VBT planners extend approvals for Mobil gas station

On May 12, 2021, the Van Buren Township Planning Commission approved the preliminary site plan and special land use for the redevelopment of the Mobil gas station at the corner of Haggerty Road and the I-94 North Service Drive.
Those approvals were good for one year. At its June 8 meeting, the commission unanimously voted to grant a one-year extension on the approvals.
“Unfortunately for reasons beyond our control, we have experienced a delay in submitting the required information to move our project forward,” wrote Kassem Allie, general manager of Safiedine Oil Company, in a letter to the township, on behalf of owner IS Real Estate LLC / Belleville Oil Company.
The plan approved involved demolishing buildings at the existing gas station site and constructing a new convenience store with retail and food service, including a drive-thru lane and one drive-thru window, gasoline pumps, and related site improvements.
“The pandemic and the severe backup of work it caused made it difficult for our surveyors, architects and engineers to catch up. In fact one of the companies we contracted had the principal engineer working on our project succumb to COVID. We have also experienced some delay because of the backup of work at the county level.”
Allie wrote that their intent is to move quickly to complete all the work necessary to start construction of their project in the most expeditious way possible.
“We appreciate the township’s cooperation and patience on this project and hope to develop this site into a successful business that will be an asset to the Van Buren Township community,” Allie wrote.
No one from the company was present at the June 8 meeting, but VBT Planning and Economic Development Director Dan Power said the staff supported the one-year extension.
In other business at the one-hour-and-18-minute meeting on June 8, the commission:
• Held a public hearing on requested revisions to the Planned Residential Development at Cobblestone Creek Villas that had been approved for the previous owners. Steve Walsh, treasurer of the existing homeowners’ association next door to the development, said Reno Soave came to them and asked for support and “two-thirds of the required people supported this, as well.” Soave said Infinity Acquisitions purchased this unfinished development from C.A. Kime six months ago and he has been working with the residents living next to the site for the past three months and they have given positive responses to his plans. Soave said this is their third development in Van Buren Township;
• Discussed at length the special land use and preliminary plan revisions requested for Cobblestone Creek Villas and voted to table both to a future time when all the recently submitted information is available for review and details worked out. The staff was directed to expedite the procedure. The property involved is 6.88 acres on Chinkapin Drive and Pinewood Lane in the 117.06-acre Cobblestone Creek Villas on the south side of West Huron River Drive, east of Hoeft Road. The president of the adjoining homeowners’ association Louis Beaudoin said they reviewed it and the board voted unanimously to support this project;
• Approved a public hearing for gasoline filling and gasoline service station zoning ordinance text amendments. Director Power said the public hearing will probably be scheduled for the first or second meeting in July or first meeting in August. The changes would move gas stations from zoning that has it a permitted use, and make it requiring special land use so its location would need to be approved by the commission;
• Briefly discussed a sample ordinance on EV stations found by Vidya Krishan, planning consultant from McKenna Associates. She said placement of EV stations is important and EV should not just be a footnote in the gas station ordinance. She said she will bring a new ordinance to the commission in the future for it to consider;
• Heard Power say the ordinance text amendments to support the Sumpter Road Corridor Plan have been changed after discussion by the commission on May 25. He said he now has sent out a full, refined version to commissioners to review, but has not posted anything new online. He said he will schedule discussion on the ordinance amendments and the plan for an appropriate meeting when they will have time to discuss them at length; and
• Was informed of a series of webinar classes members can sign up for. The requirement for commission membership is two training sessions per year. Three training sessions per year are required for members of the Zoning Board of Appeals.
The June 8 planning commission meeting convened with a bare quorum of four: Chairman Bryon Kelley, Callie Barr, Brian Cullen, and Jeff Jahr. Absent and excused were Sharry Budd and Medina Atchinson. Commissioner Budd was watching the meeting by zoom and she hoped she would be able to rejoin them soon.