Mayor George Brookover during the Tuesday, Oct. 3, 2023, City Council meeting. In a couple recent occasions, Brookover has negotiated new, desired features to developments at city meetings. (Dylan Lees for ELi)

Pair of Developments are Approved by Council

Two developers left the Tuesday, Aug. 13 City Council meeting happy, as council approved site plans for their projects. 

It wasn’t the first time the projects have been considered by council. Council approved the site plans for a new gas station on the corner of Abbot and Saginaw Road and a multi-tenant retail space on Lake Lansing road, both have previously had similar plans rejected by council. Developers took the feedback, earned the recommendation of the Planning Commission and came back to council with new pitches that were approved. 

Council approves gas station after more negotiating from Mayor George Brookover. 

In January, council rejected a proposal from American Gas & Oil to replace the Marathon gas station and convenience store on the corner of Saginaw Street and Abbot Road. In the 3-2 vote against, council members expressed displeasure with the design that made the gas station more visible from the road. 

A shot of the gas station and convenience store on the corner of Saginaw Street and Abbot Road. Council approved a proposal to demolish current structures and build a new gas station and convenience store on the site. (Julie Seraphinoff for ELi)

At the January meeting, Mayor George Brookover convinced a different developer to add an electric vehicle charger to its site plan. He tried to convince American Gas & Oil to add an EV charger at that meeting, but could not get a commitment before eventually voting against the plan. The new proposal includes an EV charger. 

Additionally, American Gas & Oil included a wall to better hide the gas station, meeting council’s biggest request. But Brookover wasn’t done negotiating. At the Aug. 13 meeting he received a commitment from owners to add six large trees to the site, instead of the four that were initially proposed. 

“I’m pretty sure [Councilmember] Dr. Altmann and I would prefer to see a forest there,” Brookover joked. 

In response to a question from Brookover, Environmental Sustainability and Resiliency Manager Cliff Walls explained that adding the tree requirement means the city can protect trees on the site in perpetuity. 

Councilmember Dana Watson, who supported the proposal in January, said she hopes the city isn’t too difficult for developers to work with. She said this is an important gas station because of its convenient location. 

Councilmember Dana Watson at the April 23 budget work session. (Dylan Lees for ELi)

“I’m excited that we’ve landed at a better place,” she said. “I just hope that other communities, or whoever our competition is, is as difficult around the trees as we are.”

Council voted unanimously in favor of the project. 

Retail space on Lake Lansing Road approved, but without drive thru. 

The second project approved was a multi-tenant retail and restaurant space on Lake Lansing Road, just before Arbor Glen Drive. In June, council voted 3-2 against a site plan because of concerns that a drive thru included in the proposal would cause traffic problems. The approved proposal does not include a drive thru. 

The new proposal was recommended unanimously by the Planning Commission. 

An arial view of the space where the multi-tenant retail and restaurant space was approved to be developed. (From agenda packet)

There is no tenant mapped out to operate the restaurant space. Previously, council was concerned a popular fast food chain could fill the space and cause cars to spill into the road, impacting traffic. Without the drive thru, council approved the site plan at the Aug. 13 meeting. 

This doesn’t mean the owners won’t be able to convince council to allow a drive thru later on, likely once a tenant is determined for the space. Principal Planner Landon Bartley explained that the layout would only require small changes to accommodate a drive thru. The addition would still require a special use permit, and need to be reviewed by council and the Planning Commission.

At the June meeting, the property owners explained that a drive thru is a critical part of any fast food restaurant because of the amount of customers that prefer to be served at the window. Additionally, some council members acknowledged at that meeting that there is demand for fast food in that area. 

Along with the restaurant that figures to operate in the space, there is room for two or three other businesses. One of the spaces will be filled by Puff Puff Tobacco, who made the proposal and is the building owner. It is unclear who the other occupants will be. 

The proposal passed 4-1, with Altmann voting against. 

He disagreed with the site including pavement for a drive thru and trees being removed from the site. He worried these factors would hurt the city’s ability to manage stormwater, as East Lansing has already experienced widespread flooding twice this summer. 

“They could have left more permeable space, they could have left more existing mature trees to help deal with stormwater management and carbon offsets,” Altmann said. 

Developers have defended the decision to remove trees by saying there are not “valuable” trees being cut down. At previous meetings, representatives for the developers said an arborist examined the site and determined trees being removed are non-native or short-lived native species.