HomeMy WebLinkAbout1,242 - February 24, 2026 signedMINUTES OF THE 1,242nd PUBLIC HEARINGS AND REGULAR MEETING
HELD BY THE CITY PLANNING COMMISSION
OF THE CITY OF LIVONIA
On Tuesday, February 24, 2026, the City Planning Commission of the City of
Livonia held its 1,242nd Public Hearing and Regular Meetings in the Livonia City
Hall, 33000 Civic Center Drive, Livonia, Michigan.
Mr. Ian Wilshaw, Chairman, called the meeting to order at 7 p.m.
Members present: Patrick Droze Sam Caramagno Glen Long
Ian Wilshaw
Members absent: Peter Ventura David Bongero Wafa Dinaro
Mr. Jacob Uhazie, Assistant Planning Director, and Stephanie Reece, Program
Supervisor, were also present.
Chairman Wilshaw informed the audience that if a petition on tonight's agenda
involves a rezoning request, this Commission makes a recommendation to the City
Council who, in turn, will hold its own public hearing and make the final
determination as to whether a petition is approved or denied. The Planning
Commission holds the only public hearing on a request for preliminary plat and/or
vacating petition. The Commission's recommendation is forwarded to the City
Council for the final determination as to whether a plat is accepted or rejected. If a
petition requesting a waiver of use or site plan approval is denied tonight, the
petitioner has ten days in which to appeal the decision, in writing, to the City
Council. Resolutions adopted by the City Planning Commission become effective
seven (7) days after the date of adoption. The Planning Commission and the
professional staff have reviewed each of these petitions upon their filing. The staff
has furnished the Commission with both approving and denying resolutions, which
the Commission may, or may not, use depending on the outcome of the
proceedings tonight.
ITEM #1 PETITION 2026-01-02-01 Great Lakes Pawn
Mr. Caramagno, Secretary, announced the first item on the agenda, Petition 2026-
01-02-01 submitted by Great Lakes Pawn, requesting waiver use
approval under Sections 3.11 and Section 6.45 of the Livonia
Zoning Ordinance, as amended, for outdoor display of
merchandise, at 27675 Grand River Avenue, located on the south
side of Grand River Avenue between Eight Mile Road and Antago
Street, in the northeast%I of Section 1.
Mr. Uhazie:
Mr. Wilshaw:
Mr. Uhazie:
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Good evening. Thank you. Mr. Chair. This is a request to add
outdoor display merchandise to the front and rear of the existing
pawn shop. The pawn shop is located on the south side of Grand
River Avenue, where the business has operated continuously at
this location since 2015. The petitioner is seeking authorization
to allow for the seasonal outdoor display of their merchandise.
The site is approximately 0.25 acres in size, with about 69 feet of
frontage along Grand River Avenue. The existing zoning is C-2
and all the adjoining properties are zoned C-2, as well. Under
Section 6.45 of the zoning ordinance, outdoor sales, storage or
outdoor display of merchandise is prohibited, but when the
business opened in 2015, outside storage for merchandise and
pawn shops was not explicitly prohibited under the existing
zoning ordinance at the time. It was however against the city
ordinance. Some background on this item. After discussions with
the Law Department it was determined that the best course of
action was to get waiver -use to allow outdoor storage. The
proposal includes the two outdoor display areas. The first is
located in the front of the building, underneath their existing
awning, highlighted here. You can also see here in this picture,
the second is located at the rear of the parking lot, highlighted
here. We have evidence of them having outdoor storage in a
maintained orderly fashion by going back to 2016 for reference.
With that, Mr. Chairman, I can read out the departmental
correspondence.
Yes, please.
The first item is from the Engineering Division, dated February
5, 2026, which reads as follows: "In accordance with your
request, the Engineering Division has reviewed the above
referenced petition. We have no objections to the proposed
project at this time, but would like to note the following items: 1.
The subject parcel is assigned the address of #27675 Grand
River Avenue. Should additional addresses be needed, the owner
will need to contact this Department once approval has been
obtained. 2. The existing parcel is currently serviced by public
sanitary sewer and water main. The submitted drawings do not
include any proposed utility information or calculations, so we
cannot comment on any proposed impacts to the existing
systems, but we do not believe the proposed usage will
adversely affect the existing utilities should alterations to the
existing services be required, the owner shall submit drawings
to this department to determine if permits will be required. 3. Any
disturbances within the Grand River Avenue right-of-way,
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including replacement of the drive approach or sidewalk will
require permitting through the Michigan Department of
Transportation (MOOT). 4. Handicap parking space and sign
attached to building, including trash receptacle (obstruction)
adjacent to parking space should be reviewed to ensure proper
pavement markings along with other parking spaces meet
ordinances. Removal of the existing concrete orange light pole
base at east side of drive approach should be reviewed since
there is no existing light pole attached." The letter is signed by
David W. Lear, P.E., Assistant City Engineer. The next letter is
from the Livonia Fire & Rescue Division, dated February 24,
2026, which reads as follows: "This office has reviewed the site
plan submitted in connection with exterior displays of seasonal
items of the property located at the above referenced address.
No objections to this proposal with the stipulations: - Displays
cannot obscure the name of the business or obscure the
numeric address which should be displayed on the address side
of the building with numbers that contrast in color to the exterior
finish of the building. - Do not fully obscure the windows or
entrance door so that in an emergency situation the fire
department can see inside the structure to accurately assess
interior conditions." The letter is signed by Brian Kukla, Fire
Marshal. The next letter is from the Division of Police, dated
February 2, 2026, which reads as follows: "I have reviewed the
plans in connection with the petition. I have no objections to the
proposals. The only public safety concern regarding this
proposal would be maintaining clear and unobstructed public
sidewalk access in front of the business, along with clear and
unobstructed views of oncoming traffic from patrons leaving the
business on the north and south driveways of the business." The
letter is signed by Brendan Adams, Sergeant, Traffic Bureau.
The next letter is from the Inspection Department, dated
February 24, 2026, which reads as follows: "Pursuant to your
request, the above -referenced Petition has been reviewed. 1.
The parking lot should be repaired or replaced as needed. 2.
The parking spaces shall be 10' x 20' and double -striped. The
spaces are currently faded and not visible. 3. The barrier -free
van accessible parking space and access area shall be properly
sized, signed, and striped. 4. There is no enclosure provided on
site for the dumpster. An enclosure shall be installed in
accordance with the ordinance's requirements. A building permit
and inspections would be required for this. 5. The two light pole
bases that no longer have light poles installed shall be removed.
6. The outside storage should not impede the required number
of parking spaces or any walkways or exit ways. This
Department has no further objections to this Petition." The letter
Mr. Wilshaw:
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32250
is signed by Jerome Hanna, Director of Inspection. The next
letter is from the Finance Department, dated February 9, 2026,
which reads as follows: "1 have reviewed the addresses
connected with the above noted petition. As there are no
outstanding amounts receivable, general or water and sewer, I
have no objections to the proposal." The letter is signed by
Benjamin Grier, Director of Finance. The next letter is from the
Treasurer's Department, dated February 5, 2026, which reads
as follows: "The owner of the property is current of their property
tax." The letter is signed by Susie Nash, Treasurer. That is the
extent of the correspondence.
Are there any questions for planning staff? If not, our petitioner
is here this evening. We will need your name and address for the
record please.
Randy Sokan 27675 Grand River Ave., Livonia, MI.
Mr. Wilshaw: Very good. What would you like to tell us about your request?
Mr. Sokan:
We're just simply requesting reapproval for the outside displays,
for sales, seasonal items. We've been in business since 2011.
There was a name change in 2015, so that's why you're only
seeing it at that time. We've never had any issues. We've always
complied with city inspections, police departments, fire marshals,
everything. You know, we complied. We're just simply just trying
to get it approved as it's kind of hurting our sales a little bit,
because we do pawn these items as well, and we just been kind
of limited on taking them in, because we haven't been selling
them as fast as we usually do. So, it does increase foot traffic.
Having that storefront and also having it in the back parking lot.
We've always kept it right before the sidewalk. Pedestrians never
had any issues. Customers love it. In the back parking lot, it
doesn't even take a parking space. It's a 16 by 16 little square just
near the back door, so its not interfering with any parking spaces.
So, we're just asking for the approval again, if we can continue to
do that. And it's displayed between 9am to 6pm and everything is
brought right back in, so it's not stored outside. We chain
everything up just for safety as well, and then we just put
everything back inside.
Mr. Wilshaw: All right. Very good. Thank you. Mr. Sokan. Is there any questions
for our petitioner?
Mr. Droze: Thank you, Mr. Chair. Just quick question. There was a couple
items noted in engineering, building and fire. Are you planning to
Mr. Sokan:
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do...there was a mention of the dumpster enclosure, restriping
the parking lot. Is that part of this? Or, I guess maybe respond to
those items.
So, we can definitely comply with all of that. As of right now, we
came forward with the approval for the outside, you know, sales
and displays. We are renovating the parking lot as we speak. I
think it may take place this season. We might be repaving it all.
I'm not sure what their plans are, but that is a part of, you know,
the outdoor construction, I guess you can say, definitely. And then
if you guys want to include the barricading the trash can or the
dumpster, definitely, we can, you know, take that into
consideration. Yeah, not a problem.
Mr. Wilshaw: Any other questions for the petitioner? Good. All right. Anybody
in the audience wishing to speak on this item? Good evening, sir.
Jerry Karasinsky, 19498 Bainbridge, Livonia, MI. I just wanted to point out one
thing that hasn't come up with this. There is another pawn shop
in Farmington on the north side of Eight Mile about a quarter mile
west, and I believe they also allow outside display of items. So
this would just keep the petitioner competitive with another
business that's near them. Thank you.
Mr. Wilshaw:
Mr. Sokan:
Thank you. Mr. Karasinsky. All right. Anyone else in the audience
wishing to speak on this item? No one else. Mr. Sokan, is there
anything else that you'd like to tell us before we make our
decision?
You guys summed it all up for us, and I'm just hoping that you
guys can continue to allow us to do that be a great help to our
business.
Mr. Wilshaw: Okay, I'm going to close the public hearing, and I'm going to go
to my colleagues to see if there's a motion.
On a motion by Droze, seconded by Long, and unanimously adopted, it was
#02-10-2026
RESOLVED, That pursuant to a Public Hearing having been held
by the City Planning Commission on February 24, 2026, on
Petition 2026-01-02-01 submitted by Great Lakes Pawn,
requesting waiver use approval under Sections 3.11 and Section
6.45 of the Livonia Zoning Ordinance, as amended, for outdoor
display of merchandise, at 27675 Grand River Avenue, located
on the south side of Grand River Avenue between Eight Mile
Road and Antago Street, in the northeast Y4 of Section 1, the
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Planning Commission does hereby recommend to the City
Council that Petition 2026-01-02-01 be approved subject to the
following conditions:
1. Outdoor display of merchandise shall be permitted only
during regular business hours. All items shall be removed
from the exterior of the property and stored indoors at the
close of each business day.
