The East Lansing City Council continued its discussion on the future of East Grand River Avenue during a Tuesday work session.

Council members were given an update on a city study of possible aesthetic and safety improvements to the busy stretch of M-43 through East Lansing. The future of the five-lane road could include the addition of wide, grassy medians that would make East Grand River Avenue look more like the stretch through downtown.

At a 1999 public hearing, many East Lansing residents addressed safety concerns about the roadway, while representatives of businesses were worried about accessibility during and after construction. The council has no intention of beginning construction on the roadway in the near future.

“We’ll never build if we don’t start to look at it as a long-term project,” City Manager Ted Staton said.

City engineers and officials are continuing ongoing discussions and studies of the project. Aesthetics, safety and practicality will all be taken into consideration by the council before a final decision is made.

But construction on such a scale could be very costly to the city. Several businesses, including McDonald’s, 1024 E. Grand River Ave., would have to be relocated to accommodate a wider roadway.

“Something to put the fear of God in you - if you consider we spent $2 million to relocate businesses for the City Center project, we have to take into account a fast food restaurant that sells a million hamburgers a year,” Staton told the council.

In other business at the work session, council members discussed how city officials can most effectively crack down on landlords who are not maintaining safe property.

The issue came to the forefront of discussion last month when the tenants of a house on Grove Street came to officials for help. The house was being rented even though it had failed inspection and did not have a rental license.

City officials have since vowed to closely address the issue.

However, how to best deal with housing inspections is still under consideration. The city’s housing code enforcement department has requested additional staff, but council members remain unsure whether that would solve the problem.

“I think the council is concerned with staffing and enforcement - my concern is that if there was that one house being ripped off, how many more are there?” Councilmember Beverly Baten said. Baten was a vocal supporter of the Grove Street tenants in their dispute.

Suggestions included more extensive use of the parking and code enforcement units and gradually integrating more staff into the department.

Mayor Pro Tem Beth Schwarze recommended a change in the leniency shown to landlords and property owners instead of hiring more staff.

“I’d like to see us work smarter, not harder,” Schwarze said. “One warning and you’re out. I’m in favor of less paper being spit out.

“We make policy, but we need to make our policy really clear so everyone can use it.”

Jamie Gumbrecht can be reached at gumbrec1@msu.edu.