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Commission postpones review of ordinance to restrict transfer of diverse-housing credits
Summary
Planning commissioners postponed consideration of proposed ordinance 15-46, which would prohibit transfer of diverse-housing credits for projects receiving local public funding, and asked staff to seek explanation from Councilmember Meadows about the ordinance's intent.
The East Lansing Planning Commission on May 14 voted to postpone consideration of proposed Ordinance 15-46, an amendment to section 50-94 of the zoning ordinance that would change how developers may transfer diverse-housing credits between projects.
Planning staff explained the amendment, proposed by Councilmember Meadows, would "prohibit transfer of credits between projects" for developments that receive local public funding. Staff said the ordinance aims to prevent a scenario in which excess affordable-unit credits are transferred from one site to another and the donor project is never built, effectively circumventing the 25% diverse-housing requirement. The presenter told commissioners he was not certain of every motive behind the proposal and that the staff had not observed any such circumvention since September 2023.
Commissioners asked several procedural and policy questions, including whether the city has enforcement mechanisms and whether the change would preclude otherwise viable developments that rely on credit transfers. Several commissioners said they would like to hear directly from Councilmember Meadows about the impetus for the change and requested more detail and context before taking action. Commissioner Putz moved to postpone the item until the next Planning Commission meeting so staff could obtain additional information from Councilmember Meadows; the motion was seconded by Commissioner Holberbee and carried by voice vote.
Staff noted a late written comment from a developer was added to the packet and that the letter expressed concerns about potential barriers to development. The transcript contains no council response or specific example of past transfers that produced the problem the ordinance seeks to fix.
Because the change in the draft ordinance would block transfers by ordinance, staff warned that any exception later would require a further ordinance amendment.
The commission's postponement leaves the existing rules in place until further discussion with the council sponsor and additional staff analysis.
