Rental restriction district hearings could be held soon

Two East Lansing neighborhoods north of Saginaw Street soon could restrict new rental units.

The East Lansing City Council will vote whether to approve public hearings for the addition of three rental restriction overlay districts at its 7:30 p.m. meeting tonight at City Hall, 410 Abbot Road. The districts would prevent any homeowner inside the district from applying for a rental license, but would allow existing rentalproperties to remain as rentals.

The Whitehills Neighborhood, which spans north from Saginaw Street to Lake Lansing Road and east from Abbot Road to Hagadorn Road, and the Pinecrest Neighborhood, which spans north from Woodingham Drive to Lake Lansing Road and east from Coolidge Road to Harrison Road, are the proposed sites for the three new overlay districts. The Whitehills Neighborhood includes two of the three proposed districts.

Currently, there are 12 neighborhoods in East Lansing with overlay districts, Director of Code Enforcement and Neighborhood Conservation Howard Asch said.

If council approves the public hearings, they will be scheduled for Dec. 1, Councilmember Nathan Triplett said.

Neighborhoods can request rental restriction overlay districts by petitioning for them.

Triplett said he is supportive of overlay districts if members of the neighborhoods are in favor of them, but does have concerns.

“I do have some concerns about the long-term impacts (of overlay districts) and if they provide flexibility to housing,” he said.

Fred Bauries, a landlord in East Lansing, said many landlords have been in favor of the districts because they have reduced competition in the areas. However, he said he didn’t believe any of the neighborhoods north of Saginaw Street, which primarily are composed of permanent residents, would need to enact special districts to stop student rentals.

“I, for one, never imagined any neighborhood north of Saginaw Street would be fearful of rentals,” he said.

Accounting junior Dan Schultz said where student renters want to live should be their choice.

“If they want to live out there they should (be able to),” he said.

Matt Hagan, an agent with Hagan Reality Inc., said usually landlords renting out homes already have obtained the properties they want to rent out, so the addition of overlay districts should not have a huge impact on the city.

“There are not that many places in East Lansing that
we would be looking to buy that are not already licensed,” he said.

Political science senior McKenzie Dickens said although he does not live past Saginaw Street and never has considered it, he felt it was unfair to limit the number of properties that can be rented out.

“It sounds like there’s a bias against students, who are the primary renters,” he said.