2. No overnight outdoor storage shall be permitted.
3. That the parking lot shall be repaired, resealed, and
restriped as necessary to the satisfaction of the Inspection
Department. Parking spaces shall be doubled striped at ten
feet (10') wide by twenty feet (20') in length.
4. A dumpster enclosure shall be installed in accordance with
the city's ordinance requirements to the satisfaction of the
Inspection Department; And that the three walls of the trash
dumpster area shall be constructed out of building materials
that shall complement that of the building. The enclosure
gates shall be of solid panel steel construction or durable,
long-lasting solid panel fiberglass. The trash dumpster area
shall be maintained and when not in use closed at all times.
5. The two light pole bases that no longer have light poles
installed shall be removed to the satisfaction of the
Inspection Department.
6. Outdoor display shall be limited to the specific areas
depicted on the approved site plan. Displays shall not
encroach into required parking spaces, drive aisles, fire
lanes, accessible routes, or landscape areas.
7. The total square footage of outdoor display areas shall be
clearly defined and shall not be expanded without further
approval from the Planning Commission.
8. All display areas shall be maintained in a neat and orderly
manner. Merchandise shall be arranged in an organized
fashion and shall not create visual blight, safety hazards, or
obstruction of pedestrian or vehicular circulation; and
9. This waiver approval is limited to this applicant and can only
be transferred to another user with approval by the City
Council.
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FURTHER RESOLVED, That notice of the above hearing was
given in accordance with the provisions of Section 13.13 of the
Livonia Zoning Ordinance, as amended.
Mr. Wilshaw: Is there any discussion?
Mr. Sokan: Thank you so much. I appreciate it. One more question.
Regarding the parking lot striping, the light posts and the
dumpster. Will we receive a letter for that, or do we have to follow
up with you guys?
Mr. Wilshaw: I think you can follow up with our Planning Department. They can
give you those details.
Mr. Sokan:
I'm not sure if there's a timestamp on that or whatnot, so I know
the parking lot is definitely being considered for repaving and
whatnot. I just didn't know how much time we had or just
communicate with them.
Mr. Wilshaw: Yeah, you can work with the staff. They'll, they'll help you with
determining the timeline on that.
Mr. Sokan: Okay, sounds good.
Mr. Wilshaw: We'll certainly work with you. We're reasonable.
Mr. Sokan: Appreciate it.
Mr. Wilshaw, Chairman, declared the motion is carried and the foregoing resolution
adopted. It will go on to City Council with an approving resolution.
ITEM #2 PETITION 2026-01-02-02 Gas Station
Mr. Caramagno, Secretary, announced the first item on the agenda Petition 01-02-
02 submitted by J&J Land Holdings, LLC, requesting waiver use
approval under Sections 3.11 and 6.26 of the Livonia Zoning
Ordinance, as amended, to construct a gas station, including a
convenience store and carryout restaurant, at 13400 Newburgh
Road, located at the southeast corner of Newburgh and
Schoolcraft Roads in the Northwest 1/4 of Section 29.
Mr. Uhazie: This is a request to construct a gas station, including the
convenience store and carry out restaurant at the property that
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has previously began the rezoning process through Planning
Commission and had its first reading with City Council. This is the
next step in that process. The location is on the southeast corner
of Newburgh and Schoolcraft Road. The size of the property is
roughly 0.68 acres. It has approximately 172 feet of frontage on
Newburgh Road and 173 feet of frontage on Schoolcraft. The
existing site contains a one-story industrial building that totals
about 6,800 square feet in size and is currently vacant and which
was previously occupied by Bering Service Company. As I
mentioned, the current zoning is M-1. It is in the process of being
changed to C-2 with the second reading of City Council, if this
moves forward. The adjacent properties to the east, west and
south are all industrial properties, and to the north is the 1-96
Expressway and Schoolcraft Road. Gasoline service stations are
permitted in the C-2 district, subject to waiver -use approval. The
site plan shows that the northwest annex and the front 10 feet of
the main building would be removed, so this area, shown here,
would be removed. The remaining building would expanded
upon. The site plan shows a two-story gasoline service station
measuring about 70 feet by 80 feet for a total gross floor area of
6,240 square feet in size. The plan shows four pumps with the
space for eight cars. The pump island would run parallel to
Schoolcraft Road. An overhead canopy would cover the fuel
dispensers. The ordinance states that the canopy can be no
higher than 18 feet in size. Setbacks for the site include 68 feet
from Newburgh Road and 80 feet from Schoolcraft Road. There's
a 12-foot setback from the southern property line and 23 feet from
the eastern property line. This does conform to all required
setbacks under the zoning ordinance. The existing access would
remain off Schoolcraft Road and Newburgh Road. A third access
drive is shown on the Schoolcraft Road between the existing drive
and the corner. Shown here is an existing easement with the
property to the east. The floor plan shows a carry out restaurant
with approximately 610 square feet in size and two expected
employees. This is used in the calculation for the required
parking. Required parking for gas stations is eight spaces, one
per pump. The site plan shows a total of 13 double striped parking
spaces, with one of them being ADA compliant. The total number
for the carryout and gas station would be 16 required spaces. The
ordinance does allow us to use alternative calculations for
parking requirements under the ITE manual. Under this manual,
the food service would require only two spaces for a site total of
10 spaces, which would comply with the zoning ordinance
requirements. The site does have four vehicle charging stations
that are shown along Newburgh Road, or I should say, the
Newburgh side of the property. The EV charging stations shall be
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permitted to a height of eight feet and a width of four feet,
including any sign that is part or attached to the equipment. And
any sign shall not exceed two square feet, and no EV charging
stations shall be located closer than 10 feet from any public right
of way. No EV charging station shall be located within any part of
the public right-of-way without the prior written approval of the
authority having jurisdiction over the right-of-way. EV charging
stations shall not encroach upon or inhibit the use of the
pedestrian walkways, which this does not appear to violate any
of those standards. A landscape plan was submitted. It does
show a total of seven trees, three ornamental trees, and 48
shrubs, which is short of the required, eight deciduous trees, four
ornamental trees, and 69 shrubs that is required under the zoning
ordinance. The dumpster is proposed in the southeast corner of
the property. The access gates would face north towards the
pumps and Schoolcraft Road, and the gates would be made of
solid panel steel or fiberglass. The closure is shown to be made
of the same brick material as the principal building. A light plan
was submitted as part of the petition, and it shows that light on
site is satisfactory, as light does not bleed into any neighboring
properties. The floor plan submitted shows a large retail area,
cashier counter, machinery, storage rooms, freezer, restrooms
and a future carry out food service area on the first floor with
storage areas located on the second floor. Elevations show a
combination of new construction and facade improvements to the
existing building. The building design incorporates a mix of
masonry and panel materials with horizontal and vertical
articulation elements. The north elevation indicates a peak tower
feature is shown in the center of the building above the main
entrance. The existing facade would be upgraded with ACM
prefinished metal panels and prairie stone. A revised western
elevation was submitted, per the request of this body, to include
a window as well as ACM and a top tier soffit to incorporate better,
more design elements and an additional sign. Some sign
elements are shown on the building, including a 20 square foot
carryout sign, the front entrance sign being 56.25, square feet in
size, and a pylon sign is shown in the updated drawings and the
rendering. One note is that pylon sounds are not permitted under
the zoning ordinance. Gas stations are allowed one ground sign
not to exceed 40 square feet in size and a height of 12 feet, and
that is required to be setback five feet from the right-of-way. We
did receive some renderings showing that updated facade and
the western facade as well. One thing to note is that free air is
required to be added to any gas station. They did add a free air
machine along the eastern property building side by the
Mr. Wilshaw:
Mr. Uhazie:
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32256
dumpster. So, that has been satisfied as well. With that, Mr.
Chairman, I can read out the departmental correspondence.
Yes, please.
Mr. Uhazie: The first item is from the Engineering Division,
dated February 5, 2026, which reads as follows: "In accordance
with your request, the Engineering Division has reviewed the
above referenced petition. We have no objections to the
proposed project at this time, but would like to note the following
items: 1. The subject parcels are assigned the addresses of
#13400 Newburgh Road. Should additional addresses be
needed, the Owner will need to contact this Department once
approvals have been obtained. 2. The existing parcel is currently
serviced by public sanitary sewer and water main, as well as
private storm sewer. The Developer will need to submit full
Engineering drawings and calculations to this Department for
permitting once approvals for the site plans have been received.
Based on the submitted drawings, we have the following
comments: i) Sanitary Sewer The drawings do not include a
basis of design for the proposed sanitary sewers, so we are
unable to determine if capacity in the existing system is available.
Once proposed sanitary sewer flows are provided, we will be able
to determine impacts to the existing systems. ii) Water Main: The
drawings indicate that the existing water service will be re- used.
However, if the water service lead needs to be increased for the
facility allowing proposed food services then determination of
new meter size will be required with associated fees. iii) Storm
Sewer: The drawings indicate that the existing private storm
system is to be modified. Due to the size of the project, no
detention is required. However, a water quality treatment
structure maybe required on the existing 10-inch storm Line on
private property line prior to discharging into the storm inlet
located on Newburgh Road, south of the drive approach. 3.
