Grove Street Housing Proposal Back in Front of Council
A request from Hagan Realty to rezone three parcels on Grove Street to allow for the construction of a new housing project has made its way back to City Council after a similar request was rejected by the body in 2023.
The Hagans’ have not produced a final site plan yet, as the current request is just for the properties to be rezoned and a site plan would still need to be approved for a project to come to fruition. The conceptual plan for the project is for townhouse-style buildings with no more than 48 total bedrooms spread out across 14 units. The townhomes would include units with one, two and four bedrooms.

The new request is for fewer properties to be rezoned than the last–down to three parcels from seven. At the Tuesday, Jan. 7 City Council meeting there was a public hearing for the request. Council did not make a decision at the meeting. The rezoning request will come back at the Jan. 21 meeting, where it will likely be voted on. In November, the Planning Commission recommended the rezoning be granted.
The project, which would lie near the Grove Street and Ridge Road intersection, has drawn opposition from some residents who live in the area at previous meetings, and the most recent hearing was no different.
The most common concerns shared by residents were traffic issues that may coincide with adding a housing development, worsening flooding by paving over green space and increasing the density of people living in the area.

There were also a couple of residents who spoke in support of the project, citing the need for affordable housing in East Lansing and the Hagans’ reputation of being good landlords.
Principal Planner Landon Bartley explained that the issue of stormwater management may be addressed during the site plan review of the project, if rezoning is approved.
Bartley said stormwater may be considered when reviewing a rezoning request only if council deems that the type of structure allowed under the rezoning negatively impacts public services or facilities. Bartley warned that if this standard is applied, the city will need to be careful to apply the same standard in the future if a similar proposal is made.
Councilmember Erik Altmann indicated that he believes stormwater should be considered when a rezoning request is made.
“Intensity of use, broadly speaking, is a zoning question,” he said. “The reason we have zones is to limit intensity of use and stormwater, in my mind, falls clearly under intensity of use. I think shifting decisions about intensity of use and the opportunity to limit the intensity of use to the site plan stage, I don’t think is appropriate, I think it should be considered at the zoning stage.”

Matt Hagan of Hagan Realty said during the public hearing that they are aware that stormwater will need to be addressed.
He explained that there are tests that can be done to see actions that would successfully mitigate stormwater. However, the tests are expensive and the company is waiting until after the rezoning is approved to pay for them to be done.
“I have some ideas as to how I would like to deal with the water,” he said. “It just didn’t seem to make sense to take that next step until we get past this process.”
Brian Hagan also spoke at the meeting. He said Hagan Realty likes to have plenty of parking on site for residents and have proposed about 40 spaces for this project. However, having more green space to soak up water can reduce flooding, so he indicated the company would be willing to work with council on the number of spots during a site plan review.
Brian Hagan also said the housing would likely attract some students, but that he anticipates young professionals and small families living in the homes. He added that his company’s complexes are much more affordable than the high rise apartments downtown, often charging half as much or less for rent.
Council denies exception to Human Rights Commissioner hoping to stay on commission after moving outside city lines.
Council denied a request from the Human Rights Commission (HRC) to allow an unnamed commissioner to stay on the commission after they move to a neighboring jurisdiction.
A letter from HRC Chair Julie Walters said that the commissioner is moving to Lansing because of high housing costs in East Lansing. The departing commissioner was not named in the request or during the meeting.

The HRC, like most city commissions, only allows residents to serve on the board. However, some of the city commissions, including the Police Oversight Commission, Seniors’ Commission and the Downtown Development Authority allow non-residents. HRC members are unpaid volunteers.
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Director Elaine Hardy, who serves as liaison to the commission, said that since 2020 four HRC members have stepped away from the commission after moving out of East Lansing due to high housing costs.
Council did not vote on the matter, but three of the four present members, Altmann, Mayor George Brookover and Councilmember Mark Meadows, indicated they are against allowing the commissioner to stay on.
Brookover said there are specific reasons a few commissions allow non-residents on their boards and others don’t.
“I think our voters should be on our commissions,” Brookover said.
Meadows agreed, saying that the Police Oversight Commission allows non-residents because East Lansing police often interact with non-residents, and the Seniors’ commission allows two non-residents who participate in East Lansing’s Prime Time Seniors program. The DDA is made up of downtown business owners, some of which live outside the city.
Councilmember Dana Watson spoke in favor of allowing the commissioner to stay on. Watson, who served on the HRC before being appointed to City Council in 2020, said that replacing commissioners can hurt the body’s work, and the members moving to neighboring jurisdictions are still entrenched in the community.
“We’re talking about folks who are very active within the HRC and then they happen to move,” she said. “They’re still nearby, they’re still engaged.”