East Lansing residents face decisions on EV charging rules, a Stoll Road rezoning and a street tree removal appeal when City Council opens three public hearings Tuesday, Aug. 11, at 6:30 p.m.
The hearings take place at the Hannah Community Center, 819 Abbot Road. Residents can also join via Zoom; access details are available at cityofeastlansing.civicweb.net/Portal.
Ordinance 1575: EV charging, parking, bees and chickens
The broadest item on the docket is Ordinance 1575, which would amend the city's zoning code and Chapter 4 of the City Code. The changes touch electric vehicle charging station requirements, parking ratios for cars and bicycles, landscaping and green space standards, and rules for keeping bees and chickens.
Some of the proposed amendments grew out of the city's Green Study Committee, according to city records. Planning and Zoning Principal Planner Landon Bartley presented the ordinance to the Commission on the Environment on Monday, May 18, where that body formed an ad hoc committee to study beekeeping and fowl-keeping best practices.
Ordinance 1570: Stoll Road rezoning
Council will also hear public comment on Ordinance 1570, which would rezone 3859 Stoll Road from B4 (Restricted Office Business). The public hearing notice lists both B2 (Retail Sales Business) and R1 (Low-Density Single-Family Residential) as possible outcomes, noting the final zoning "may ultimately be a district other than the originally proposed B2."
Both the Commission on the Environment and the Planning Commission unanimously recommended R1 at their May 2026 meetings. The rezoning is part of a larger cleanup of roughly 40 properties north of Lake Lansing Road, west of Chandler Road and east of US-127 that still carry DeWitt Township zoning from a 425 transfer about 25 years ago.
"The city had a request to rezone 2900 Coleman Road. It did not make sense to rezone that one property without rezoning all of them at the same time," Bartley said at the Planning Commission's Wednesday, May 27 meeting.
Street tree removal appeal: 528 M.A.C. Avenue
The third hearing concerns an appeal of a street tree removal violation at 528 M.A.C. Avenue. The violation was issued for the unpermitted removal of four public street trees from the city right-of-way. The appeal was filed with the City Clerk's office on Friday, June 5, within the ten-day window allowed under the city code.
Council scheduled the hearing at its Tuesday, July 21 meeting. All three outcomes are on the table: council can affirm, affirm with conditions or reverse the City Engineer's decision.
How to participate
Written comments on the zoning ordinances can be sent to City Council, 410 Abbot Road, East Lansing, MI 48823, or emailed to [email protected]. Comments on the tree appeal go to City Clerk Emily Gordon at [email protected] or the same mailing address.
Staff reports for each hearing are posted at cityofeastlansing.civicweb.net/Portal. Gordon can be reached at 517-319-6891 for Zoom participation details.
