The City of Southfield Planning Commission on April 30 voted to forward a favorable recommendation to City Council for PTZA25-0001, a zoning-text amendment that expands permitted uses in the Office Service (OS) district to include limited retail and specialty food uses intended to fill vacant small office buildings.

Planner Crowe told commissioners the OS district covers roughly 400 parcels (about 430 acres) of mostly small office buildings and that vacancies and underuse have led to deferred maintenance and occasional illegal occupancies. The amendment removes language that limited OS to pure office uses and adds standards for small retail and restaurants.

Key provisions
- Retail permitted in OS up to 2,000 square feet with default hours 7 a.m.–7 p.m.; later hours may be permitted by council as a special condition.
- Restaurants and small delis/carryouts are proposed as special land uses in OS, capped at 2,000 square feet; exterior storage of waste grease is prohibited and internal containment is required.
- Drive-throughs, drive-in restaurants and bars/lounges were explicitly excluded from the OS amendment as adopted; planning staff noted those uses can be considered in other commercial districts or in a future separate amendment.
- Freestanding pharmacies under 2,000 square feet would become permitted uses in OS; pharmacies over 2,000 square feet remain a special land use.
- Planning staff suggested and the commission accepted a modification limiting retail display windows to faces adjacent to a public right-of-way to reduce potential nuisance impacts on nearby residences.

Why it matters: planners presented the amendment as a targeted, incremental step to make smaller, older office buildings more attractive to local entrepreneurs and small businesses (including women- and minority-owned startups) while preserving neighborhood protections.

Commission response and action
Commissioners discussed hours, nuisance concerns and the political prudence of excluding bars and lounges at this stage. Commissioner Willis moved the favorable recommendation with the display-window modification; Commissioner Bernutti supported the motion and the commission voted in favor. Planning staff said the amendment is consistent with the master plan and will be forwarded to council for consideration.