Lansing City Council voted 7–1 on Dec. 15 to adopt an ordinance allowing Pine Brook Manor, a 136-unit low-income apartment community at 3618 West Miller Road, to pay a service charge in lieu of property taxes for up to 20 years to finance about $13,000,000 in rehabilitation work.

Council Member Garza, who moved the substitute that reduced the original 32-year request to a 20-year pilot, said the change was made to align incentives with long-term affordability and oversight. The ordinance establishes an annual service charge equal to 6.6% of annual shelter rents beginning with tax year 2027 and conditions the exemption on continued compliance with low-income program reporting and affordability rules.

The substitute and ordinance followed public comment and a developer presentation. Aaron Thomas of Sander Communities told the council the company is under contract to buy the property, plans local management, and expects a resident-engagement process during the roughly one-year rehabilitation timeline. He said, according to his presentation to the council, “No resident will be displaced and resident rents will not change.”

Opponents in public comment questioned the length and generosity of pilot agreements and past enforcement of code compliance. Jody Washington argued the pilot would yield large developer profits and asked the council to oppose pilots that favor outside investors. In reply during the council debate, supporters including Council Member Hussain and Council Member Jackson said the revised 20-year term and developer-fee structure addressed prior concerns; Hussain said he would support the measure, noting the 20-year limit made the deal acceptable and enabled performance guarantees tied to phased developer fee disbursement.

Roll-call votes recorded by the clerk show Council Members Carter, Garza, Hussain, Jackson, Pellegrino, Spadafore and Brown voting yes and Council Member Cost voting no, producing a 7–1 margin for adoption. The council also approved immediate effect for the ordinance.

The ordinance cites the State Housing Development Authority Act of 1966 (Public Act 346 of 1966) as the enabling authority for service-charge pilots. The council record states the pilot supports roughly $13 million in capital upgrades such as plumbing, roofing, fixtures, flooring and parking repairs; council discussion referenced eight currently vacant units that will be used during renovations.

Next steps: the ordinance takes effect under the council’s immediate-effect motion, and city staff and the developer will follow reporting and compliance requirements; council members said they will monitor maintenance, inspections and resident protections going forward.