Updates for the week:
- The latest version of
Park District in East Lansing is quickly making its way through the approval process. The current plans were unanimously recommended for approval by the city's planning commission on August 8. The developer is requesting approval for its site plan and a special land use permit at it's Tuesday meeting. We are also given overall height numbers for each, finally. The apartment high-rise will be 150 feet, the hotel will be 129.5 feet, and the low-rise apartment building will be 62 feet.
The special land use permit is because East Lansing's downtown development zoning district (B-3) actually isn't at flexible, by-right, as one would think. Each building is actually needs the special land use permit: The apartment high-rise because of the height it's requesting and because residential isn't a by-right primary use (has to be part of something), the hotel because of its height, and the low-rise building because of it's sole usage as residential and because any building that contains residential has to be 6 stories and this will only 4 stories.
- In Lansing, the city council is setting a public hearing on the brownfield plan for
Waypoint Dunckel, the four apartment buildings to rise at Dunckel and I-496, for August 27th. As fast as this is moving they are likely to make their schedule to start this one this fall. Parallel to that process, since they are developing this under the "planned residential development" overlay, they are requesting a special land use permit The city planning board decided whether to recommend this or not at their August 7 meeting, but the minutes aren't yet up for their decision. I imagined it passed. At that point, this would go through the council committee process, so it's about a step behind the brownfield plan approval.
- I'd forgotten about this one, but the Lansing Township board of trustees approved an amendment to a
PD (Planned Development) at Eastwood Town Center that includes a proposed Holiday Inn and a restaurant. The amendment took out the restaurant and added
another hotel. We find out that the planned
Holiday Inn will be 6 stories with 120 rooms, and the
boutique hotel will be 7 stories with 138 rooms and a conference center.
This one barely won approval (3-2) as some township trustees are worried about the area being "over-hoteled." The township clerk reminded them that it wasn't their role to judge the market, rather review whether the amendment met the townships rules, though that didn't seem to change the vote of those who opposed this.
- Lastly, on something mildly historic for this day an age, we find out in tonight's council meeting agenda that someone in Delta Township has
actually petitioned for annexation to the city of Lansing. This would have to be the first time this has happened in decades. The land to be annexed is almost 11 acres and includes a single residence on West Jolly Road and six buildings along the west side of Waverly Road north of Jolly. This area does not have a direct connect to Delta Township, as the Grand River cuts it off. It's never made sense in the township, anyway, and really everything north of Jolly and west of Waverly belongs in the city.
There is only one household on this land - which includes the petitioner, of course - but an election is still required. If the city approves the proposal for annexation, it gets put on the ballot for November in the city and in the township within the territory proposed for annexation. Oh, it would seem the commercial businesses along Waverly are included in this petition since an annexation is no longer allowed to create "islands" within another municipality. Since both the front and back property lines of this residential property abut the city, it'd do just that were it not to include the commercial properties.
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