Mark Grebner walked his 13-year-old dog, Babs, on East Lansing streets — without a leash.

He trained her that way, after he found out East Lansing didn't have a law preventing it.

But now law requires the Ingham County Commissioner and East Lansing resident of 37 years to put his Babs on a leash.

Grebner was the only resident who spoke to the East Lansing City Council during a public hearing on Tuesday for the ordinance that requires dogs to be leashed in public places.

"East Lansing prohibits almost everything imaginable to prohibit, except to leash dogs in public," Grebner told the council, adding that a leash law would only affect about two other residents who walk their dogs without leashes. "This is the little tiny right that meets a small problem, so I think you have to weigh this carefully."

Council members unanimously approved the ordinance following the public hearing at their Tuesday meeting.

"I've seen dogs that aren't well-behaved in my neighborhood," Council member Bev Baten said at the meeting. "There certainly are people we've observed that aren't taking care of it."

Baten also referenced a personal experience, when an off-leash dog went after her grandson in downtown East Lansing.

"I see the need for it," she said.

Before approving the ordinance, the council amended it so dog owners can use electronic leashes without penalty.

"Everyone in town thought we had a leash law and behaved accordingly," Council member Kevin Beard said. "This is appropriate to put this on the record and deal with it."

Moving ahead

Revised plans for the Stonehouse Village development also were approved Tuesday.

The updated plans call for only one addition — Stonehouse III — to be built behind the first phase, which houses Taco Bell, off East Grand River Avenue and Bailey Street. Stonehouse II was cut from the project, because it wasn't granted an expected $2.3 million in state funding.

State officials previously said the money wasn't given because East Lansing's project wasn't comprehensive enough for that area of the downtown.

"We're a victim of the circumstances," City Manager Ted Staton said during Tuesday's meeting.

"Had this all been bundled — I think we could have made a case that this is really a transformational set of projects."

Kristen Daum can be reached at daumkris@msu.edu.