Last week, IBM and MSU announced a partnership for a computer programming center that would bring hundreds of jobs to the area during the next year.

“Our goal is to kind of set this up specifically for IBM at that location,” said Tim Dempsey, community and economic development administrator for East Lansing. “This is a tool we’ve used and will continue to use in the future for other locations.”

Council also deferred until its second February meeting an ordinance to rezone approximately 2.1 acres of land at Lake Lansing and Abbot roads for future development.

The area is currently a vacant lot but has been examined by retailers in the past, said Darcy Schmitt, East Lansing’s planning and zoning administrator.

The lot has continued to see more traffic since it was last considered for retail use, Schmitt said.

“Basically there are no new developments looking at the site, but we’re hoping to make it look more enticing to future developers,” she said.

Council also amended and approved the rezoning of the Delta Triangle area of Louis Street, Michigan Avenue, Delta Street and Elm Place.

Four of the addresses in the triangle were removed from the ordinance after the council deemed too much acreage was included in the plan.

The land is currently occupied by several fraternity and sorority houses.

Aging buildings and the potential to build more multiple-family and multiple-student homes led to the creation of the ordinance, Schmitt said last week.

When weighing the implications of rezoning ordinances, Schmitt said city administrators often consult the city’s master plan.

The master plan is a document that takes information from the census and information regarding the city’s direction to develop a plan for what the city will look like in roughly 20 years.

“We spend weeks looking at the master plan,” Schmitt said. “The master plan is a document that’s put together by the entire city, and we try to consider lots of city particulars.”

Michigan law requires the city to update the plan every five years, and the plan must project up to 20 years, Schmitt said.

“We look at what plans we need to take to make sure we are where East Lansing wants to be 25 or 50 years down the road,” Councilmember Nathan Triplett said.