After lengthy discussions and a deluge of public comment, city leaders in East Lansing say more time is needed to review language in a proposed city ordinance amendment that would ban loitering in parking areas and public camping.
The proposal would make it a civil infraction to loiter in public parking lots or structures, while making camping in any public space in East Lansing punishable by up to 30 days of incarceration and a $200 fine.
The unhoused community in East Lansing has been the central subject in the city’s consideration on the policy, with some members of the community calling for a crackdown on the presence of unhoused individuals in the area while others in the city decry the bans, saying they would essentially criminalize poverty…