Although the modification allows the option for more residential units, another option provides that the units can change back to office or retail, offering more flexibility, said Darcy Schmitt, planning and zoning administrator for East Lansing.

Two rezoned parcels of land, located on Lake Lansing Road, were annexed from Meridian Township in 2006.

“Essentially under state law, we have to provide a zoning for it once it’s annexed,” said Tim Schmitt, a community development analyst for East Lansing. “One of the properties is a church, and I don’t think there’s any anticipation it will be anything else, and the other is vacant land, being rezoned for commercial use.”

The council also passed an ordinance to allow hotels in its restricted office business district.

“I think the only area where this might have some application might be in the Northern Tier in the city, based on some of the recent applications,” Councilmember Roger Peters said. “Especially along the expressway, it seems to be attractive to developers of hotels.”

There have been several proposed hotels near downtown East Lansing in the past couple of months, but this isn’t a long-term explosion, Tim Schmitt said.

“What it’s telling us is that we were underserved as a market for a while,” he said. “There’s a need in the market, but it’s being met.”

Although there was a public hearing on each of these four issues, no residents spoke in opposition at the meeting.

“It really depends on the rezoning,” Tim Schmitt said. “Some we get a ton of comment on, and some we don’t get any — it really depends on the neighbors and whether they have a strong opinion on it.”