Sidewalk to be installed along the Newburgh Road frontage
property with an ADA ramp at the southeast corner of Newburgh
Road at Westbound Schoolcraft Road routing pedestrians both
north and west to existing receiving ramps. No sidewalk will be
required along the frontage of Schoolcraft Road due to the
existing DTE poles and utility box." The letter is signed by David
W. Lear, P.E., Assistant City Engineer. The next letter is from the
Livonia Fire & Rescue Division, dated February 11, 2026, which
reads as follows: "This office has reviewed the site plan submitted
in connection with the new construction/modification and use of
the property located at the above referenced address. No
objections to this proposal with the stipulations: Other than
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32257
warming, if grease laden vapors are produced during cooking
operations, a suppression system maybe required. If the building
itself is suppressed and the O.H. door is a panel type roll up
creating an obstruction under the door panels 4 feet or greater,
suppression may be required. Any site -specific issues will be
addressed during the Life Safety inspection. A further detailed
plan review will take place when this division receives an official
plan set." The letter is signed by Brian Kukla, Fire Marshal. The
next letter is from the Division of Police, dated February 5, 2026,
which reads as follows: "1 have reviewed the plans in connection
with the petition. I have no objections to the proposal." The letter
is signed by Brendan Adams, Sergeant, Traffic Bureau. The next
letter is from the Inspection Department, dated February 11,
2026, which reads as follows: "Pursuant to your request, the
above -referenced Petition has been reviewed. 1. Signage shall
be conforming. A variance from the Zoning Board of Appeals
would be required for any non -conforming Signage. This
Department has no further objections to this Petition." The letter
is signed by Jerome Hanna, Director of Inspection. The next letter
is from the Finance Department, dated February 9, 2026, which
reads as follows: "I have reviewed the addresses connected with
the above noted petition. As there are no outstanding amounts
receivable, general or water and sewer, 1 have no objections to
the proposal." The letter is signed by Benjamin Grier, Director of
Finance. The next letter is from the Treasurer's Department,
dated February 5, 2026, which reads as follows: "The owner of
the property is current on their property taxes:" Thee letter is
signed by Susie Nash, Treasurer. Lastly, we received a letter,
which reads: "1 represent the building ownership of both buildings
immediately East of 13400 Newburgh Road. The addresses of
which are 37107 Schoolcraft and 37037-37055 Schoolcraft. We
have a couple of concerns regarding the above -mentioned waiver
use and are confident that you will consider the same and act to
remedy and/or mitigate any potential issues resulting from the
granting of this petition as submitted. Issue #1: The current site
plan shows a dumpster enclosure located within an existing
ingress and egress agreement held by us. We believe that
relocating the dumpster enclosure out of the easement to the
West and reorientating the dumpster access from the North to the
West would remedy any easement encumbrances. Issue.#2: We
believe it is reasonable to assume that this waiver use will result
in a significant increase in automobile traffic. Our concern is that
the current site plan does not provide to prevent motorists from
freely trespassing across the easement onto our property in an
attempt to access Schoolcraft Road. I can assure you that this
will become a daily and ongoing issue if not addressed. Thank
Mr. Wilshaw:
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you for hearing our concerns. We look forward to an appropriate
resolution." The letter is signed by Thomas Crabill, TEK Building
Company. That is the extent of the correspondence.
Are there any questions for planning staff? Our petition is in the
audience. Feel free to come to our podium and start with your
name and address.
Steve Hamade,
Good evening. Good evening. Thank you for having me. Welcome back. Thank
you.
Mr. Wilshaw:
Start with your name and address.
Steven Hamade, 13400 Newburgh Road, Livonia, MI.
Mr. Wilshaw: Very good. Thank you, Mr. Hamade. What would you like to tell
us about your request to get this waiver -use approval?
Mr. Hamade:
Well, as we met last week, you had some concerns regarding the
couple of changes, we met those. I'm looking forward to having
this fueling station. It's going to brighten up the corner. It's going
to revive, make it more of a commerce area, and it's an added
plus that is well needed in the area, and that's why I'm considering
making a sizable investment.
Mr. Wilshaw: Okay, understood. Let's see if we have some questions for you.
Any questions from my colleagues?
Mr. Droze:
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Hamade, there was a letter in the
packet regarding the access to the east. I guess, do you have any
thoughts about whether you could move that dumpster to access
off Newburgh?
Mr. Hamade: Mr. Droze, I respectfully respect that. Mr. Crabill, he has his
dumpster. He had it on my property, and that's historically been
there all along. Anywhere that dumpster is moved, it's going to be
a safety hazard. It's going to be a hindrance. It's going to look
horrible off of Newburgh. It does not represent the investment I'm
making there, and I would highly appreciate, if you look at it
closely, it's out of the way, it's one time a week pick up. It's the
same thing he's dealing with. His dumpster is without an
enclosure. And, you know, I had discussions with him about, you
know, being a great neighbor. He utilizes my entrance, and I have
no issue with that. We will be sharing cost of maintaining the
Mr. Droze:
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asphalt and the entrance and on the contrary, his hours are very
limited compared to what we will be at 24 hours. It will make his
places safe, because it will be well lit, won't be dark, and I think
we looked at it in so many ways, the dumpster...that truck pulling
in and out and dumping anywhere else is going to be an issue.
I just wanted to ask because it is your property. It is an easement.
So I just wanted to get your side of the story. Then my only other
question was, between the renderings that we have here, the
architectural plans, versus the rendering in the packet, or what
we see in the screen here, they're a little...well, they're actually
fairly different. Which one is your plan? Is it this one that we're
looking at in the screen, or the one that's in the plan set?
Mr. Hamade: Unfortunately, I was trying to accommodate your request of
having a rendering that's up to date, that was the original
rendering that we did, and I could not, because we changed the
elevations and all that, the person that's doing the rendering was
not able to satisfy the timeline that we had. So going forward,
when we get in front of the City Council, we will have beautiful
rendering that is going to represent what we have on the
blueprints. And I can assure you it's going to be a gorgeous
building.
Mr. Droze: I think the only comment about the materials was the...I think it's
called prairie stone that you have.
Mr. Hamade: It's a limestone.
Mr. Droze: So, if it's more of a stacked limestone. I think that would seem to
be more appropriate versus, I think prairie stone I almost
understand is like a cobble.
Mr. Hamade; Yeah, that's just a typo. It's a limestone. It's a very high -end
limestone with curved edges. It will look very...accommodate the
ACM that we will be installing.
Mr. Droze: Okay, all right, I'm good. Thank you. Mr. Chair.
Mr. Wilshaw: Thank you. Mr. Droze. Any other questions?
Mr. Long: Is it your intention to have this open 24 hours?
Mr. Hamade: Yes.
February 24, 2026
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Mr. Long: Do we have any other gas stations along the freeway that are
open 24 hours?
Mr. Uhazie:
Mr. Long:
Mr. Wilshaw:
Along the freeway, I'm not sure.
Okay, thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Long,
Mr. Caramagno: Mr. Chairman. I got a couple questions. So, just for clarity, the
building is going to look more like what we're seeing in the
drawings, or more like what we're going to see in the picture?
Mr. Hamade:
The building's going to look more like that's in the drawings. The
brick is going to be the same as the rendering. We are utilizing
the existing brick. It's a beautiful old brick that is really nice. It's
very hard to find these days a brick like that. So, we're going to
make it, you know, kind of transitional. And that's the...we also
added, by the way, we added one more on the top of the building,
a soffit that's going to span two feet out, 24 inches out, and it's
going to be 18 inches thick, with down spot lighting, soft lighting,
shining over the other soffit.
Mr. Caramagno: Okay, next question I've got for you, so I'm looking at the picture,
the color picture. I'm seeing brick around the uprights for the
canopy. Is that what we're going to have in the real final product?
Mr. Hamade:
Well, that one I have not decided on. I have to see what Shell is
going to be approving. You know, we're in process of signing, you
know, contract with them, and depending if they approve it or not,
they have a specific look for the canopy and what it should look
like. But if I'm allowed, and if the city likes it, we will do brick or
ACM.
Mr. Caramagno: It looks tasteful the way the color drawing looks right now, so it
looks good. Then the other thing I've got for you, question wise
is, what is your timeline here? If you have timely approvals, what's
your timeline for putting this thing together?
Mr. Hamade: I want to be open up in in the summer.
Mr. Caramagno: That quick.
Mr. Hamade: Hey, I'm ready.
Mr. Caramagno: Okay, and fuel, what fuels you can offer here
Mr. Hamade:
February 24, 2026
32261
We're going to have record recreational fuel, 100% non ethanol
fuel, because it's a industrial area and it will serve the area, right?
For people who have different machines that require non ethanol
fuel. We're going to have low sulfur diesel for smaller trucks, not
for big trucks, and we're going to have regular fuel, you know,
shell fuel, super...
Mr. Caramagno: So regular, mid grade, super unleaded. And what kind of...how
big of tank you put in the ground, or tanks?
Mr. Hamade: We're proposing to install two tanks, one 20,000-gallon tank and
one 12,000-gallon tank.
Mr. Caramagno: Okay, they're split accordingly.
Mr. Hamade: Yes, 4,4,4.
Mr. Caramagno: Okay, that's what I got. Thank you,
Mr. Hamade:
Mr. Wilshaw:
Mr. Droze:
Mr. Hamade:
Mr. Wilshaw:
Absolutely. Thank you.
Alright. Any other questions for our petitioner?
One more quick one. Sheet A-3, you have a pylon sign? We
talked about it at the study session. I don't think that that will be
something that happens, just from my understanding of how ZBA
will look at that. So just, I guess, be aware that it will probably
have to be a different sign.
We will try. Yeah, ifs a highway like and I said before, this is a,
it's a, basically a highway fueling station, and it would really
represent the brand and also make that station noticeable.
Okay, thank you. Thank you. Mr. Droze. Anything else from any
of my colleagues? Anyone else in the audience wishing to speak
on this item, feel free to come forward. Two people. Good evening
again.
Jerry Karasinski, 19488 Bainbridge Avenue, Livonia, MI. I just have a question. So
on the south side of that property, there's existing trees,
especially over the dumpster area. Can you find out if those trees
are going to remain, or if they're affected at all?
Mr. Wilshaw: Those are along the south property line?
Mr. Karasinski: On the south property line.
Mr. Wilshaw: We will ask.
Mr. Karasinski: Thank you kindly.
Mr. Wilshaw:
Tom Grabill,
February 24, 2026
32262
Thank you, sir. There's one other person I believe in the audience
wishing to speak. Good evening.
33640 Schoolcraft Road, Livonia, MI. I am representing the property
owners next door, immediately to the east of this property. First
off, I'd like to say, you know, I've had a chance to review the plans,
and I'd very much like to support the petitioner. I do have two
concerns, which I outlined in a letter. One is that there is a
dumpster enclosure that is proposed within an easement that I
hold. That won't be permitted, so that dumpster is going to have
to be removed or relocated. I made a suggestion, not that it's my
place, but, and maybe there's something beyond what I'm seeing,
but there is an aisle way along the south side of the building off
of Newburgh, and it appears that that dumpster could simply be
rotated and positioned so that it could be unloaded off of that.
This is the first time learning of a air dispenser, but you know our
easement is clearly for ingress and egress and cannot be
encumbered. So I don't know, at first glance, I'm thinking that, you
know, people parking and filling up their tires will impede our
customers from parking and our parking, I don't know if Jacob,
you could pull up that site plan. This easement is used so that we
can, you know, get in and out of our parking area. And then the
other thing, which is the biggest. Item is, you know, this was
obviously an industrial zoning before it was rezoned, or is in the
process, we have no barrier between the properties. I don't think
that exists anywhere in the city. Every single gas station that I
know of has either a fence or some type of landscape barrier for
I'm assuming the, you know, zoning might be able to help me out
with this. But I'm assuming that, because of the amount of traffic,
this property when it was in industrial, you know, it's very light
traffic. So, we have three buildings that have continuous parking
and drive aisles across the front of them. And I don't think that
anybody would argue that, you know, there's that going to be, you
know, if somebody's waiting to get out on Schoolcraft Road, the
immediate thing is going to be for, you know, them to just drive to
the next, you know, entrance. So, we're concerned about that and
also safety. But you know, I do want to make it clear I've tried to
reach out to the petitioner on a couple occasions. I haven't spoke
to him or know him, but seems like a nice enough fellow. I'm sure
that we could figure something out. But you know, possibly, I
Mr. Wilshaw:
Mr. Grabill:
February 24, 2026
32263
know, might not be ideal, but possibly some type of landscape
curbing, you know, from the corner of the building out to the front.
