EAST LANSING — East Lansing's growth spurt might not be over.
The East Lansing City Council approved an ordinance last week on a 3-2 vote that allows for an additional 20 feet of height on some buildings along Grand River Avenue.
The decision bumped height limits in parts of downtown to 160 feet, about 14 stories. That means future developments could be two stories taller than the tallest building currently under construction downtown.
“I’m comfortable with 160 feet because I'm comfortable with 140 feet," East Lansing Mayor Mark Meadows said.
The ordinance makes downtown more flexible for future growth, he said.
The new rules follow a flurry of new development downtown. The council has approved three high-rise apartment projects since October of 2017, all of them along Grand River Avenue. All told, they'll add 930 apartments and 867 parking spaces to downtown East Lansing.
Meadows said the development underway has already enticed people to look into buying property downtown, although he said he's not aware of any specific development proposals in the works.
“The value of that extra two stories is what makes the difference in purchasing a property for a higher value," he said.
The new rules apply to the four blocks east of Abbot Road and west of Bailey Street in between Albert Avenue and Grand River Avenue.
The bumped-up height restrictions were meet with criticism from some quarters.
David Ledebuhr, who owns the building containing the now-closed Menna's Joint and Black Cat Bistro wrote to the City Council to express concern about the proposal.
"By only placing the Grand River frontage and Albert frontage facing north, you are creating a Tall (sic) wall with no depth," he wrote.
The original ordinance also included the areas adjacent to the Peoples Church. About 30 members of the church protested the increased height proposal at the board's April 9 meeting. Many cited parking issues and the ordinance's divergence from the master plan the city approved last year.
The master plan recommends that buildings in the area adjacent to the church be a maximum of 10 stories.
"(This ordinance) is the wrong thing at the wrong time," said George Brookover, the church's attorney. "And the community has invested tons of effort into the master plan, the comprehensive plan to make these decisions."
Meadows said the height restrictions in the master plan weren't in line with the projects the city had already approved for parts of downtown.
He also amended the ordinance so that it no longer includes the area adjacent to the church and the land at the corner of Abbot and Grand River intended for the Park District project, a 10-story hotel and 11-story apartment building.
Meadows said he expects a mix of buildings to make up East Lansing's downtown.
“You’re always going to have low-rise and high-rise buildings in an area," he said. "This isn’t New York City. You’re not going to all of a sudden see Grand River turn into a bunch of 14-story buildings."
And a more dense downtown is good for businesses, Meadows said. More residents living downtown will bring in additional foot traffic, he said.
But density doesn't necessarily require height, said Christopher Zimmerman, vice president for economic development at Smart Growth America, an urban planning and development non-profit based in Washington D.C.
Rather, density depends more on the way space is used, he said.
Zimmerman said height also isn't the most important factor for cities to consider when looking at new developments. The important thing is that streetscapes are designed to be welcoming for people walk on. People shouldn't walk past loading docks and blank space.
An additional 20 feet of height on a building likely won't make a big difference, he said.
"My guess is most people wouldn't notice the difference between a 140-foot building and a 160-foot building," he said.
Still, tall buildings can become jarring if they're not designed well, said Lars Graebner, a professor of practice in architecture at the University of Michigan and principle of VolumeOne Design Studio in Detroit. A tall building is less intimidating if its footprint isn't large and architects use design tools such as setbacks.
“The height can sometimes be positive, but it can also sometimes be devastating depending on the facade and design," Graebner said.
The ordinance approved Tuesday originally came about in response to the proposed Park Place project on the current Dublin Square site in downtown.
The final version didn't include the properties.
Okemos-based Vlahakis Companies and Royal Properties of Champaign, Illinois, submitted plans to the city in December for two 14-story buildings near the corner of Abbot Road and Albert Avenue.
Together, the buildings would have 80 condominiums, 450 parking spaces, 410 market-rate apartments, a 34,000-square-foot movie theater, 24,000 square feet of office space and 25,000 square feet of retail space.
Some of the sites the developers plan to use are zoned B-3, which only allows for up to six stories. That prompted the need for increased height restrictions.
But Meadows said Tuesday night that residents shouldn't expect Dublin Square to be torn down anytime soon.
“Not everything works out the way you hope in the beginning," he said .
Developer Paul Vlahakis did not return calls seeking comment last week.
Vlahakis previously told the State Journal that the additional height was key in marketing the condos at the top of one of the buildings.
East Lansing City Council Member Shanna Draheim voted no on the proposal. She said she's not opposed to taller buildings downtown but that the ordinance felt rushed. She said she wanted to wait on the issue to get more feedback from residents.
“We all want a movie theater downtown," she said. "But I also care about the way things look."
Kathleen Boyle, vice chair of the planning commission and a former East Lansing City Council member, said the city needs to slow down and wait and see the response to the developments currently under construction.
She also said she didn't like that the ordinance came about because of the Park Place proposal.