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WKAR s Sarah Lehr reports on a new policy regarding disorderly conduct charges in East Lansing.
It instructs the city attorney to consider the underlying behavior of the people involved and whether police could have used a different approach.
According to the policy, the city attorney should not file disorderly conduct charges and dismiss ones already filed if doing so is in the interest of “justice and fairness.”
East Lansing Mayor Aaron Stephens says disorderly conduct can be defined in an overbroad way, leaving room for racial bias in enforcement.
“It’s basically like this catch-all for a lot of different things,” he said. “It s where you re going to find intoxication in public. It’s where you re going to find resisting arrest. It s where you re going to find having an altercation that doesn t amount to, you know, a felony assault.”
EL City Council discusses police oversight report, expects Tuesday vote
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End of short-term rental ban sought
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EAST LANSING East Lansing officials are raising concerns as a debate over short-term rentals resurfaces in the Michigan Legislature.
Bills moving through the House and Senate would stop local governments from using zoning to ban or restrict vacation rentals, like the ones available through Airbnb or Vrbo.
East Lasing has 21 overlay districts where rentals, including short-term rentals, at single-family homes are prohibited or restricted. But if House Bill 4722 or Senate Bill 446 becomes law, vacation rentals would become legal in those districts.
The bills define short-term rentals as residential housing available for a term of no more than 30 consecutive days. East Lansing Mayor Aaron Stephens said he s worried about people treating the vacation rentals like a month-to-month lease by continuing to rent in 30-day chunks.
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EAST LANSING East Lansing plans to spend some of the money it gets from a marijuana tax to treat substance abuse.
Michigan has a 10% excise tax on recreational cannabis sales and 15% of that revenue goes to municipalities where cannabis stores are located. Last fiscal year, East Lansing collected $28,000 from the tax, but revenue is likely to grow as more retailers open.
A resolution approved by City Council Tuesday night would distribute the first $14,000 collected from the tax in 2021 to fund substance abuse treatment for people convicted of drug offenses in 54B District Court.
The first $14,000 is intended to go to people who aren t eligible to participate in 54B s drug treatment court, a specialized docket that aims to break the cycle of addiction with court-supervised testing and treatment.