That's really not my place to, you know, but I certainly don't think
that...and I don't want to hold anything up either, and I don't know
exactly where we're at. I was out of town for the zoning meeting,
and I didn't get a notice for the study, but, you know, I'm willing
to, you know, just those two things, that's it. And I think that if
those can be worked out, I'd be in full support and look forward to
the development. I don't know where we're at and has there been
a formal site plan approval?
Mr. Crabill, what we're doing is that process now. What's going to
happen is we're going to grant, if we have the potential of granting
a waiver -use for this property and the approval of the site plans
that have been received tonight, and if we offer a
recommendation to approve that, that would then go to City
Council, and they'll hold their own public hearing, as well, to get
the final approval. So, we are recommending body to the city
council, so there's going to be another couple meetings on this
item, even if we do approve it tonight. If we deny it for some
reason, the petitioner would have the opportunity to then appeal
to the City Council. So that's kind of where we're at right now.
Well, as I said, I certainly don't want to get in the way of progress,
but we do have some legitimate concerns here. The dumpster.
That's kind of a no brainer, and I apologize, I'm not the tenant
next door, so I don't know anything about dumpsters or what's
currently happening, but if somebody is violating something on
our side, then you know that'll be remedied immediately. And we
just want to be good neighbors. And if I have an opportunity, you
know, what I'd really like to do, Steve, if you may as I mean, all
you got to do is call me, you know, let's try and work through it.
I'm also a developer, so I feel your pain for...so that's it. I just
wanted to, you know, go on the record, I am very concerned
about the cross traffic. Don't know what...I'm assuming eight
pumps that, you know, there's going to be a lot of cars. And one
thing I do want to say is, in the past, we did have a significant
traffic issue on the site, which I think will be remedied by the
closing off of that south alley behind the building, people would,
you know, try and beat the light at Newburgh Road. They would
turn into that entrance, and they'd shoot through, well, you know,
then they end up, you know, in a high traffic area. So, it was a
safety concern. I think the police, you know, have been stationed
up there in the past, but this, you know, would remedy that.
Mr. Wilshaw:
Mr. Caramagno:
Mr. Crabill:
Mr. Caramagno:
Mr. Crabill:
Mr. Caramagno:
Mr. Crabill:
Mr. Wilshaw:
Mr. Grabill:
Mr. Wilshaw:
Mr. Caramagno:
Mr. Wilshaw:
February 24, 2026
32264
So all right, that's it. Very good. I appreciate your comments. We'll
see what we can do.
Mr. Chair, let me ask a question. Are you saying that the
dumpster proposed location is on your property?
Well, it's on my easement. Yeah, yeah. So it's the petitioners
property, but I have an easement for free egress and Ingress, so
you can't build a permanent structure in an easement.
You have an egress to come in off Newburgh Road all the way
across.
Well, it's the entire 20 feet from his building to the east is, you
know, we control that easement.
20 feet from his building, from the building.
Yeah, it might even be it, I think it. There's a drawing that shows
it. So, again, back to, you know, the dumpster, and then also the
air pump. You know, I haven't looked into this. I'm just learning
about the air pump today, but I'm, you know, and I don't even
know how frequent or if that would actually be an issue. I mean,
we're not unreasonable. It's his property, but we do need to be
able to get in and out of there, and we have the right to do that.
So, for your benefit, Mr. Caramagno, the parking spaces along
Mr. Crabill's building, that space between the property line and
his building is perpendicular parking spaces. So, anybody who
would pull out of a parking space is essentially pulling onto his
property to that easement.
And then there's an overhead door at the rear of the building. So
again, I don't know exactly...
It's definitely a shared space, yeah, okay, I think we got it.
Anything else, Mr. Caramagno?
No, thank you.
Okay. Thank you, Mr. Grabill, for your comments. We'II see what
we can do for you. Anybody else in the audience wishing to speak
on this, if not any other questions from my colleagues? Anything
else?
February 24, 2026
32265
Mr. Long: Given this new, I guess, revelation of the easement. I mean, we
can't close off the...
Mr. Wilshaw:
Mr. Long:
Mr. Hamade:
Mr. Droze:
Mr. Hamade:
Mr. Droze:
Those cars couldn't get back.
So, I think we've kind of got a catch 22 here. I'm not sure.
Can I comment please? So, this easement was granted by the
prior owner for the purpose of ingress and egress, and it doesn't
talk about parking or anything like that. The dumpster is way to
the back. It does not impede on parking or getting out. It's
currently there. It's been operating without any dumpster
enclosure for all those years, and the truck goes in and out once
a week, if any. If the cars are parked, it would be just like any
truck pulling in that he would be receiving for his business. So it
would be the same thing. I don't see why this easement is to be
limiting my development.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I mean, some of this is between you and
Mr. Crabill to kind of work out, but reasonably, I don't. I'm not
really understanding why you can't rotate it, put it behind your
building and come in off of Newburgh Road. There's plenty of
space back there to fit a dumpster, which is basically the same
maneuver...you give him access, you have your dumpster, and it
also, you know, prevents cut throughs. So, I guess I'm failing to
understand why you can't put it on the south side.
The reason why we can't put it on the south side is we have an
existing stormwater sewer, so we cannot build a structure over
the storm water sewer, that's number one. There's not enough
space. This requires that's...there's only 12 feet behind the
building. So, we did contemplate putting the dumpster there at
one point, because if it would have been, you know, an easy in
and out, but it would actually create a lot more traffic hazard for
the truck to pull in to pick up the trash and back out into Newburgh
Road.
Respectfully, I took your dumpster pad, and I rotated it, and it fits.
So, I don't really agree with that. And I think from a storm water
perspective, you know, there's other ways to re pipe that, and I
guess I would encourage you to talk to the Engineering
Department and see if a private storm sewer can pass under a
dumpster, and if not, you can go around the building the other
way.
Mr. Hamade:
Mr. Droze:
Mr. Wilshaw:
Mr. Uhazie:
Mr. Wilshaw:
Mr. Wilshaw:
Mr. Caramagno:
Mr. Uhazie:
Mr. Caramagno:
Mr. Wilshaw: Mr.
Mr. Caramagno:
Mr. Hamade:
February 24, 2026
32266
We will work that out with engineering, and we'll see what the best
fit for that, right?
That's where I'm at on this. Thank you.
Mr. Uhazie.
Just for reference, I was able to pull up...this is the existing status
of the dumpster and the buildings. for reference.
Very good. Okay, thank you.
Any other questions?
Mr. Chair, so, as the petitioner said, it does not impact the parking
at all. It's behind...It's further south of the parking at this point,
right? The dumpster?
That's what it appears to be.
Yes, there's no impact at all with the parking there.
Caramagno, if you don't mind it, a question for you just using your
expertise. Is a 12-foot-wide easement. Is that adequate for...
Yeah, of course. But the issue with putting it behind the building
is now you've got all that dead space. What are you going to do
with all that dead space back there that's no longer a
thoroughfare then. You can't get through there. So, if you want to
drive a car back there, anything back there is no longer a
thoroughfare. So, what I'm seeing with the dumpster, this clarifies
that some for me, it looks like it does not impact any parking or
the easement in any substantial way.
It's out of the way. And we plan on putting the snow behind the
building as well. Okay, so that's one of the things that we talked
about before, is that the site has to have somewhere we can put
the snow. And right now there's two dumpsters. There was two
dumpsters. The old owner removed his, and the current tenant
for Mr. Crabill has his currently there.
Mr. Caramagno: So, Is that yours, or is that the neighbors, Crabill.
Mr. Hamade:
That's, well, there's two of them there. If you see one of them is
Crabill's. The blue one is the Republic waste and the other one
is...that was the Bearing Services dumpster.
February 24, 2026
32267
Mr. Caramagno: So, it's existing now all you're going to do is put an enclosure
around it.
Mr Hamade:
Absolutely. All we're doing is complying with the ordinance that
you should have a dumpster enclosure. You know it's out of the
way. It's all the way to the back.
Mr. Caramagno: When you look at your drawing a little bit here, it shows the pad
and the pad doesn't mean anything. That's just cement. You're
gonna pour cement for the pad for the dumpster. So the dumpster
still set way back on the south property line. That doesn't impact
any of that in that east.west parking along that building.
Mr. Hamade:
We actually helped Mr. Crabill's site by adding more storm sewer
catch basin. It was not...his property does not have any storm
sewer catch basins, so he's actually using our area to drain onto
our property, which prior, they had issues with the old owner. I
don't have any problem with accommodating that.
Mr. Caramagno: No matter what I think you and where did Grabill go? You, no
matter what, you and him got to talk, because there's issues
outstanding, and it doesn't sound like they're unreasonable
Mr. Hamade: I want to be a great neighbor. I hear great things about Mr.
Grabble. I hear that he's well connected in the City of Livonia.
He's been here for a long time, so I'd like to do business with him.
Mr. Wilshaw: Alright. Very good. Any other questions on this item? Beat the
dumpster to death. Alright. Is there anything else on this item? I
don't hear anything else. Anything else you'd like to tell us, Mr.
Hamade?
Mr. Hamade: Thank you so much for opportunity.
Mr. Wilshaw: Very good. If there's no other discussion on this item, I'll close the
public hearing, and the motion would be in order.
