Lansing Council approves 15-foot Consumers Energy easement near Fenner Nature Center and Evergreen Cemetery

Lansing City Council on Nov. 17 approved a Consumers Energy request for a 15-foot utility easement along the northern edge of Fenner Nature Center and Evergreen Cemetery to place a new 12-inch natural gas pipeline.

Council member Adam Hussain, who led the item out of committee, said the agreement includes protections requiring Consumers Energy to restore any disturbed easement areas "to its previous condition as reasonably practical" and commits $2,225 from the Evergreen portion of the easement to the cemetery enterprise fund. "There was quite a bit of work done at the committee level," Hussain said during the meeting, citing community input as a driver of the negotiated changes.

Residents and advocates urged the council to reject the corridor or seek stronger protections. Don Dean, who lives near Mount Hope, said the alignment places a permanent corridor beside sensitive land uses and that the $2,225 payment understates the value of mature canopy trees. "I am asking to reject this corridor and direct Consumers Energy to build the gas line elsewhere away from the northern edge of Fenner Nature Center and Evergreen Cemetery," Dean said during public comment.

Joanne Galloway and other speakers pressed the council for better tree valuation and greater transparency in contract documents. Loretta Stanway said the city secured a stipulation preventing Consumers from returning "in perpetuity" to alter the property without council approval and requested clearer documentation be included in the council packet.

City staff and the city attorney explained market practices for easement compensation and said standard industry rates are often applied for underground easements; the city forester and staff signaled comfort with the city’s negotiated tree compensation formula. When Council member Jackson opposed the measure on climate-policy grounds, arguing municipalities should not expand natural-gas infrastructure, the motion still moved forward.

A motion to approve the easement passed following the aye vote. The council also voted to refer implementation details and ongoing oversight to relevant staff and committees. The council did not adopt additional separate mitigation funding beyond the contractually negotiated deposit; details on future maintenance or larger mitigation packages were not specified at the meeting.

Next steps: Consumers Energy may proceed under the terms of the approved easement; any significant post-construction alterations within the easement are to return to council for approval per the negotiated language.