http://www.statenews.com After months of consideration, the East Lansing Planning Commission voted 7-2 Wednesday to forward a site plan proposal for the City Center II project to the East Lansing City Council. en-us Foundry4 Wed, 07 Jan 2009 14:57:56 -0500 Thu, 10 Apr 2008 12:08:00 -0400 webmaster@statenews.com http://www.statenews.com/index.php/comment/15067/view “We have to make citizens happy, we have to make the city happy and we have to make the banks happy,” McGraw said. “We don’t want this to turn into a dormitory.” In other words, we want to make everyone happy except the students. East Lansing is a desirable, culturally diverse environment because of the students. I think it’s time for the students to register to vote. Until that happens the city council is going to continue to erode what it is that makes East Lansing different from Okemos and Dewitt. President Simon also needs to take a public stand against the city government. Moving students 2-3 miles off campus into what will soon be sub-standard housing increases traffic, drunk driving and the overall desirability of coming to MSU. Thu, 10 Apr 2008 07:52:52 -0400 http://www.statenews.com/index.php/comment/15067/view http://www.statenews.com/index.php/comment/15076/view I trust and respect the writer of this piece, but I’d like to make it clear that I do not object to having student neighbors in City Center II; my family has chosen to live in a student neighborhood precisely because we enjoy the atmosphere and the “neighborhood” interactions with students who we see on a daily basis. My issue with the refusal to insist on two-year leases is that this has been presented and re-presented to us as a place to house many different demographics, including students, retirees, young married couples and families with children who would bring much-needed money into the East Lansing schools. I think its possible that a large project with only one-year leases will not bring that mix for a variety of reasons. There must be a number of students who would gladly sign a two-year lease in order to live in an upscale apartment close to campus? By the way, just as a point of fact, the City Council is not responsible for this proposal; the City Planning Staff and Strathmore Development are. City Council has not even been presented with the plans yet. Thu, 10 Apr 2008 08:48:06 -0400 http://www.statenews.com/index.php/comment/15076/view http://www.statenews.com/index.php/comment/15113/view “In other words, we want to make everyone happy except the students.” Yep. That’s why the neighborhood I grew up has turned into one trashed rental house after another…or worse, houses that used to be single-family are bought FOR students to trash by their parents. And that’s why there are so many family-friendly restaurants downtown, such as the multitude of burrito places and our local bar scene. I’d say that East Lansing has long catered to the students. I am a student now but I also grew up here, and it’s always been pretty obvious to me that the city is at the mercy of the 40,000 kids who show up every fall. I like the idea of housing in downtown that isn’t going to be used by students…maybe it’ll stay nicer a little longer. Thu, 10 Apr 2008 12:08:00 -0400 http://www.statenews.com/index.php/comment/15113/view