Overlay Districts, Bias All Broached at Eventful Meeting

It was an eventful night at the East Lansing City Council meeting Tuesday (Nov. 28), as more than 20 members of the community stepped forward to speak, mostly about overlay restrictions, deer and racial bias. 

Unlike most meetings, speakers did not attend to primarily discuss topics on the business agenda. Instead, most dedicated their time during public comment to talking about overlay restrictions, with many speakers opposing one proposed overlay in the Glencairn neighborhood. 

Additionally, community members used the public comment portion of the meeting to address racial bias they believed to be present in Council’s decision to elect Kerry Ebersole Singh mayor pro tem over Dana Watson in a 3-2 vote. 

A pair of East Lansing Independent Police Oversight Commissioners (ELIPOC) also spoke about members of the commission not appearing on the agenda after their reappointment was pushed back. Their reappointment was on the agenda at Council’s last meeting, Nov. 14, but it was pushed back along with several other appointments and reappointments. 

There was also a lengthy presentation about deer management that ELi will cover in an upcoming report. 

Communication around commission appointments draws confusion, raises concerns around bias. 

At the Nov. 14 Council meeting, there were 14 appointments and reappointments on the consent agenda. Newly elected Councilmember Mark Meadows motioned for those appointments and reappointments to be pushed to the Nov. 28 meeting to give Council time to discuss commission assignments. The agenda item to discuss Council liaison assignments was also postponed to Nov. 28. 

However, at the Tuesday (Nov. 28) meeting, there were 10 appointments on the agenda and no reappointments. Among the changes made was the absence of reappointments for ELIPOC Commissioners Kath Edsall and Robin Etchison. At the start of the meeting, Watson motioned to put those reappointments back on the agenda, along with the reappointment of Arts Commissioner Allie Siarto. The motion passed unanimously and the consent agenda was later approved, confirming the reappointments. 

During Council communications, Mayor George Brookover said the agenda decision was his alone. He explained to ELi in a phone call that the decision was “organizational” and new appointments were to be approved Tuesday while the ELIPOC commissioner reappointments would have been approved, along with other commission reappointments, at Council’s Dec. 5 meeting. 

East Lansing Communications Director Carrie Sampson also clarified to ELi that ELIPOC Chair Erick Williams, whose designation to ELIPOC expires this year, is among those being reappointed at the Dec. 5 meeting. Unlike Edsall and Etchison, Williams’ reappointment was not on the Nov. 14 agenda. 

While it appears the reappointment of the ELIPOC commissioners was never in jeopardy, the lack of communication surrounding the two-year-old commission raised concerns. A primary reason ELIPOC was formed is to help eliminate racial disparities that exist in East Lansing policing. 

ELIPOC Commissioner Ernest Conerly used public comment to share his concerns about how the commission is being treated. 

“As a member of the ELIPOC committee, I find myself standing here wrapping my brain around why I have to fight for the integrity of our commission when there are people who ran on the platform that we hate the police and that we don’t do this, just really painting our commission in a negative light,” Conerly said. “Which I believe further disrespects the work that [Council liaison] Dana Watson has done and the work that the commission has done. And the fact that we have to beg for reappointments of two of our most valuable members, Dr. Kath Edsall and Robin Etchison.”

Conerly said the process Council had followed made a “mockery” of the reappointments. 

Edsall also spoke during public comment. 

“When the agenda came out last Friday, I contacted my liaison counsel as well as my staff liaison to find out why [the appointments were left off] but neither of them had an answer,” Edsall said. “Finally, yesterday I was told it was a unilateral decision made by the mayor.”

Edsall continued to describe the work ELIPOC is doing and request more communication going forward. 

“We are volunteers who, for a variety of reasons, willingly give our time and our energy to improve policing in our city,” Edsall said. “This is a monstrous task, given the history of policing and the minimal support and power we hold.”

The vote to make Kerry Ebersole Singh mayor pro tem over Dana Watson draws criticism. 

At the Nov. 14 meeting, Council voted among themselves to make Singh mayor pro tem. The vote was 3-2, with the newly elected Singh, Altmann and Meadows voting for Singh. Brookover and Watson voted for Watson, who has been on Council since 2020. 

Along with support expressed by Edsall and Conerly, Watson drew support from Human Rights Commission (HRC) Chair Karen Hoene and former East Lansing Board of Education member Nell Kuhnmuench. 

Hoene urged Council to reconsider its choice to make Singh mayor pro tem. Hoene spoke about Watson’s years of service to the city. Watson served on the HRC and the city’s planning commission prior to being appointed to Council in 2020. In the 2021 Council election, she was the top vote getter. 

“During their campaigns, Erik Altmann and Mark Meadows ran on a platform focused on the importance of institutional knowledge,” Hoene said. “Dana Watson is the embodiment of institutional knowledge.”

“It is absolutely absurd, unbelievable and unconscionable that not only was Dana not elected mayor but that she was not even elected at the very least mayor pro tem,” Hoene added. “I have racked my brain for an explanation and the only thing I can come up with is that it is a manifestation of implicit bias at best and blatant racism at worst.”

Hoene said Singh thanked women in East Lansing for inspiring her to run before she “step[ped] on the neck of the only other woman on Council.” She urged Singh to step down and allow Watson to be elected mayor pro tem. 

Kuhnmuench said Singh has strong credentials to serve on Council, but said she has never served on a city board or commission. She said it was “disrespectful” to elevate Singh to the role and said implicit bias influenced the vote. She too asked Council to reconsider the decision and elect Watson to be mayor pro tem. 

Housing overlays draw plenty of attention and comments. 

Somewhat unexpectedly, city overlay restrictions became the focus of the night, as a dozen residents used the public comment portion of the meeting to address the topic. The overlays many speakers called too restrictive were not on the meeting agenda, but several residents spoke in opposition to adding a R-O-1 overlay in the Glencairn neighborhood and a petition that has been circulating that advocates for the switch. (Residential rental restriction overlay districts regulate rental use of “one-family dwellings.”)  Others said housing policies in general are too restrictive or not clear enough. 

Speakers gave many specific examples of things they believe are not allowed under some of the overlay restrictions. 

One speaker gave the example of not being able to rent his house to someone else while away on an extended work assignment or taking care of an ill parent. Another speaker told a story of allowing a friend struggling with addiction to stay with him for an extended period, which he said would not be allowed under single-family zoning. Several speakers mentioned caretakers for elderly residents or friends and extended family members would not be allowed to stay with ill East Lansing homeowners because of single-family zoning status in some areas. 

Carole Hetherington spoke in favor of the overlay. She said there are overlays all over East Lansing and she has not heard complaints about them. She said the overlay could protect against homes being used for purposes like Airbnb and rentals. She said letters explaining the overlay were given to residents before being asked to sign the petition. (One speaker said people had signed the petition not understanding what it meant and later had to sign a retraction.)

ELi is working to bring a separate report that will investigate the potential overlay changes in the Glencairn neighborhood and what is and is not allowed under overlay restrictions that impact residential areas. 

Marie Wicks to remain East Lansing City Clerk. 

After rejoining the city ranks earlier this year as interim city clerk, City Manager Robert Belleman announced that Marie Wicks will drop the interim tag and remain the city clerk going forward. 

Did you know that East Lansing is the only municipality in our region with the kind of independent coverage of local government that ELi provides? If you value this nonprofit news service, please consider making a tax-deductible contribution TODAY.  Learn more about our Annual Campaign here, and find all your donation options here. Got a question? Write to us.