East Lansing city officials got a firsthand feel for what's going on in the city Monday evening when they took a bus tour through different neighborhoods.
Accompanied by presidents and representatives from each of the city's neighborhoods, East Lansing City Manager Ted Staton and Mayor Sam Singh fielded questions on topics ranging from the condition of the school system to what is being done to control the growth of student rentals.
"We are taking an opportunity to go through the community," Singh said. "We did this about 10 years ago. We are doing this to see what's going on in the different parts of our neighborhoods."
Striking a balance between student renters and permanent residents is necessary to ensure the economic vitality of East Lansing, Staton said.
By fostering development projects that cater to families with small children, the population of the East Lansing Public Schools can increase. Enrollment in the district has steadily declined for the past 20 years, and the schools of choice program is currently being used to offset some of the loss.
Projects in the Northern Tier, which houses the Chandler Crossings apartment complexes, among others, are being targeted at families, Staton said. Additions to the area include homes, townhomes, condominiums and upscale apartments.
The neighborhood presidents shouted questions at Staton and Singh throughout the tour, creating an open dialogue between the city and its residents.
Some were concerned about how student rentals were being regulated.
Staton said by restricting how many people can rent a home and filtering rentals out of certain areas, the city will begin to see a change in what types of people are living in neighborhoods.
The plan worked in the Southeast Marble neighborhood, which has seen an increase in families, said Terry Hunt, the neighborhood's president. The Southeast Marble neighborhood is bounded by Hagadorn Road, Burcham Drive, Timberlane Street and Cahill Drive.
Driving along the 600 block of Virginia Avenue, Staton said the city's current plans for the area, which call for the development of 39 new homes and condominiums, will benefit people looking to relocate into the city. The block's proximity to three schools makes it appealing to families, he added.
"Most, if not all, the properties will come into our hands," he said. "We will not use eminent domain."
Residents of the Red Cedar Neighborhood were concerned about what would be developed in the space where University Village once stood, as well as what the nearby Michigan State Police Post would be turned into.
Cynthia Craig, president of the neighborhood, which is bounded by Marigold Avenue, Harrison Avenue, Trowbridge Road and Interstate 94, said she was worried MSU would develop the post into a parking lot, making an already congested area even more hectic on football Saturdays.
Craig voiced similar concerns when the university first announced plans last fall to convert the University Village area into apartments geared toward undergraduates. The complex had traditionally been home to graduate students with families.
