East Lansing holds public hearing on draft 2024–25 comprehensive plan update

East Lansing Planning Commission held a public hearing July 22 on the city's draft 2024'25 comprehensive plan update, with staff saying the document is essentially finished but that a few appendices, typographical corrections and visual edits remain.

The plan update centers social equity as an overarching lens and highlights housing, climate resilience and public health as priority areas, Principal Planner Landon Bartley told the commission before opening the hearing. Bartley said the city conducted extensive community engagement over the past year and a half and that the City Council affirmed the planning commission's authority to act as the final adopting body unless council chooses otherwise.

The public hearing drew one in-person speaker, Nicole Kiway Biber, who commended the plan's attention to climate resilience and urged that the city prioritize nature-based solutions such as pollinator habitat, composting and leaf-leaving education as near-term, implementable actions. "We need to take action," Biber said, asking the commission to pursue programs and partnerships already outlined in regional resources such as EGLE Catalyst Communities.

Commissioners praised staff and community participants for developing the draft. Several commissioners said the document reads as a substantive addendum to the 2018 plan and noted it includes implementation activities such as trainings for commissioners and engagement with other boards. Commissioners asked staff to add a formatted community engagement appendix and student engagement materials that had been referenced but not yet inserted in the draft packet.

Bartley told the commission the draft is a guidance document, not law, and remains changeable until formally adopted. He said staff will finalize minor typographical items, add the community engagement appendix and other addenda, and return to the commission for further review and a possible adoption vote at a future meeting. Commissioners discussed using off-camera or working-group time to consider implementation and next steps, including how the planning commission can advance specific actions in the plan.

The public hearing was opened and closed within the meeting; no adoption vote was taken. The commission left the draft open for amendment and signaled it intends to continue review and consider adoption in a future meeting.

The commission's next regular meeting is scheduled for August 13, when staff expects to present a more finalized draft with the appended engagement materials for further consideration.