On a motion by Long, seconded by Droze, and unanimously adopted, it was
#02-11-2026
RESOLVED, That pursuant to a Public Hearing having been held
by the City Planning Commission on February 24, 2026, on
Petition 2026-01-02-02 submitted by J&J Land Holdings, LLC,
requesting waiver use approval under Sections 3.11 and 6.26 of
the Livonia Zoning Ordinance, as amended, to construct a gas
station, including a convenience store and carryout restaurant, at
13400 Newburgh Road, located at the southeast corner of
February 24, 2026
32268
Newburgh and Schoolcraft Roads in the Northwest 1/4 of Section
29, the Planning Commission does hereby recommend to the
City Council that Petition 2026-01-02-02 be approved subject to
the following conditions:
1. That the Site Plan marked Sheet 2, received February 24,
2026 as revised, prepared by Michael L. Priest & Associates
is hereby approved and shall be adhered to;
2. That the Landscaping Plan marked L-1, received February
24, 2026 as revised, prepared by Michael L. Priest &
Associates is hereby approved and shall be adhered to;
3. That the Floor Plan and Elevations marked by sheets Al,
A2, and A3, received February 24, 2026, as revised,
prepared by Pucci + Volmar Architects, PC, is hereby
approved and shall be adhered to;
4. That the petitioner shall submit a new western elevation plan
to reflect the renderings received February 19th, 2026 to the
satisfaction of the Planning Department and shall be
adhered to;
5. That the Photometric Plan received February 24, 2026, as
revised, prepared by Gasser Bush Associates, is hereby
approved and shall be adhered to;
6. That all rooftop mechanical equipment shall be concealed
from public view on all sides by screening that shall be of a
compatible character, material and color to other exterior
materials on the building;
7. That the gas pump island canopy shall not exceed eighteen
feet (18') in height and its support columns shall be covered
with the same brick used in the construction of the building;
8. That all light fixtures shall not exceed twenty feet (20') in
height and shall be aimed and shielded so as to minimize
stray light trespassing across property lines and glaring into
adjacent roadway;
9. That free air shall be provided at all times this station is open
for business. The free air shall be dispensed at the point of
service without having to enter the station or the
performance of any extra action in order to obtain the air
without charge;
Mr. Wilshaw:
Mr. Wilshaw,
ITEM #3
February 24, 2026
32269
10. That the sale of ice shall be restricted to the inside of the
building;
11. That the petitioner shall install signage, to the satisfaction of
the Planning Department, restricting unauthorized use of the
cross -access drive to neighboring properties;
12. That the specific plans referenced in this approving
resolution shall be submitted to the Inspection Department
at the time the building permits are applied for; and,
13. This approval is valid for a period of one year only from the
date of approval by the City Council, and unless a building
permit is obtained and construction is commenced, this
approval shall be null and void at the expiration of said
period.
FURTHER RESOLVED, That notice of the above hearing was
given in accordance with the provisions of Section 13.13 of the
Livonia Zoning Ordinance, as amended.
Is there any discussion?
Chairman, declared the motion is carried and the foregoing resolution
adopted. It will go on to City Council with an approving resolution.
PETITION 2026-02-02-07 Greg Marselis Restaurant
Mr. Caramagno, Secretary, announced the first item on the agenda Petition 2026-
02-02-06 submitted by Greg Marselis of Livonia Properties, LLC,
requesting waiver use approval pursuant to Sections 3.11 and
6.51 of the Livonia Zoning Ordinance to operate a full -service
restaurant and outdoor seating at 35841 Plymouth Road, located
on the south side of Plymouth Road between Yale Avenue and
Levan Road in the Northeast'/4 of Section 32.
Mr. Uhazie:
Thank you. This is to operate a full -service restaurant with
outdoor seating at 35841 Plymouth Road. This is located on the
south side of Plymouth Road, across from the Ford transmission
plant. The site size is about 1.93 acres in size, with 334 feet of
frontage along Plymouth Road by a depth of 308 feet. The current
zoning is C-2 (General business). The site was previously
approved as a planned residential development consisting of five
buildings and a total of 11 residential units that was never built.
The surrounding neighborhoods include, to the west and east are
February 24, 2026
32270
commercial properties, including the Zax car wash and an auto
repair site and U-haul business that both front along Plymouth
Road and are zoned C-2. To the south is a single-family
neighborhood that is part of the Elmira court subdivision zoned
Ni. To the north is, as I mentioned, the Ford Motor transmission
plant, zoned M-2. The petition is seeking waiver -use approval for
a one-story building totaling approximately 8,208 square feet in
gross floor area. The building would be centrally located on the
property, with parking provided on all sides to accommodate
anticipated demand. The petitioner has indicated that the building
elevations and a detailed floor plan will be submitted for planning
commission review at a subsequent meeting following the
preliminary site plan approval, if it is granted. The setbacks are
95 feet from the front, 88 feet from the rear and 97 feet from the
west and east setbacks. The proposed building does meet all
requirements for setbacks. Two of the three existing drives would
be removed. The existing middle access drive would remain. For
a full -service restaurant, the zoning ordinance requires one
parking space for each two interior seats and one parking space
for each three outside patio seats, plus one space for each
employee. Since the petitioner has not submitted a floor plan, we
were not able to determine the required parking at this time.
Alternatively, we can use the ITE parking generation manual.
Based off of that manual, the restaurant would require 133
parking spaces. The site plan shows 141 parking spaces, with
five of them being ADA accessible spaces. One thing to note,
these parking spaces are single striped, with some striped at a
width of nine and some of them parked at a width of 10 feet. At
the study session, the petitioner did mention that the nine foot
spaces are anticipated for employees. The dumpster would be
located on the southeast corner of the property, and it would be
facing to the west. The proposed enclosure meets all zoning
ordinance requirements. The photometric plan submitted shows
that it would meet all zoning ordinance requirements as well. The
landscaping plan shows eight deciduous trees, four ornamental
trees, and 72 shrubs satisfying the landscaping requirements. It
also shows 111 Arborvitaes along the south property line,
adjacent to the existing six-foot wall to further shield the
residential property to the south. The site plan states there would
be underground stormwater storage installed under the front
parking lot, and I did share the PRDA fencing elements with the
petitioner for future consideration. With that, Mr. Chairman, I can
read out the departmental correspondence.
Mr. Wilshaw: Yes, please.
Mr. Uhazie:
February 24, 2026
32271
Mr. Uhazie: The first item is from the Engineering Division,
dated February 10, 2026, which reads as follows: "In accordance
with your request, the Engineering Division has reviewed the
above referenced petition. We have no objections to the
proposed project at this time, but would like to note the following
items: 1. The subject parcel is assigned the address of #35841
Plymouth Road. Should additional addresses be needed, the
Owner will need to contact this Department once approvals have
been obtained. 2. The existing parcels are currently serviced by
public sanitary sewer, water main and storm sewer. We do not
believe this development will impact the existing systems
negatively. 3. The proposed development will be required to meet
the Wayne County Stormwater Ordinance, and per the submitted
drawings stormwater detention is indicated, but we will need to
do a thorough review of the plans once they are submitted for
permitting. Depending on the location of the final outlet for storm
water, permitting may be required through the Wayne County
Department of Public Service. 4. Any disturbances with the
Plymouth Road right-of-way will require permits through the
Michigan Department of Transportation, including drive approach
and sidewalk removals and placements. 5. This submittal will be
required to be reviewed by the Plymouth Road Development
Authority and obtain permits as necessary." The letter is signed
by David W. Lear, P.E., Assistant City Engineer. The next letter
is from the Livonia Fire & Rescue Division, dated February 11,
2026, which reads as follows: "This office has reviewed the site
plan submitted in connection with the new construction and use
of the property located at the above referenced address. No
objections to this proposal with the stipulations: IFC 2021 shall be
utilized. Not IFC 2015 as listed in plan set. If provided with an
automatic sprinkler system, and on -site hydrants shall be located
at a distance prescribed by fire code for the Fire Department
Connection. Sprinkler permit and plans are a required submission
to the building department. Fire protection detection and
monitoring shall be installed and reporting. Fire alarm permits and
plans are a required submission to the building department. Knox
Box must be installed for Fire Department access. Any site -
specific issues will be addressed during the Life Safety
inspection. A further detailed plan review will take place when this
division receives an official plan set." The letter is signed by Brian
Kukla, Fire Marshal. The next letter is from the Division of Police,
dated February 5, 2026, which reads as follows: `I have reviewed
the plans in connection with the petition. I have no objections to
the proposal." The letter is signed by Brendan Adams, Sergeant,
Traffic Bureau. The next letter is from the Inspection Department,
dated February 12, 2026, which reads as follows: "Pursuant to
Mr. Wilshaw:
February 24, 2026
32272
your request, the above -referenced Petition has been reviewed.
1. Exterior lighting sources shall be designed, constructed,
located, and maintained in a manner that minimizes light trespass
onto neighboring propeliies and public ways. The light trespass
from a property shall not exceed 0.5-foot-candles at the property
line, measured five (5) feet from the ground. 2. All signage shall
be conforming. A variance from the Zoning Board of Appeals
would be required for any non -conforming signage. 3. Grease
interceptors shall be designed, and shall perform, in the manner
provided for in Chapter 10 of the Michigan Plumbing Code. All
grease interceptors shall be properly installed and maintained in
working order, and shall be kept free from obstructions, leaks and
defects, and shall be capable of performing the function for which
such devices are designed, as specified herein. All grease
interceptors shall be maintained in a safe, sanitary and functional
condition. The City shall be granted access to conduct on -site
inspections as necessary to assure compliance with Chapter
13.42 of the Livonia Code of Ordinances. 4. All existing and
proposed landscaped areas must have a functioning irrigation
system installed. 5. Parking spaces shall be 10' x 20' and double -
striped. Barrier -free spaces shall be properly sized, signed, and
striped. This Department has no further objections to this
Petition." The letter is signed by Jerome Hanna, Director of
Inspection. The next letter is from the Finance Department, dated
February 9, 2026, which reads as follows: "1 have reviewed the
addresses connected with the above noted petition. As there are
no outstanding amounts receivable, general or water and sewer,
I have no objections to the proposal." The letter is signed by
Benjamin Grier, Director of Finance. The next letter is from the
Treasurer's Department, dated February 9, 2026, which reads as
follows: "The owner of the property is current on their property
taxes" The letter is signed by Susie Nash, Treasurer. That is the
extent of the correspondence.
Thank you. Mr. Uhazie. Any questions for staff? Our petitioner is
in the audience. Feel free to come to our podium. Good evening,
sir.
Roman Bonislawski, Ron and Roman, 275 East Frank Street, Birmingham, MI,
48009.
Greg Marselis, 1056 Adam View court, Rochester, MI.
Mr. Wilshaw: Thank you for coming tonight. What would you like to tell us about
your request?
February 24, 2026
32273
Mr. Bonislawski: Well, I thought the study session was very thorough. We look
forward to coming in front of you with the design of the building.
We've received the standards for the site walls that were
discussed. I've spoken with my business partner, and we will be
doing a hardscaped wall in the front, although it currently meets
the requirements with the landscaping, but we're in agreement
that that's a much more stately presentation for the property. I
want to clear one thing up that was stated, we're actually utilizing
the front and the two sides for the underground storage. We're
already working with a civil engineer, and he's already told us that
without going to super oversized pipes, we're going to need that
area in which to accomplish that. With the supplementary
information I received today, we'll be submitting full engineering
stormwater calculations everything to do with that. As I mentioned
previously, we wanted to get through the site plan process before
spending too much of the owner's money with regards to any
potential problems that might have occurred getting this far in the
process, and then I would have just one question to finalize is the
statement made by the traffic consultant, by the engineering
department that review the traffic that said all the spaces shall be
double striped at 10 feet. When we had our initial Zoom meeting
with the planner at that time, he told us that we would have the
opportunity to utilize some nine -foot spaces if we wanted to for
the parking of the employees. I know there were questions raised
whether we're over parked on the property. You'll find that we're
not once the final occupancy loads come in based on the design
of the restaurant. But I just wanted to clear that up whether or not
that, because that's going to affect us by probably four or five
spaces. And like I said, currently using the standard that was
used in reviewing the required parking, we're over by seven or
eight parking spaces. I don't remember the exact number, but my
only concern then would be because I know that about 38% of
the interior of the restaurant is the food service production area.
