Members of the Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity, who are currently staying in a temporary house, are a step closer to being able to occupy the fraternity house they signed a lease for. The lease was supposed to begin Aug. 1.
The house, located at 1148 E. Grand River Ave., is owned by the Beta Tau Alumni Corp. and has been vacant since December 2006 and was deemed abandoned during that time.
A zoning problem occurred because the entire area around the house was rezoned when the city began plans for the East Village project, said Ron Springer, a community development analyst for East Lansing and staff resource to the Zoning Board of Appeals. When land is rezoned, buildings with existing uses do not have to conform to the new regulations, he said.
However, if the building ceases to be used for a period of more than one year, it becomes subject to the new zoning requirements.
The new code would require 50 percent of the first floor to be retail, Springer said.
The Beta Tau Alumni Corp. went to the East Lansing Zoning Board of Appeals over the decision of abandonment because they had been working on lease arrangements and repairing the house during its vacancy, said Eric Maniloff, house manager of Alpha Epsilon Pi.
The zoning board voted Wednesday that the house did not have to conform to the new zoning code, as long as the building complies with the code enforcement department and the fire marshal’s requirements by Oct. 31, Springer said.
“It was (the board’s) feeling that … it hadn’t ceased to be used, because they were working on the lease and working on things behind the scenes, even though the building (wasn’t) being used,” he said.
Scott Gordon, president of Alpha Epsilon Pi, said this was a huge step for the fraternity.
“It was kind of unexpected,” Maniloff said. “Frankly, we didn’t think the city was going to agree with that, so we were very happy.”
The zoning board originally heard this issue Aug. 5, but the issue was deferred because there were not enough members present to hold a vote.
The house did not go before the zoning board earlier because fraternity members were not able to move into the house when their lease began Aug. 1 as the renovations were not complete, Gordon said.
“While the zoning board doesn’t necessarily care what the house looks like, they gave us a contingency it would pass through the housing commission within two months,” he said.
The house will now go before the East Lansing Housing Commission, where members will vote whether to recommend the house to the East Lansing City Council. If recommended, the City Council will make the final decision.
James Rasor, attorney for Beta Tau Alumni Corporation, said he could not comment on how the corporation will prepare the house.
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