Planning commission recommends stricter rules for gas stations, car washes and auto service uses

The Pontiac Planning Commission voted to recommend approval of a city‑initiated zoning text amendment that creates separate rules for gas stations, auto service (mechanics and tire shops) and car washes and sets new location, buffering and operational requirements for those uses.

Planning staff presented the proposal as a response to a July moratorium City Council placed on new automobile services while staff studied whether the zoning code provided adequate protections for nearby residents. Mark Yandrick, who presented the draft, said staff had reviewed other cities’ codes and borrowed elements from Royal Oak’s approach: “We were getting a lot of applications … it was really based on citizen concerns focused on health, safety, and welfare of the properties located within the vicinity,” he said.

Key provisions recommended by staff include: requiring gas pumps and canopies to be set back 30 feet from property lines; requiring Type A streets (defined by the draft as roads with roughly 15,000 vehicles per day) for new stations; requiring a masonry screening wall plus two deciduous trees per 100 feet where a station or service use is adjacent to residential property; requiring truck‑turn analyses and fire‑truck turn demonstrations at the site‑plan level for fuel facilities; limiting clustering of service stations in commercial corridor districts (no more than three service stations within a one‑mile radius in C3/C4 zones); restricting car washes from being immediately adjacent to residential parcels and requiring on‑site stacking lanes to prevent queuing onto public streets; and requiring one EV charging station where a new gas station includes 10 or more pumps.

Why it matters: Staff said the changes are intended to prevent concentrations of marginal properties and reduce nuisances that have emerged along some corridors. The draft does not prohibit gas stations citywide; it limits where and how they may be sited and raises technical standards for operations and screening.

Deliberation and public input: Commissioners said the draft provides “teeth” the city previously lacked and thanked staff for more detailed rules. Commissioners asked whether the draft should also limit the number of gas stations; staff replied they had limited service stations more tightly and had deliberately required gas stations be on higher‑volume Type A streets to reduce neighborhood encroachment. The commission also discussed whether leaded gasoline or octane restrictions belonged in the municipal code; staff and counsel said product regulation is primarily handled at the state and federal level.

Action and next steps: The Planning Commission voted to recommend approval of the text amendment; the commission’s motion passed and was recorded as a recommendation to City Council for two readings. Staff will forward the text amendment and supporting materials to City Council, after which the ordinance would return to Council for two readings and final action. If approved by Council the updated code will govern future site plans for gas stations, car washes and auto service businesses.

Ending: The draft ordinance includes explicit performance and screening requirements and will now go to City Council for legislative consideration. Planning staff said they intend to monitor issues related to EV charging as the technology and market evolve.