The rest is the front seating and our employee counts, I just want
to make sure that we don't end up shy of parking when we get to
that point. Aside from that, Greg, anything you want to add to
that?
Mr. Marcelis:
We're just excited. You know, we also own the Black Label tavern
down the road. We've been there for over nine years. As you guys
know, it's a staple in the community, and we're very grateful to be
here. It's actually one of our best producing stores, and we're very
grateful that we're here, and we're really excited about this
opportunity. Just like Black Label tavern, we will promise you,
we'll go even bigger and greater and beautiful store for years to
come.
Mr. Wilshaw:
Mr. Uhazie:
Mr. Wilshaw:
Glenn
February 24, 2026
32274
Excellent. Thank you gentlemen for your comments. Mr. Uhazie,
as I understand it, nine foot spaces are allowed for employee
parking, but they still would need to be double striped, correct?
Correct. Yeah.
o there is an allowance for nine foot spaces in the case of
employee parking, but we'll just probably require that those be
double striped to keep with city standards. So those are details
too that can also be flushed out as we move along in the site plan
process as we go forward with this item. So, any questions for
our petitioner from any of my colleagues? Alright, anybody in the
audience wishing to speak on this item, go ahead and come to
our podium, sir. Thank you for coming this evening. Good
evening.
Openlander, 35824 Elmira, Livonia, MI. So, we're right behind the wall.
There just a couple questions, concerns. It mentions full service.
Does that mean alcohol?
Mr. Wilshaw: Full service means sit down dining, as opposed to limited service
time.
Mr. Openlander: Is there going to be alcohol?
Mr. Wilshaw:
Alcohol has not been discussed at this point, but I would
think...most large restaurants are probably going to request a
license that will come in a future.
Mr. Openlander: Yeah, a little concerned about that, because when the...I believe
it was Kickers which was just couple two lots over from this area.
There was an occasional can or bottle would come over the wall,
you'd see it. And down there, to the west, the restaurant, Kickers
and the Indian restaurant there now has a huge parking lot, and
it goes all the way to the wall, but there's no homes on that side
of Elmira. The homes are on the south side, so it's not a bother.
My concern is, if alcohol is involved, am I going to have bottles
and cans flying into my yard. People are people, but I'd rather not
have cans and bottles flying into my yard, if that's possible. I did
hear the recommendation of Arborvitaes and things would be put
along the wall for our privacy to maybe prevent that kind of thing.
Did I hear that right?
Mr. Wilshaw:
Yes, there is. Mr. Uhazie, there is proposed landscaping along
the south wall, is that correct?
February 24, 2026
32275
Mr. Uhazie: Correct.
Mr. Openlander: So that goes a long way to satisfying us. We're used to that. That
was...it used to be a really beautiful, forested area. It's kind of
what attracted a lot of us to the homes here. My one neighbor,
Paul Livingston, over there, he has beautiful Arborvitaes, and it's
like a private island. So, if something Eke that's possible, it would
be greatly appreciated, just to prevent...nobody wants to look at
a restaurant 24 hours a day, or see things flying over the wall.
The other concern I have is it mentions outdoor dining, you know,
and then the warm summer months. In the warm months, you
know, we'd like to have our windows open. Are we going to hear
music and parties and stuff, or would that outdoor dining be in the
front of the restaurant, like the Black Label down the road?
Mr. Wilshaw:
The plan is showing outdoor patios that are on the sides of the
building up toward the front. But, mind you, this is a preliminary
site plan that we're looking to approve. This isn't fully fleshed out
details. They will come back with a full detailed plan, and there'll
be opportunities for us to talk about things like, you know, if
there's going to be outdoor speakers or music, we're not quite
there.
Mr. Openlander: I mean, we're not trying to prevent progress or anybody from their
business. But you know, if there's people not far from your home
partying and laughing, which is good, but we, you know, open our
window and we hear that, you know, all the time, are the hours of
this restaurant late?
Mr. Wilshaw: We don't know those yet, it's not determined.
Mr. Openlander: I mean, you can see those two things go together, partying,
having fun till midnight or something wasn't, isn't fun for sleeping.
And it's a small lot, in a sense, because, like when you have the
car wash and the Kickers, they go all the way from Plymouth
Road all the way Iiterally,until Elmira, and our homes kind of jut
into this. So it's tight, which is our concern, basically. The
Arborvitaes go a long way. So, I really appreciate that. That was
my statement in the housing they were going to put in there.
Please put in Arborvitaes. So, it sounds like somebody
remembered that concept. I'm glad for that. Oh, and the dumpster
will be somewhat near the restaurant. I mean, they're not going
to put it against the back wall there, are they?
Mr. Wilshaw:
February 24, 2026
32276
It's not shown to be at the back wall. No, it's toward the southeast
corner of the property, but it's, it's significantly off the property
line.
Mr. Openlander: I mean, restaurant dumpsters have a lot of waste in them, and
just hoping it doesn't create orders for us homeowners. Other
than that, the Arborvitaes go a long way, and if they can just keep
the outdoor dining more towards the front is our request, I think.
Mr. Wilshaw:
Mr. Openlander, we appreciate you bringing all those questions
and thoughts to us, because those gives us, give us things that
we can think about as we move forward with this, and also the
petitioner as well.
Mr. Openlander: So, like I say, I'm not trying to stop it at all, just to make sure, like,
the outdoor dining isn't in the back, right against the wall. You
know, it'd be a nightmare. And the homes along the wall there the
five homes, six homes, some of them are two stories. My home
is two stories. The lighting can be directed down a little bit. I heard
something about the lighting. I am not a lighting guy.
Mr. Wilshaw: Yes, lighting is something we're very sensitive to these days and
making sure that it's downward facing and does not stray into any
of the adjacent properties.
Mr. Openlander: And I guess while I'm here, and I'm all done now, but there is a
like a U-haul garage on one side of that property, and then there's
the car wash on the other one, the Jax, I think it is. I've tried to
get through to the city engineering group, and I've spoken to both
of those companies building owners. The lights are shining into
our home really bad. They are not angled down at all. We have
to close our rear windows to that north facing wall, because at
night those lights are not down at all, and if somebody could
maybe speak to the Jax car wash and to the garage on the other
side. We're not trying to say no lights, but if they could put them
down, because they're really bright. We have to close our
windows. Here's another restaurant, but it sounds like it's in works
to put them down. So, I don't know if, I guess I'm asking for your
help. If somebody could look into those two businesses.
Mr. Wilshaw: We can make some inquiries and find out about that.
Mr. Openlander: Yeah, thank you, I appreciate everything and the time. Thank you
everybody.
Mr. Wilshaw:
February 24, 2026
32277
Well, thank you for your comments.. Thanks for coming tonight.
Anyone else in the audience wishing to speak on this item. Mr.
Openlander did an excellent job. Thank you.
Mr. Bonislawski: May I respond? Just for the sake of response.
Mr. Wilshaw: Please go ahead.
Mr. Bonislawski: First of all, even the name Kickers suggest to me that there would
be a beer can thrown on occasion. I'd like to stress that this is a
casual fine dining establishment. That's really all we typically get
involved with. With regards to the Arborvitae, first of all, with
regards to the site layout, we stayed well off of the back property
line. In fact, the Arborvitaes are not only for the purpose of
protecting the homes behind us, but it's also a backdrop for
viewing the restaurant from the road, because it's really terrible
to see a nice looking building with a really crappy looking wall
behind there. And then I'll just continue for one moment. We did
maintain a rather large buffer off that back area. We were very
cognizant of that. I personally had walked that site to see what
was going on with the homes that were behind there. That's that
issue is one that is important to us. And with regards to the
dumpster, that dumpster not only is held off from where the
parking starts, but an additional 20 feet beyond that, and it's
oriented in such a way that it's only seen from the back of the
building, not towards the front of the building. And with regards to
the patios, the patios are off to the sides of the building, up front.
And again, I would just stress though we will present the entire
food concept and the and the liquor concept and everything else.
This is a casual fine dining establishment meant for everybody,
and not a...at least the way...I've never seen Kickers, but the
name itself, it was a sports bar. Yeah, we're not, we're not either
one of those two things.
Mr. Wilshaw: All right, thank you, sir for those comments.
Mr. Openlander: I appreciate you bringing it up, because there is one other thing I
wanted to mention. They tore that forested area out of there.
There are a couple extremely large trees that are now standing
alone, and I've called the city. I'm a little concerned. When it's real
windy or stormy, I'm a little concerned it's going to drop on the
house. Might they be cleaning all that mess up? It's running like
old elms that are just a mess.
Mr. Bonislawski: There are more of them on the adjacent property, but we are
proposing to clear everything off of the property and put new...I
February 24, 2026
32278
mean it will look better for our lighting, too. Just for the sake of
the continuity our lighting, we work with clearest lighting
constantly and every one of our projects, we don't even...we're
well underneath the 0.5 foot candles around the entire property,
and we have cut off fixtures that are specifically designed to keep
the Tight on our property.
Mr. Openlander: Yeah, not worried. I mean, just as long as it's down, not pointing
at the house. Thank you.
Mr. Wilshaw: Thank you, sir. Thank you. Thank you for those comments. Any
other questions for our petitioner, any other comments from
anyone else, if not anything else you'd like to say before I make
our decision?
Mr. Bonislawski: No, thank you. Appreciate you having heard us.
Mr. Marselis: Just excited, and hopefully you guys give us another opportunity,
like you did with Black Label.
Mr. Wilshaw:
Mr. Marselis:
Mr. Wilshaw:
One yes and again, this is we're moving rather quickly on this
tonight, because, you know, we are waiting for a lot more detail
from you. I'm sure we'll see that back here shortly, and we'll have
a lot more discussion on the fine details of your dining
establishment.
I'm hoping to surprise you with something that everybody's gonna
love.
I have high expectations for that. Thank you. If there's nothing
else to say, I am going to close the public hearing, and a motion
would be in order.
