Lansing City officials spent the largest portion of their meeting debating whether utility companies should be eligible for longer-term transient vendor licenses, with Clearwave representatives asking to allow multi-month or annual licenses so company representatives can follow up with customers.

The discussion centered on complaints about door-to-door solicitors and different treatment for utilities such as AT&T versus smaller local providers. City staff said Clearwave has been cooperative in obtaining licenses and providing points of contact, while larger incumbents have at times failed to seek permits. Staff proposed making an exception for utilities but charging a higher fee to cover the additional administrative work and to update the ordinance to allow repeated visits outside the current limit on repeated stops.

Council members and staff debated practical questions: whether a longer license would cover only solicitation (door-to-door outreach) or also installations, whether appointments should be required for repeat visits within 30 days, and how police and code enforcement would be notified when vendors are operating in town. Several council members said they had received multiple resident emails urging that curbside recycling and solid-waste schedules not be disrupted by broader vendor-policy changes.

Council direction: the governing body asked staff to draft ordinance language and a fee schedule for a utility-specific transient-vendor license (for example, a six-month or annual permit) and return to the council with the proposed code changes. The council discussed notifying police and neighborhood contacts when licensed vendors will be in certain areas and noted the ordinance will need a carve-out or clear language to allow utilities to follow up with installed customers without violating the city’s prohibition on repeated stops.

The council did not take a formal vote on the policy itself; members asked staff to prepare draft wording and bring it back for a future meeting.

Ending: Staff said they will prepare a proposed subsection for the transient-vendor code to address utility companies’ operational needs, proposed fees, and enforcement notifications and return with the draft ordinance language for council consideration.