How They Voted - City Council Meeting 6/2/14

Wow, this week is only half over and so much has happened. The Monday night Council meeting certainly was lively and we had a full agenda. Here's a quick recap.

Alcohol sales at the Hope Soccer Complex

An Ordinance of the City of Lansing, Michigan, to Amend Chapter 608, Section 4, of the Lansing Codified Ordinances by allowing for the sale of alcoholic beverages within Groesbeck Golf Course and Hope Soccer Complex, subject to ordinance requirements was voted upon.

The ordinance passed with a vote of 7-1, with Councilmember Carol Wood being the no vote.  Although I did not vote as she did, I certainly respect and understand her position.  I spent quite some time pondering this issue.  I could really see both sides to the issue.  Many people were concerned that this would negatively affect children and that people would be placing their children in their cars after consuming alcohol.  I listened to the concerns and weighed them.  Further, we had many people supporting the measure as this would enable the complex to be used for more tournaments and perhaps become a destination spot for many teams and tournaments.  Regardless of how I voted, someone was not going to be pleased.

I voted yes for the following reasons:  1) Only 33 percent of the activities that occur in the complex are children's activities.  The majority are for adults. 2) The alcohol will be restricted to a specific area and will not be allowed out of that area.  3) I considered other "family" venues that we have in the city, such as festivals, the Christo Rey Fiesta, Lugnuts games, Common Ground, Chuck E. Cheese, family reunions, bar-b-ques, etc.  These events also have alcohol.  I am just not convinced that people go to these events to get drunk and put their children in vehicles.  4) I believe that the owners and stakeholders of this business will ensure that no one is being served more than acceptable amounts of alcohol on their premises.  5)  I believe that most adults behave like adults.  If a parent or anyone else becomes belligerent or otherwise unruly, it is the job of the referee and other officials to ensure the individual behaves appropriately or is removed.

I weighed both sides of the issue, and I believe I made the correct decision.

Cooley Law School Stadium Project

The Development & Planning Committee met today to consider the following items:  1) The special land use (SLU) permit for a portion of the property north of the land where the Outfield Apartments will be built. The SLU will allow a surface parking lot to be built for the tenants of the complex.  2)  Rezoning of the property north of the stadium to Shiawassee Street from light industrial to G-1 Business, which would allow for mixed use.  The rezoning would be in alignment with the master plan and is the sensible zoning for that property.  3) An amendment to the Brownfield relating to the property.

All items were moved out of committee.  Council will vote on them Monday, June 9 at 7 p.m. at a special Council meeting.

--Jody