Planning and Zoning Administrator Darcy Schmitt said the East Lansing Planning Commission voted unanimously to approve the seven-bedroom apartment, and said a larger apartment seemed like an ideal use for the space.

Schmitt said previous concerns rose from not yet having found out from the community if multiple seven-bedroom apartment units will be sustainable types of developments for the city in the future.

“There wasn’t necessarily a huge concern for a seven-bedroom apartment,” Schmidt said. “There was more of a concern for multiple projects in the future proposing seven-bedroom units.”

The apartment, owned by Perry Investment Group, will be located at 547 E. Grand River Ave. above the former location of Wanderer’s Teahouse. It’s unclear when the apartment renovations will begin.

Steve Perry, co-owner of Perry Investment Group, said the space had previously been used as an apartment and said it’s not really suitable for business because it’s difficult to obtain access to the second floor.

“We inherited the building two years ago when our parents passed away,” Perry said. “My parents lived there when they used to run a business on the first floor… it was built as an apartment in 1946 and is still configured that way today.”

Perry said that he and his brothers have not concluded whether the property will have joint or individual leasing, but they are leaning toward having one lease for all seven tenants.

Also discussed during the meeting was a proposal from former state representative Lingg Brewer to build a five-story, mixed use building at 500 Albert Ave. and 122 Division St. containing eight apartments and some nonresidential space.

Schmidt said the proposed property has been before the council several times dating back to the late 1980s, and is a plan the East Lansing Planning Commission does not agree with.

“The applicant is proposing to construct a building on the vacant land between two existing buildings,” Schmidt said. “The planning commission has voted unanimously to deny this application based on the scale and incompatibility of the architecture.”

Longtime East Lansing resident Roy Saper requested during the hearing that the proposal be rejected, alleging the property is kept up “hillbilly style” with stacks of wood, discarded furniture, bicycle parts and other trash scattered about the property.

“The current plan does nothing to improve the slum appearance of the existing buildings,” Saper said. “Wouldn’t you agree that we can do better?”

Brewer spoke in his property’s defense, claiming that the location is well maintained. He even invited council members to come view the property.

“Regarding to Mr. Saper, I think I smell a rat,” Brewer said. “It wouldn’t take a genius to know that you’re not passing this tonight, but I would like to ask if you could have the decency, the political decency to have a discussion about what the council and the planning commission would pass.”

Councilmember Vic Loomis said he was uncomfortable with the planning commission’s findings supporting the denial of the project based on architecture alone and refused to vote on the issue, instead motioning to defer discussion of the project to the Sept. 10 work session.

“I shy away from commenting on architecture, architecture to me is in the eye of the beholder,” Loomis said. “Someone can look at a building a see some beauty in it, and someone else might not see that beauty, so I am really troubled with making a decision.”