Full Notification

EAST LANSING, Mich. — At yesterday’s East Lansing City Council meeting, Council unanimously approved the adoption of Ordinance No. 1497 - an emergency ordinance requiring compliance with public health orders. 

Under the ordinance, any person who violates a public health order issued by the State of Michigan, the Ingham County Health Department or the Mid-Michigan District Health Department (including health officers and directors) could receive a municipal civil infraction, punishable by a fine of $500. The emergency ordinance goes into effect today, Jan. 29 and will remain in effect until it is amended or repealed through an ordinance adopted by the City Council. A similar, previous ordinance expired at the end of 2020. 

“This ordinance will provide our police officers with the continued ability to write tickets for violations of public health orders, including the current gathering limits that have been put into place for the health and safety of community members,” said East Lansing City Manager George Lahanas. “With a new, more contagious variant of COVID-19 detected in our state, it is more important than ever to be vigilant. That means continuing to wear a mask, practice safe physical distancing, avoid gatherings and practice regular hand washing.”

Community members are reminded of the following public health and emergency orders:

• Indoor gatherings are limited to no more than 10 people and two households.
• Outdoor gatherings are limited to no more than 10 people and three households in parts of East Lansing. The restricted area stretches from the northern edge of the MSU campus to Burcham Drive and is bounded by Harrison Road to the west and Hagadorn Road to the east, including properties adjacent to those streets. 
• Outdoor gatherings at residential venues throughout the remainder of the community are limited to no more than 25 people and three households.
• All persons participating in gatherings must wear a face mask over their mouth and nose, including gathering for the purpose of transportation and at businesses, offices, schools, organized events and more.
• Face masks are required within the boundaries of the East Lansing Downtown Development Authority, both inside businesses and in outdoor public spaces.

Additional details about these orders, including more information about outdoor gathering limits at non-residential venues and exclusions to the gathering limits listed above, can be found at www.michigan.gov/coronavirus, http://hd.ingham.org/ and https://www.mmdhd.org/covid-center/. Other public health orders can be viewed at these websites as well. It’s important to note that, as future public health orders are put into place, they can be enforced under the City’s emergency ordinance.

East Lansing community members are reminded that they can report non-emergency neighborhood complaints, including gathering limit violations, by calling the East Lansing Police Department’s non-emergency phone number at (517) 351-4220, Option 2. If a caller would like to remain anonymous, they can request that when speaking with the dispatcher.