LANSING, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – In Lansing, the path from tents to hotel rooms didn’t run through the City Council – it ran through a courtroom.
After months of dispute over a homeless encampment near Dietrich Park, the city and the property owner, JAJ Property LLC, reached a legal settlement. The deal, approved by Ingham County Judge Rosemarie Aquilina, requires the city to move people living at the encampment into temporary hotel housing. No council vote. No grand policy debate. Just a court-approved compromise.
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Under the agreement, residents had to vacate the camp by December 23 or face trespassing charges. In return, the city agreed to provide up to six weeks of hotel stays at the Causeway Bay Hotel on South Cedar Street.
The price tag (so far).
The city set aside up to $40,000 for the hotel placements, pulled from its Human Relations and Community Services budget – money typically used for emergency housing situations. That total could be lower depending on how many people actually stay the full six weeks. So far, about 38 homeless people had reportedly filled out forms to stay at the hotel.
How did it come to this?
The homeless encampment didn’t spring up overnight – it grew over years largely because the private property owner, JAJ Property LLC, did not actively remove people or enforce trespassing, allowing the camp to take root. During that time, according to a report from the Lansing State Journal, neighbors were getting frustrated with criminal activity and other issues which led to the city suing the property owner.
The dispute ended in a consent agreement: the city is covering hotel stays for displaced residents, while JAJ Property LLC is responsible for securing and cleaning the land, including removing debris and any remaining belongings left behind.
What’s notably missing? Any long-term plan beyond that short 6-week window. And no information on where the homeless will go after their cushy hotel stay.
Hotel today, then what?
City officials say the final goal is stability – warm beds, working bathrooms, and time for residents to connect with services. Advocates, however, are skeptical. Six weeks doesn’t magically produce affordable housing, and Lansing’s housing shortage isn’t exactly a secret.
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Once the hotel stays end, there’s no guarantee of permanent housing. The settlement doesn’t require the city to provide long-term placement, meaning many could end up right back where they started.
Non-profits and volunteers lend a hand.
Through all of this, non-profit organizations have been lending a hand with everything from transportation to giving the homeless pajamas and storage for their belongings.
A legal fix, not a policy solution.
And while the free pajamas and hotel rooms offer a short-term pause in the crisis, they don’t address the bigger question hovering over Lansing: what happens when the temporary solution expires? This wasn’t a sweeping homelessness strategy. It was a legal truce. The city wanted the encampment cleared. The property owner wanted their land back. The judge wanted a humane exit. The result? A temporary hotel stay and a ticking clock.
