Lansing, MI Zoning Overlays & Bonuses: Downtown Design Guide (2026)

02). 04 must design a pedestrian-oriented base, typically two to three stories, with one or more towers projecting from a portion of that base; the section notes this type is common for hotels, convention centers, hospitals, and other institutional or commercial buildings and is applicable to the City's most dense commercial districts, including the Downtown Core, as well as designated institutional districts. 01 require any building wider than 30 feet to break up blank walls with horizontal features, like belt courses, cornice lines, or canopies, and vertical features, like bays, columns, or window-pattern repetition, in segments no longer than 30 feet.

Window standards in the same section require ground-floor storefront glass to allow at least 90 percent light transmission and keep at least 80 percent of first-story window surface unobstructed to a depth of 12 feet, so shoppers can see into the building. 03 by submitting a site plan and a front elevation showing how the building relates to the rest of the block; the Administrator weighs whether the design still fits the Comprehensive Plan and the district's intent. Requests for relief from any standard not covered by that modification process go through the variance procedure in Chapter 1274, Board of Zoning Appeals.