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Residents press council to block reopening of McNichols–Lodge gas station after deadly incidents
Summary
Multiple residents called on council to prevent reopening of a mobile gas station at West McNichols and John C. Lodge where two people died following separate incidents. Council members said the facility was previously shut and urged legal and licensing follow‑up; some callers asked council to subpoena sale records.
Multiple residents and community leaders told Detroit City Council during public comment that a mobile gas station at West McNichols and John C. Lodge should not be allowed to reopen following violent incidents at that location.
Speakers recounted two separate fatalities they tied to incidents at the station and urged council to investigate whether the recent change in ownership circumvents licensing and enforcement requirements. “We don't deserve to die over a bag of chips,” Council Member Angela Whitfield Callaway said during follow‑up remarks, citing constituent concerns and describing past enforcement actions at the site.
Callers asked whether the new owner had completed required safety checks and certificates of occupancy; several speakers requested that council subpoena sale paperwork and related records to determine whether a land‑contract transfer was being used to evade enforcement. Council members indicated they would follow up: Member Callaway said she would work to get answers from the administration and legal staff; other members asked the city law department and corporation counsel to review records. Staff present said administrative records are available online and that the Planning and Economic Development committee and the law department had reviewed the matter earlier.
Council members noted a related local ordinance — referred to in the meeting as the Carlos Kettle ordinance — that bars businesses from locking patrons inside a store; members said it was adopted after prior incidents at the same station. Member Callaway said she and other members had physically helped close the station and put enforcement stickers on the door after the most recent death.
There was no formal council action to bar reopening during the meeting; council members directed staff to provide information and to work with corporation counsel, and several members pledged to press for records and, if necessary, legal remedies.
— Reported from the Detroit City Council meeting