On a motion by Droze, seconded by Long, and unanimously adopted, it was
#02-12-2026
RESOLVED, That pursuant to a Public Hearing having been held
by the City Planning Commission on February 24, 2026, on
Petition 2026-02-02-06 submitted by Greg Marselis of Livonia
Properties, LLC, requesting waiver use approval pursuant to
Sections 3.11 and 6.51 of the Livonia Zoning Ordinance to
operate a full -service restaurant and outdoor seating at 35841
Plymouth Road, located on the south side of Plymouth Road
between Yale Avenue and Levan Road in the Northeast 1/4 of
Section 32, the Planning Commission does hereby recommend
to the City Council that Petition 2026-02-02-06 be approved
subject to the following conditions:
February 24, 2026
32279
The Site Plan identified as Sheet S100 prepared by
Ronandroman Architects, dated January 23, 2026, is hereby
approved and shall be adhered to;
2. The Landscape Plan identified as Sheet L100 prepared by
Ronandroman Architects, dated January 23, 2026, is hereby
approved and shall be adhered to;
3. The petitioner shall return to the Planning Commission for
review and approval of the following items prior to final site
plan approval;
• Detailed building elevations and architectural renderings
depicting all sides of the structure, including material
specifications and color schemes;
• Sign location details, including size, placement, and
method of illumination;
• A utility plan identifying water, sanitary sewer, storm
sewer, and other public or private utility connections;
• A circulation plan demonstrating adequate on -site
maneuverability for service vehicles, including garbage
trucks, delivery vehicles, and emergency apparatus.
4. That all light fixtures shall not exceed twenty feet (20') in
height and shall be aimed and shielded so as to minimize
stray light trespassing across property lines and glaring into
adjacent roadways;
5. That the Petitioner shall work with the Planning Department
to install additional Plymouth Road Development Authority
(PRDA) fencing landscaping along Plymouth Road;
6. That all existing landscaped areas shall be cleaned up, re -
managed and permanently maintained in a healthy
condition;
7. Parking spaces shall be doubled striped at ten feet (10')
wide by twenty feet (20') in length for costumer parking and
at nine feet (9') wide by twenty feet (20') in length;
8. That all existing and proposed landscaped areas shall be
irrigated by an automatic underground irrigation system;
9. That all rooftop mechanical equipment shall be concealed
from public view on all sides by screening that shall be of a
February 24, 2026
32280
compatible character, material and color to other exterior
materials on the building; and
10. This approval is valid for a period of ONE YEAR ONLY from
the date of approval by City Council, and unless a building
permit is obtained, this approval shall be null and void at the
expiration of said period.
FURTHER RESOLVED, That notice of the above hearing was
given in accordance with the provisions of Section 13.13 of the
Livonia Zoning Ordinance, as amended.
Mr. Wilshaw: Is there any discussion?
Mr. Wilshaw, Chairman, declared the motion is carried and the foregoing resolution
adopted. It will go on to City Council with an approving resolution.
ITEM #4 PETITION 2026-01-08-01 Marwan Haidar Gas Station
Mr. Caramagno, Secretary, announced the first item on the agenda Petition 2026-
01-08-01 submitted by Marwan Haidar on behalf of M Corp
Holdings LLC. requesting site plan approval under Section 13.13
of the Livonia Zoning Ordinance, as amended, to demolish the
existing gas station and fuel pumps at 29230 Five Mile Road, and
construct a new gas station convenience store and fuel pumps,
located the northeast corner of Middle Belt Road and Five Mile
Road in the southwest'/4 of Section 13.
Mr. Uhazie:
Thank you. This is a request to demolish the existing gas station
fuel pumps and construct a new gas station; convenience store
and fuel pumps located on the northeast corner of Middle Belt
Road and Five Mile. The site is currently zoned C-2, as well as
the surrounding properties. To the west is the CVS pharmacy,
florist, McDonald's. To the east is a pet supply store. To the south
is an automobile repair shop, and to the north is a clothing store.
The proposed one-story store and carry out establishment would
be approximately 2,797 square feet in size. The new proposed
building would be 81 and a half feet from Five Mile Road and
approximately 76 feet from Middle Belt Road. Access to the site
would be from Middle Belt Road and Five Mile Roads. The
circulation plan shows a truck coming from the westbound Five
Mile, along the west side of the property to the underground tank,
and then after refueling the station, the tanker would exit along
the northern most exit onto Middle Belt Road. The petitioner
shows an underground fuel tank to the west of the proposed
building. One thing to note is that the petitioner has proposed
Mr. Wilshaw:
Mr. Uhazie:
February 24, 2026
32281
reducing the drive widths and change the turning radiuses to
match the Wayne County requirements. Parking for the site is
required to have at least six spaces for the gas station portion.
The carry out restaurant is approximately 300 square feet in size,
which would require three parking spaces. The petitioner has
stated that there'd be one expected employee for that food
service area which would bring the total required spaces for
parking to 10. The zoning ordinance does allow for the alternative
parking standards as the ITE parking generation manual. Under
these considerations, the required parking would be seven
spaces. The site plan shows a total of seven spaces, one of which
is barrier free. The site plan does show a proposed trash
enclosure on the northwest corner of the building. The bricks
would match the exterior of the building, and the plan shows a
six -foot -tall masonry wall and the dumpster gate made of solid
metal panels. The canopy for the new fueling center would have
six, or excuse me, three gas pumps to accommodate six cars.
The pump island would run parallel to Middle Belt Road frontage
and the canopy plan shows a height of 17 feet. The canopy would
be non -illuminated. The petitioner satisfies the height
requirements for gas station canopies. The landscape plan
requires three deciduous trees, one ornamental and 22 shrubs
along Middle Belt and along Five Mile there should be three trees,
one ornamental tree and 24 shrubs. The petitioner only shows
eight trees and 38 shrubs. The lighting plan shows there will be
two 18 foot light poles. One over the northwest approach and one
over the southeast approach. There will also be two light fixtures
mounted on the principal structure, one on the west side of the
building, one on the south side of the building. Measurable light
levels spill beyond the property which may impact adjacent
properties. The exterior lighting should be properly shielded and
directed downward to limit glare and avoid distractions. The
elevation plan shows the facade will be primarily of security glass
with accents of ACM, dark gray face brick and dark brown
composite siding along the front facade. A color rendering was
provided here as well. The interior floor plan shows a large retail
area, takeout restaurant, cashier, counter area, cooler, office and
unisex bathroom. The petitioner did add free air along the north
property line by the loading area in front of the dumpster. With
that, Mr. Chairman, I can read out the departmental
correspondence.
Yes, please.
Mr. Uhazie: The first item is from the Engineering Division,
dated February 4, 2026, which reads as follows: "in accordance
February 24, 2026
32282
with your request, the Engineering Division has reviewed the
above referenced petition. We have no objections to the
proposed project at this time, but would like to note the following
items: 1. The subject parcel is assigned the address of #15300
Middlebelt Road. The business is currently using the address of
29230 Five Mile Road, although it was never officially assigned
to the property. If they wish to continue using the Five Mile Road
address instead of the official Middlebelt Road address, the
owner will need to submit a request to this Department for an
official change of address. 2. The existing parcel is currently
serviced by public sanitary sewer and water main. The submitted
drawings do not include any proposed utility information or
calculations, but based on the project scope, we do not believe
there will be any negative impacts on the existing systems. 3.
Drainage from the proposed building shall not be shed on to the
neighboring properties, and downspouts will need to be directed
to their own parking lot. 4. The owner will need to submit
proposed Engineering drawings to this Department once
planning approvals have been obtained to determine what
permits will be required in association with utility revisions. 5.
Drawings shall be submitted to the Wayne County Department of
Public Service for comments on access control and possible
permitting for the removal of existing approaches, if required by
the County."The letter is signed by David W. Lear, P.E., Assistant
City Engineer. The next letter is from the Livonia Fire & Rescue
Division, dated February 10, 2026, which reads as follows: "This
office has reviewed the site plan submitted in connection with the
new construction and use of the property located at the above
referenced address. No objections to this proposal with the
stipulations: 1. Follow State codes and regulations for scheduled
inspections and code compliance. 2. Provide appropriate
documentation for the removal and install of the Underground
Storage Tanks. 3. Provide the appropriate documentation
(permits, plans) of all cooking operations. A further detailed plan
review will take place when this division receives an official plan
set." The letter is signed by Brian Kukla, Fire Marshal. The next
letter is from the Division of Police, dated January 20, 2026, which
reads as follows: "I have reviewed the plans in connection with
the petition. I have no objections to the proposal." The letter is
signed by Brendan Adams, Sergeant, Traffic Bureau. The next
letter is from the Inspection Department, dated February 21,
2026, which reads as follows: "Pursuant to your request, the
above -referenced Petition has been reviewed. 1. Parking spaces
shall be 10' wide and 20' deep and double -striped. 2. The van -
accessible barrier -free parking space shall be sized, signed, and
marked in accordance with the Michigan Barrier -Free Code. The
February 24, 2026
32283
minimum size shall be an 8'- wide parking space with an 8'-wide
hashed area. The proposed barrier -free parking spot does not
conform as shown. 3. The dumpster enclosure must be
constructed of the same or compatible material and colors as the
principal building in terms of texture and quality. The walls of the
enclosure shall be a minimum of 6' in height or 1' above the
dumpster, whichever is greater. The enclosure gates shall be of
solid panel steel construction or durable, long-lasting solid panel
fiberglass and, when not in use, closed at all times. 4. Exterior
lighting sources shall be designed, constructed, located, and
maintained in a manner that minimizes light trespass onto
neighboring properties and public ways. The light trespass from
a property shall not exceed 0.5-foot-candles at the property line,
measured five (5) feet from the ground. 5. Lighting underneath
the canopy shall not exceed 20 foot-candles over the average of
the area. 6. Signage shall be conforming to the ordinance. Any
non -conforming signage would require a variance from the
Zoning Board of Appeals. This Department has no further
objections to this Petition." The letter is signed by Jerome Hanna,
Director of Inspection. The next letter is from the Finance
Department, dated February 9, 2026, which reads as follows: "1
have reviewed the addresses connected with the above noted
petition. The following amounts are due to the City of Livonia:
Unpaid Permit: Total Due City of Livonia $88.00." The letter is
signed by Benjamin Grier, Director of Finance. The next letter is
from the Treasurer's Department, dated January 21, 2026, which
reads as follows: "The owner of the property is current on their
property tax." The letter is signed by Susie Nash, Treasurer. That
is the extent of the correspondence.
Mr. Wilshaw: Thank you. Mr. Uhazie. Any questions for staff? If not, our
petitioner is in the audience. Feel free to come forward. Good
evening, sir. Name and address for our record.
Michael Beydoun, 4320 Pratt Road, Ann Arbor, Michigan, 48103
Mr. Wilshaw: Thank you, Mr. Beydoun. What would you like to tell us about the
request to redevelop this gas station?
