The hotly contested East Village Master Plan is a small-scale project compared to another master plan placed on the East Lansing Planning Commission's plate this week.

On Wednesday, Councilmember Kevin Beard presented the commission with a draft of the city's comprehensive plan — a broad outline of the city landscape and goals for improvement that, if adopted, will guide development decisions in the coming years.

The plan, which divides East Lansing into eight geographical zones, is the result of almost four years of work by the Comprehensive Plan Team, headed by Beard during his time as commission chairman.

A higher-density, urbanized downtown and an attempt to decrease residents' reliance on driving are two focuses Beard named out of a plan that includes dozens of objectives that range from umbrella goals to specific projects.

More detailed outlines such as the East Village Master Plan would fold naturally into the comprehensive plan, officials say.

Catering to an aging population, providing appropriate housing for students and attracting more young professionals to the city are issues that need to be addressed, Beard said.

The city lacks the types of low-maintenance condominiums and lofts that appeal to retirees and the non-student rentals that attract young professionals, he said.

In addition, the rental housing available to students downtown isn't competitive with options offered in the Northern Tier, he said.

There is no guarantee that projects in the plan will be implemented, but their inclusion makes them more likely to be addressed in some manner, said Bob Owen, the city's planning and zoning administrator.

"The comprehensive plan becomes guiding principles for development in the community," Mayor Sam Singh said. "I don't think it changes the landscape dramatically, but what it does is really fine tune what we want to see in those areas."

State law has required cities have such plans since 1931. The law encourages cities to revisit those plans frequently — but East Lansing hasn't written a new plan since 1982.

"What you often find is over time, unless the plans are kind of rigorously updated, in certain areas you're going to start getting some detachment," Owen said.

Many aspects of the plan currently on the books have been revised and updated over the years, Owen said, but a new plan has been overdue.

"There was definitely a strong feeling that we had outgrown our current comprehensive plan," Singh said.

Most of the goals outlined in the 1982 plan have already been accomplished, Beard said, and are no longer in line with the city's philosophy.

A recent amendment to the state planning law allows the City Council to give final approval on the plan. But Singh said the council doesn't intend to exercise that oversight unless the comprehensive plan becomes an issue of contention in the commission.

State law requires that the plan be distributed to nearby communities, such as Lansing and Delta Township, to give them an opportunity to review the plan and make suggestions.

"We basically sit on our thumbs for 90 days waiting for responses," Owen said.

When the responses are received, the commission will begin its formal review — Beard guessed the plan could reach a vote by June.

"It's a long way from a finalized form," Owen said, adding that he expects commissioners will want to have further discussion on some details of the plan and will invariably find parts they disagree with.

"That's part and parcel of bringing everyone to the table like this," he said.