EAST LANSING, Mich — Late Tuesday night, East Lansing City Council decided not to adopt Ordinance 1566 after a months-long debate over how to handle homelessness in downtown.
- East Lansing City Council voted 4-1 against adopting Ordinance 1566, which would have changed city code around public spaces.
- The ordinance would have made interfering with city-sponsored or permitted events in public places a misdemeanor.
WATCH: EAST LANSING VOTES DOWN HOMELESSNESS ORDINANCE
The measure would've prohibited interference with city-sponsored or permitted events in public places. Violators would have faced a misdemeanor charge, and that's where some council members drew the line.
"If it was not a misdemeanor I'd probably be more receptive to it. But as it's worded right now I can't support it," said council member Mark Meadows.
Council member Steven Whelan echoed those reservations.
"We've been talking about this for three months. I'm not sure we've gotten to a place where we need to be with it," Whelan said.
The ordinance had been in the works since December 2025, going through multiple readings, amendments and community discussions including input from the ACLU of Michigan and the Michigan Coalition Against Homelessness.
Homeless advocate Shawn Brock, a leader of the Rent Is Too Damn High Homeless Union, opposed the ordinance entirely. Brock argued it failed to push for a housing-first approach and instead targeted people for simply existing in public.
"It just criminalizes people trying to rest. Even the way it's worded, you could even just sit down for a little bit because you've been walking around all day and they can come up to you and start asking questions," Brock said.
Not everyone agreed with the council's decision. The Downtown Management Board had written in support of the ordinance, saying it addressed what they described as increasingly unsafe and disruptive situations seen by downtown business owners in recent months.
Still Mayor Pro Temp Chuck Grisby framed the "no" vote as a call to do better.
"We have a responsibility to have solutions. I think that we can find a better path," Grisby said.
In other business Tuesday night, the council also passed a moratorium on data center construction in the city, halting new builds through September 17. The city attorney said the pause will give East Lansing time to explore ideas and draft a formal data center ordinance.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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