Resident reads attorney’s statement urging council to deny Sheetz rezoning, cites Vision 21 and zoning ordinance

During the public-comment period at the start of the Jan. 13, 2025, Livonia City Council meeting, a resident read a written statement from attorney and community planner Will Lindley urging the city to deny a Sheetz rezoning application.

The statement argued the Sheetz application seeks expansion from C-1 to C-2 zoning and a variance that, according to Lindley’s written remarks, conflicts with the city’s zoning ordinance and the official Vision 21 master plan. The statement said Vision 21’s maps designate the 8 Mile and Newburgh site for parks and recreation, and that the planning director must determine whether an application conforms to the zoning ordinance and the Vision 21 land-use plan.

“I quote, ‘full legal consideration must be given to the following two facts,’” the reader said, relaying Lindley’s written language. The statement continued that, because the application does not conform to the city’s adopted land-use plan, the planning director should recommend denial to the planning commission and that the planning commission lacks authority to unilaterally amend the ordinance or plan.

The remarks asked the council to enforce Livonia law and deny the Sheetz application “with prejudice,” the statement concluded. The resident who read the statement said Will Lindley lives at 20218 Edgewood in Deer Creek subdivision and that Lindley was out of town and asked the speaker to present his comments.

Council members did not take action on the Sheetz application during the meeting; the remarks were submitted during the audience-comment portion and were not tied to a council vote on the record that evening.

The city’s planning staff and planning commission processes determine whether a rezoning and variance conform to the zoning ordinance and master plan; the council’s formal actions occur after planning commission recommendations and any required public hearings.