Mr. Beydoun: Well, actually, we're making a complete makeup of that corner
right there. So even including shrinking out the driveways, which
I believe one of them is about 60 feet right now, and it's shared
with the next door neighbor, so we're shrinking it down. And by
shrinking it down, actually, that helped us create more parking
into the property, and creating some kind of a berm, as you can
see right there on Five Mile, Accommodating, actually the site, or
February 24, 2026
32284
fulfilling the requirements of the Wayne County, of course, also
still, you know, the approaches still have to go in front of them,
based on the radiuses and all that. And I know we're not allowed
to have anything more than 30 feet in width, so we tried to comply
with that. We will be taking the sign out and comply with the
monument sign. And as far as the lighting, we will make sure that
it's shielded and does not spill to the next door. And when it
comes up to engineering, we do have a topographical survey is
almost done right now. As soon as that one there is done, we will
be sending the project to a civil engineer, and that will be
designed in the underground and all that kind of stuff to comply
with all the requirements. As far as that address, for some reason,
I kept looking that one when I was going on Google. But we will
probably try to keep the address. I will talk to the owner about it,
if he likes to keep that address. If it's not, we'll pay the fees and
move on. I really worked hard this time and tried to give you
something as far as the truck route. Yes, we see that. And
something I learned from the last meeting actually as far as
gasoline tankers, even if you have a 20,000 underground tank for
storage, or 22 or 30,000, the law that will not allow you to
transport gasoline for more than, I believe, 9,800 gallons can
actually travel on the road. Usually, the tanker for that comes in
like 35 feet, maximum 40 feet. So, it's not a 60 foot tankers. There
is nothing like that. And usually, even if you have 20,000-gallon
underground storage, you will not be ordering 20,000 at the same
time. So, you order some of what you actually need, or you think
that you need for that week or a few days, and things like that.
And as far as delivery, most of them actually will be delivering the
gas actually either early in the morning or late or after midnight.
Other than that, if you have any questions.
Mr. Wilshaw: Let's see if there's any questions for you. Any questions for our
petitioner?
Mr. Droze:
Mr. Beydoun:
This is something, as you engage your civil engineer to talk with
our city Engineering Department that southern driveway on
Middle Belt, you narrowed it up. Is there any chance that you
could close it all together, just from a traffic safety perspective,
because that would also help with your landscape, because you
could get some more green space back. Is that something you
could look at potentially?
I can take a look at that one there, but in small sites like that, or
in gas stations, once you close those approaches, it's going to be
very hard for a firetruck or for safety reason to come in. I mean,
in another word, you'll kill the business, but we'll take it under
Mr. Droze:
February 24, 2026
32285
consideration and see if we can talk to the engineer. You
recommend...you're asking only for one, right?
Just the one, yeah. You obviously need the one for the gas truck,
so I'm not suggesting taking the one off Five Mile, but if you don't
need the one on Middle Belt, from a traffic safety perspective, I
think it helps.
Mr. Beydoun: Because you know what, you might be right, because you just
need to get the customer in and out. And if the customer comes
in there and get trapped, he will never come back there the next
time. And, yeah, I don't believe if they come from Five Mile, they
can go straight Middle Belt and all that. You uh,
Mr. Droze:
Mr. Beydoun:
The only other thing is, at least on the...you're kind of adding
some parking spaces, I think I saw bumper blocks. Could you do
actual like, curb and gutter along there, just to kind of formalize
that eastern edge of your property?
Well, we will have a curb and gutter, and also, if you're not a fan
of the bumper block, that will actually prevent them from parking.
You know, the car extended over the carbon gutters
Mr. Droze: It's more of a finished look to me than just putting those bumper
blocks in. Just my personal preference.
Mr. Beydoun: We will actually have, because...we will have curve and gutters
no matter what, but if you don't like the bumper block, we'll take
them up.
Mr. Droze: You can have them both. But I think at a minimum, I think you
should have the curb and gutter.
Mr. Beydoun: It will be actually laid out when we do the engineering and the
concrete and the grades and all that, it will be actually showing
up right there.
Mr. Wilshaw Thank you. Mr. Droze.
Mr. Caramagno: Mr. Chair, I got something. Got a couple things. The rendering of
the building. What is that lower dark panel on the front of that
building?
Mr. Beydoun: What ? You mean by the windows?
Mr. Caramagno: Under the windows? What is that lower dark panel.
Mr. Beydoun:
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It's actually full of glass from the finished floor all the way up. But
instead of putting in glass, that would be like some kind of an
ACM material.
Mr. Caramagno: What kind of material?
Mr. Beydoun: Maybe ACM, even the aluminum composite materials.
Mr. Caramagno: Aluminum panels. Is there any reason we can't have brick along
the bottom of this building, some sort of rock, some sort of stone,
make it look a little bit better?
Mr. Beydoun: The same thing like on the side?
Mr. Caramagno: Yeah, something down along the front.
Mr.Beydoun: I have no problem with that.
Mr. Caramagno: Yeah, I think, I think that's better. I've seen this window or tint
down to the floor of many other stations, and it's not slightly.
Looks like hell.
Mr. Beydoun: You got it.
Mr. Caramagno: So that's number one. Second thing is the dumpster enclosure on
the back of the building. It's going to go into that notched area of
the building.
Mr. Beydoun: Correct.
Mr. Caramagno: I would encourage you to make sure that's plenty large in the
event the dumpster goes back and do you plan on putting bollards
in on the building sides of the enclosure?
Mr. Beydoun: Of course. I don't know if you see it in the dumpster.
Mr. Caramagno: I didn't see it on there.
Mr. Beydoun: It's not in there. Yeah, there is Ballard like...
Mr. Caramagno: And even on the floor, on both sides and in the back?
Mr. Beydoun: All four corners, actually, and it'll be like a six inch and it's away,
actually a little bit from the building.
Mr. Caramagno:
Mr. Beydoun:
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Yeah, just in case it's butts up to the building, like that dumpster
slips off there, go right through the building.
I understand that. I would have put it on the outside of the
building, but it's going to be look ugly like hell. And then that's
where we have actually, I would gain more square foot inside the
building if I take it out.
Mr. Caramagno: Make sure it's plenty of space, plenty of width. Sometimes you
put them bollards in, it doesn't allow for the proper truck to get in
there. Dumpsters are one thing, trucks are another. Make sure
it's plenty wide.
Mr. Beydoun:
Got it.
Mr. Caramagno: Okay? Thank you.
Mr. Beydoun:
Mr. Wilshaw:
Mr. Beydoun:
I'll take a look at that.
Very good. Thank you, Mr. Beydoun. Any other questions? One
question for you, rooftop mechanicals, are you going to have
screening or are those going to be visible at all?
Can we pull the elevation plans up please? Right there. I drew it,
but probably I did not include it in this set, but it is well, it will be
shielded.
Mr. Wilshaw: So, you're going to have shielding around the rooftop
mechanical?
Correct.
There is a note all, all rooftop shall be screened.
Okay, very good.
I knew I put something there.
Mr. Beydoun:
Mr. Uhazie:
Mr. Wilshaw:
Mr. Beydoun:
Mr. Wilshaw:
Alright, I just want to make sure we have that. Sometimes it gets
missed. Alright. Any other questions from anyone? Anyone in our
audience wishing to speak on this item? Anything else you'd like
to tell us?
Mr. Beydoun: Just give me an approval so I can move to the next site.
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32288
Mr. Wilshaw: Let's see what we can do for you. If there's no other comments or
questions, a motion is in order.
On a motion by Long, seconded by Droze, and unanimously adopted, it was
#02-13-2026
RESOLVED, That the City Planning Commission does hereby
recommend to the City Council that Petition 2026-01-08-01
submitted by Marwan Haidar on behalf of M Corp Holdings LLC.
requesting site plan approval under Section 13.13 of the Livonia
Zoning Ordinance, as amended, to demolish the existing gas
station and fuel pumps at 29230 Five Mile Road, and construct a
new gas station convenience store and fuel pumps, located the
northeast corner of Middle Belt Road and Five Mile Road in the
southwest 1/4 of Section 13., be approved for the following
reasons or subject to the following conditions:
1. That the Demolition Plan identified as Sheet AS100
prepared by A&M Consultants, dated December 22, 2025,
is hereby approved and shall be adhered to;
2. That the Site Plan identified as Sheet AS101 prepared by
A&M Consultants, dated February 16, 2026, is hereby
approved and shall be adhered to;
3. That the Canopy Plan identified as Sheet AS1012 prepared
by A&M Consultants, dated February 2, 2026, is hereby
approved and shall be adhered to;
4. That the Landscaping Plan identified as Sheet LS100
prepared by A&M Consultants, dated February 16, 2026, is
hereby approved and shall be adhered to;
5. That the Elevation Plan identified as Sheet A101 prepared
by A&M Consultants, dated February 16, 2026, is hereby
approved and shall be adhered to;
6. That the Floor Plan identified as Sheet A100 prepared by
A&M Consultants, dated February 2, 2026, is hereby
approved and shall be adhered to;
7. That the petitioner shall explore the closure of the southern
drive on Middlebelt Road;
The materials under the security glass on the front facade
shall be made of brick or stone to the satisfaction of the
Planning Director;
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32289
9. The van -accessible barrier -free parking space shall be
sized, signed, and marked in accordance with the Michigan
Barrier -Free Code. The minimum size shall be an 8'-wide
parking space with an 8'-wide hashed area;
10. That the gas pump island canopy shall not exceed eighteen
feet (18') in height and its support columns shall be covered
with the same brick used in the construction of the building;
11. That all light fixtures shall not exceed twenty feet (20') in
height and shall be aimed and shielded so as to minimize
stray light trespassing across property lines and glaring into
adjacent roadway;
12. That free air shall be provided at all times this station is open
for business. The free air shall be dispensed at the point of
service without having to enter the station or the
performance of any extra action in order to obtain the air
without charge;
13. That the specific plans referenced in this approving
resolution shall be submitted to the Inspection Department
at the time the building permits are applied for; and;
14. This approval is valid for a period of ONE YEAR ONLY from
the date of approval by City Council, and unless a building
permit is obtained, this approval shall be null and void at the
expiration of said period.
Mr. Wilshaw: Is there any discussion?
Mr. Wilshaw, Chairman, declared the motion is carried and the foregoing resolution
adopted. It will go onto City Council with an approving resolution.
ITEM #5 APPROVAL OF MINUTES 1,241st Public Hearings and
Regular Meeting
Mr. Caramagno, Secretary, announced the next item on the agenda, Approval of
the Minutes of the 1,241st Public Hearing and Regular Meeting
held on February 3, 2026.
On a motion by Caramagno, seconded by Long, and unanimously adopted, it was
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32290
#02-14-2026 RESOLVED, That the Minutes of 1,241st Public Hearings and
Regular Meeting held by the Planning Commission on February
3, 2026, are hereby approved.
A roll call vote on the foregoing resolution resulted in the following:
AYES:
NAYS:
ABSENT:
ABSTAIN:
Droze, Long, Caramagno, Wilshaw
None
Dinaro, Bongero, Ventura
None
Mr. Wilshaw, Chairman, declared the motion is carried and the foregoing resolution
adopted.
On a motion duly made, seconded and unanimously adopted, the 1,242nd Public
Hearings and Regular Meeting held on February 24, 2026 as adjourned at 8:50
p.m.
ATTEST:
Ian Wilshaw, Chairman
CITY PL ING COMMISSION
Sam Caramagno, Secretary