Livonia council delays decision on oil-change site after debate over $17,000 in back taxes and utility easement

City Council members debated a waiver-use petition to allow a 2,117-square-foot full-service oil-change facility at 27410 Joy Road, but did not vote tonight, instead placing competing approve-and-deny motions on the May 19 regular meeting and asking the applicant for documentation about unpaid taxes and a revised site plan.

The request, submitted by NC Designers and Contracting, would put a three-bay oil-change building on a roughly one-third-acre vacant parcel at the northwest corner of Joy and Inkster Roads. Planning staff said the planning commission recommended approval after the applicant moved a proposed driveway farther north on Inkster and adjusted circulation, lighting and dumpster plans.

The petition matters because the site has not been developed for about 30 years and would convert a vacant lot into a commercial use with a drive-in circulation pattern; council members focused on whether outstanding property taxes should be cleared before approval and on how overhead utility poles affect dumpster placement.

Planning staff described the proposal in detail: a building with a storage room, mechanical space, lobby/cashier area, bathroom and three work bays; counterclockwise vehicle circulation entering from the west and exiting to the east; three parking spaces; a requirement for underground stormwater storage; and compliance with illumination limits in the zoning ordinance. Staff also said new data received that evening showed the Inkster driveway shifted north to address a planning-commission concern.

Rob Bueschel, identified as representing NC Designers and Architects, and Todd Ballow, identified as the purchaser, answered council questions about site layout, hours and taxes. Ballow said the planned hours of operation are 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily, with Sunday hours of 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and that he intends to close and proceed quickly if approvals are granted.

Council members pressed the applicant on unpaid taxes. Councilmember Donovic said the two parcels carry roughly $15,000 in back taxes (about $5,461 for the subject parcel and $11,319 for the adjacent parcel to the north) and asked for proof those amounts will be paid. Ballow said his purchase agreement requires payoff at closing and that he expects to close within two weeks after council approval; he asked the title company to handle tax payoffs at closing.

Council members proposed conditions and next steps: one councilmember said permits or a certificate of occupancy should not be issued until taxes are paid; another urged the seller be contacted immediately to pay outstanding taxes. The council recorded competing motions for the May 19 regular meeting — an approving motion and a denying motion — to allow time for the taxes and final site revisions to be documented.

City Treasurer Susan Nash confirmed the tax amounts in the meeting: $5,461.02 on the subject parcel and $11,319.25 on the adjacent property, and advised any tax payoff would be made through Wayne County.

Applicants and staff were asked to return with final site plans showing how they will accommodate the overhead utility pole and dumpster location, and with title-company documentation or other proof that the two parcels’ taxes will be paid before permits are issued or before closing. The planning-commission recommendation for approval remains part of the record; the council did not adopt a final determination at the study meeting.

If the council votes on May 19, the outcome will determine whether the petitioner can close and proceed toward permits and construction.