Letter of Opposition of Current Nova Housing Initiative Site Selection to Protect our City Parks

On Sunday Dec 7th a coalition of residents representing multiple neighborhoods throughout Lansing came together to discuss the upcoming decision on Dec 18 to recommend one of 5 sites to be utilized for the Lansing Mod Pods under the Nova Housing Initiative. After discussion, the coalition is releasing this statement of concerns that highlight the problems of process that have brought a hopeful initiative to care for the unhoused at odds with current community expectations and goals. In particular, the decision by the HRCS to choose 4 parks with minimal community input is very problematic.

In review, the Nova Housing Initiative Board that includes the Mayor’s Neighborhood Advisory Board was brought together to make a decision to approve one of 5 sites for placement of the Mod Pods. The HRCS took 43 sites not on flood planes, and internally reviewed the suitability of the suggested sites. Out of those sites, 5 were presented to the board and the community at large. 4 of those sites are City Parks, and the 5th site is the old El-Shabazz.

This has put the community at large in almost unanimous opposition to the use of one of our city parks for placement of the Mod Pods, despite almost unanimous community approval to install the Mod Pods to help the unhoused in Lansing.

Our Demands:

The coalition is asking for the City Council and Mayor to pause the decision on the Nova Housing Initiative so that more direct community involvement can take place to refocus the placement of the Mod Pods to a site that is not at odds with the entire community.

First and Foremost, we are seeking a commitment from the Mayor and the City Council that NO City Parks will be used for placement of the Nova Housing Initiative.

Secondly, we are asking for the appropriate community stakeholders to be involved in this decision making process, including representatives of the Neighborhood Association Boards, the Parks Board, and Community Non-Profits who are to provide the “services and support” in areas under consideration, so that a site plan that is not at odds with the community at large can be devised.

Third, we are seeking the placement of the Mod Pods without needless delay in recognition of the dramatic need for transitional housing for Lansing’s unhoused community, and are calling on representatives of the unhoused be a part of the decision making processes going forward to ensure the rights and needs of the unhoused are respected to protect access for all in need. To be clear, we see the plan as presented in it’s current form as a non-starter with the community, destined for needless delays that will result in the harm of the unhoused that this program is meant to help.

Site Selection Process Issues:

Our coalition identified the following serious issues with the process thus far that has lead to the overwhelming opposition to the Nova Housing Initiative in it’s current form:

1.) Recent Park Millage: The Voters of Lansing approved a Renewal of the Park’s 5 Year Millage in August 2025 with 73% of the voters approving the renewal to keep funding the parks so they can be used, as community parks. Utilizing one of our city parks for the NOVA Housing Initiative is outside of the scope of what the voters approved in the election.

2.) The Parks Board was not involved in the process: While 4 parks we’re selected by the HRCS, there was no opportunity for review nor input by the Lansing Parks Board. This means that decisions we’re made without any regards for the current programming plans, nor historical suitability of the park sites from legacy issues. Some of these issues include:

• The current plans to bring the Ice Skating Rink in Debbie Stabenow Park (the Old Washington Park) back to full use as it’s intended purpose, an ice skating rink.

• Hunter Park is the site of a former City Dump that replaced the gravel pit. Before the site was converted into the park, it was capped off by an underground cement wall that surrounds the park, and because of this, the land was prohibited from being used for residential housing. This is at odds with the plan of having a campground license approved for the site to install the Mod Pods, as they will be serving as residential dwellings, not a temporary camping site, for the unhoused living there.

2 / 2 3.) The Process of Site Selection by the HRCS: Criticism of the site selection as problematic and flawed from the start due to the Arbitrary scoring legend used, the exclusion of non-park potential sites due to seemingly “political” reasons, and the teasing of potential sites #6 and #7 that was ultimately not released to the board for consideration.

• Arbitrary Scoring Legend with 0-5 with 0 being Not Feasible and 5 being Excellent. There is no grading standards to as how or why anyone would score the assessment questionnaire used to grade the potential sites with these arbitrary numbers, instead seemingly allowing the person filling out the questionnaire using non-standardized or approved judgment. This assessment and seemingly arbitrary scoring of metrics was called out by members of city advisory boards at the Dec 2nd Community Feedback Meeting at Foster Community Center.

• Exclusion of Non-Park potential sites due to seemingly “political” reasons: For reasons unknown, precisely because of the aforementioned Arbitrary Scoring Legend. Sites that are popular suggestions like The UofM Sparrow Parking Lot by St Lawrence, The old Eastern High School Campus site, and sites owned by the Land Bank, did not make the scoring cutoff in lieu of the much less popular 4 park sites listed.

• Unknown sites #6 and #7: The Nova Initiative Board was presented with the 5 initial sites (4 parks, and El-Shabazz) when they originally convened. The board was also informed of a Sixth and Seventh potential sites that we’re still under internal assessment to be released to the Board for consideration following their review. These sites #6 and #7 were not released to the Board, with no explanation.

4.) The overall process has members of the communities surrounding El-Shabazz and Debbie Stabenow Park (Washington Park) concerned that their community has been shoehorned into accepting placement of the Nova Housing Initiative. With the selection of 4 parks, El-Shabazz is the only non-park site under consideration. Coupling that with Debbie Stabenow Park being the highest scored site due to the arbitrary scoring legend used by the HRCS, the residents there are rightly skeptical that this effort was an attempt to put the community at odds with each other in order to place the Mod Pods with as little resistance as possible in defiance of the community’s will. Community members overall are asking how much is being earmarked for the budget to ensure this program is fully funded to be successful in the future.

• One member of that community stated at our meeting that if the Housing Initiative ultimately chooses a site in South Lansing, that it should be set up to be as successful as possible, a model for the rest of the country to emulate. The site selection process and results have done nothing to ensure success of the project, as there has been zero community outreach to those residents affected by this decision, and the success of the project and the effects on the surrounding community appear dim to say the least.

Request for Community Action:

We are calling upon all members of the community, private citizens, neighbors, and representatives of community organizations and non-profits, and city advisory boards and neighborhood associations to come together and sign onto this letter seeking a refocused site selection process of the Mod Pods that protects our parks from destruction, and proper community engagement to ensure the site selected is successful with minimal impact on the surrounding community.

Please sign on and send this letter to your appropriate City Council Members (per Ward and At-Large), the Mayor, and the HRCS to the following contacts.

Mayor Schor: lansing.mayor@lansingmi.gov City Council President Kost (1st Ward): ryan.kost@lansingmi.gov Council Member Garza (2nd Ward): jeremy.garza@lansingmi.gov Council Member Hussain (3rd Ward): adam.hussain@lansingmi.gov Council Member Jackson (4th Ward): briant.jackson@lansingmi.gov Council Member Spadafore (At Large): peter.spadafore@lansingmi.gov Council Member Brown (At Large): jeffrey.brown@lansingmi.gov Council Member Carter (At Large): tamera.carter@lansingmi.gov Council Member Pehlivanoglu (At Large): trini.pehlivanoglu@lansingmi.gov Human Resources and Community Services Dept (HRCS) has two email addresses collecting emails: HRCS.CommunityEvents@lansingmi.gov HRCSgeneral@lansingmi.gov

Thank you.