a camping ban, proposals that have been contested by housing advocates who say the bans would harm homeless individuals.
The bans have gone through a few iterations since City Council began considering them late last year. As dozens of community members, including local housing researchers and housing advocates, have compelled City Council members to alter or toss out the bans, the governmental body took action Tuesday night.
The ban on loitering in parking structures council members approved Tuesday night outlines that a person can’t linger in city parking structures or lots for purposes other than utilizing the city’s parking facilities. Individuals who are alerted by law enforcement of the loitering ordinance and choose to ignore instructions could face a civil infraction, with a penalty of up to $100.
The loitering ban is intended to prevent crime and help people feel safer visiting downtown, not target unhoused people, East Lansing Police Chief Jennifer Brown told council Tuesday.
“The focal point of this change is to increase community safety by preventing large gatherings from occurring inside of the ramps and giving our officers the ability to move people along,” Brown said.
The concern is who is going to be told to “move along,” Michael Lynn, CEO of the Lansing Empowerment Network, a nonprofit community building organization said during public comment, prior to Brown’s comments. Lynn pointed at current and historical controversy over the East Lansing Police Department, as some from the community have decried racial disparities in the department’s use of force and the city currently faces lawsuits over an incident where police pepper-sprayed two young Black men.
“I’m always going to be concerned it’s going to be used disproportionately against us. I can’t tell you how many times, even as a grown man in East Lansing, I’ve been told to move along… Why do I need to move along?” Lynn said. “That question alone would get me locked up out here after you guys passed that ordinance so I just would just ask you guys to think twice on that.”
The ordinance since its conception has added clarification that those using structure as shelter during certain adverse weather events such as thunderstorms and tornados would not be subject to penalties.
The ban on loitering in parking areas was passed in a 3-2 vote, with Mayor Erik Altmann and Councilmembers Kerry Ebersole Singh and Steve Whelan voting in favor, and Councilmember Mark Meadows and Mayor Pro Tem Chuck Grigsby voting against.
The loitering ban was originally intertwined with a proposed camping ban which would have barred camping in public places in the city, setting up bedding materials or cooking tools, for the purpose of remaining. The bans were split up into two different ordinance proposals earlier this year.
Concerns over the proposed camping and loitering bans not only drew controversy in the local community throughout public meetings, the proposals drew attention at the state and national level. In January, the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan, the Michigan Coalition Against Homelessness and the National Homelessness Law Center wrote a letter warning East Lansing City Council members that the bans are not only harmful for unhoused neighbors, but ultimately represent unlawful policy threatening survival.
“Basic acts of survival should not be treated as crimes. There are a myriad of options for the city to employ that do not result in the criminalization of individuals experiencing homelessness for existing in public spaces,” the letter reads. “It’s also important to consider the principle of fairness. All of us may linger publicly. But for most, the consequence is a simple request to move, not legal penalties. Our unhoused neighbors deserve the same grace.”
More recently, city officials tried to pare down the camping ban to focus more on keeping individuals from blocking public events in the city, but ultimately City Council voted to scrap the proposed ordinance altogether Tuesday.
Council voted 4-1 to toss out the camping ordinance, with Altmann voting against.