East Lansing resident Irene Cahill marks one of the many maps Oct. 14, 2013, at the Bigger Picture Comprehensive Plan meeting at the Hannah Community Center. The group invited members of the community to listen to presentations and give their feedback about what is going on around East Lansing. Margaux Forster/The State News
Members of the East Lansing community had an opportunity to get a glimpse at the “bigger picture” of what’s to come Monday evening during an event geared at advancing city goals 20 years into the future.
Monday evening marked the beginning of the city’s Bigger Picture Plan and Design Week, which helped kick off the city’s public portion of its comprehensive plan. A comprehensive plan is a broad-based policy document for the physical, economic and social development of the city.
Almost 200 city officials, MSU students and permanent residents attended the kick-off. The evening began with a social hour, giving those in attendance a chance to mingle with city council members and members of the steering committees, or groups charged with turning the community’s goals into feasible realities.
Topics discussed included housing, education, civic participation and community development.
A handful of MSU students showed up for the event to bring forward their opinions on what should happen in East Lansing’s future.
“I really just hope that the public gets involved, that every voice is heard,” dietetics senior Emily Hazel said. “These things affect both MSU and East Lansing. I want to get involved, even if these changes take place a few years down the line.”
Trace Camacho, the assistant director of MSU’s Department of Student Life, said he hopes the comprehensive planning events would get MSU more involved with the city.
“I want to hear the voices of the residents and of the students,” he said. “Hopefully, the students and residents will become more engaged with the city of East Lansing.”
All of the various goals and aspirations discussed during the event will be woven into one final comprehensive plan document, a process that is scheduled to take around 18 months.
“The committees work on the goals, help refine them and turn them into a draft,” said Tim Dempsey, the city’s Planning, Building and Development director. “That draft is presented to the public, we gather their comments and the final draft goes to (the Planning Commission) and City Council.”
The event was open to multiple issues and aspects of the city, giving guests a chance to chime in on whatever was the most important to them.
“This is a shared vision of the future of East Lansing,” Mayor Pro Tem Nathan Triplett said. “We’re hoping to touch on something for everyone here.”
For more information on Bigger Picture Plan and Design Week, visit the city’s comprehensive plan website.
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