Local fraternity application for expansion might pass

The East Lansing City Council discussed an amendment to an ordinance at its Tuesday night work session that has stood in the way of a local fraternity’s expansion application, possibly clearing the way for the application to be approved at a later date after months of uncertainty. Members of FarmHouse Fraternity, 151 Bogue St., previously submitted an expansion application that was brought before council last week with plans to add space for 16 more bedrooms. The application ran into conflict with zoning regulations for the East Village redevelopment project, a vision that officials hoped would eventually stimulate the city’s economic growth through retail. The project was put on hold in the fall of 2009 because of economic struggles. Project zoning requirements mandate that buildings set aside 50 percent retail space on the first floor, but the fraternity’s application only set aside 25 percent of first-floor retail space, meaning it did not meet standards for approval, Planning and Zoning Administrator Darcy Schmitt said.