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Planning Commission sets July 23 public hearing on comprehensive plan update after incorporating public comments
Summary
The commission scheduled a public hearing on July 23 to consider an updated city comprehensive plan. Commissioners and staff discussed public comments emphasizing social equity, pedestrian and bicycle improvements, form-based code, and parking.
The East Lansing Planning Commission set a public hearing for July 23 to consider the city's draft comprehensive plan update, moving the update toward a fall adoption timeline and allowing staff time to incorporate new public comments.
Landon Bartley, Planning Department staff, reviewed the timeline and said staff intends to return the draft to the commission on July 9 with edits based on the comments received. "I'd like for you to schedule that public hearing on July 23," Bartley said. He explained the calendar rationale: City Council meets July 15 and August 12, so scheduling the planning commission hearing July 23 allows council to review the draft in their July meeting cycle.
Commissioners and members of the public raised several recurring themes in the comment record that staff said would be addressed in the next draft, including a clearer social-equity framing (references to historic redlining and its legacy), stronger language for pedestrian and bicycle facilities (including suggestions for protected bike lanes and complete-streets language), questions about form-based code provisions, and references to declining community amenities such as the Albert Alfresco. Commissioner Reynolds and others urged explicit historical context about equity and redlining be added; Bartley said staff is coordinating with the city DEI office and could incorporate a concise historical/contextual section or paragraph.
Commissioner Denault moved to schedule the public hearing for July 23; Commissioner Putz seconded. The motion carried unanimously. Bartley asked commissioners to submit any further suggested edits to staff as soon as possible to allow incorporation before the July 9 packet distribution.
Next steps: Staff will prepare a revised draft incorporating prioritized comments for the July 9 meeting packet, schedule the public hearing on July 23, and transmit the public-hearing record and any commission action to City Council per the standard timetable.
