Garden City board approves variances to allow quick‑lube at 28016 Ford Road

GARDEN CITY, Mich. — The Garden City Zoning Board of Appeals voted unanimously Nov. 5 to grant four variances that will allow a manual car wash at 28016 Ford Road to be redeveloped as a drive‑through quick‑lube operation.

The board approved variances to the minimum lot area (the zoning ordinance requires 20,000 square feet; the site is 12,196 square feet, creating about a 7,800‑square‑foot shortfall) and to the minimum lot width (150 feet required; the site is 92 feet, a 58‑foot shortfall), as well as variances related to a 25‑foot driveway/setback from the adjacent residential property on Helen Avenue (the existing curb cut is at 0 feet) and to allow service bay doors to remain oriented toward Ford Road instead of being screened. All motions passed by roll call, 6–0.

Planning staff presented the application (PPZ25‑0008) and told the board the existing one‑story manual car wash is a legally nonconforming use in the C‑3 General Business district. Planner Jake Ortega summarized the four variances and framed the question for the board as whether strict enforcement of the current standards would be an “unnecessary burden” that would effectively prevent redevelopment of the lot. Ortega said, “the zoning ordinance requires a minimum lot area of 20,000 square foot. This existing site is, 12,196 square feet,” and that meeting the width and area standards would likely require acquiring adjacent property or constructing a new building.

The applicant, Wes Issa, described the proposal as a drive‑through quick‑lube ("This is not an auto repair facility. This is basically a drive through quick lube. Our main logo is 10 minute oil change."), not a full service garage. Issa said the operation would be staffed (about three employees on shift), would aim to process roughly 30–40 vehicles a day, and would operate about 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. He offered mitigation measures including removing public vacuum stations that draw people at night, adding landscaping, and installing gates to close the site after hours if the board desired.

Neighbors and businesses raised concerns. An adjacent resident, Amanda of Helen Street, told the board the current car wash has generated late‑night nuisance problems and said she welcomed an on‑site, staffed business with fixed hours but urged the board to ensure vehicles would not queue onto Helen: “It would be great to have regular business hours … there shouldn't be any stacking out onto Helen itself.” A written letter from Opal and Mike Farrin, owners of Podium Skates at 27854 Ford Road, read into the record opposed the variances and urged adherence to current standards, citing past parking and nuisance issues in the corridor.

Board members discussed stacking, curb‑cut location and enforcement. Ortega said moving the Helen driveway 25 feet from the lot line would eliminate one of the requested variances, and commissioners asked whether a smaller pullback (10 feet) might be an acceptable compromise. The applicant said he preferred to retain the Helen access for functional reasons but expressed willingness to compromise to help the project move forward.

When members moved to votes, the board approved the lot area and lot width variances first (motion language referenced the parcel and practical difficulty due to the lot’s platting and pre‑existing development) and then approved the driveway/setback variance and the bay‑orientation variance. Each motion included findings tied to the zoning ordinance’s variance criteria and each passed by a 6–0 roll call.

The board and staff emphasized that the zoning variances do not substitute for site‑plan review or other permits. Ortega noted that site‑plan review will require measures such as curb modifications, possible raised curbing and landscaping to manage vehicle egress onto Ford Road and to control on‑site stacking.

Next steps: the applicant must complete site‑plan review and obtain any other required permits before construction or business operations begin. The board set no additional conditions beyond the standard authority to attach conditions to approvals; commissioners discussed but did not formally adopt specific stacking‑or‑gate conditions during the meeting.

Votes at a glance

- Variance — minimum lot area (20,000 sq ft required; existing 12,196 sq ft; ~7,800 sq ft variance): Approved, roll call 6–0. - Variance — minimum lot width (150 ft required; existing 92 ft; 58 ft variance): Approved, roll call 6–0. - Variance — driveway/setback from residential on Helen (25 ft required; existing 0 ft): Approved, roll call 6–0. - Variance — bay orientation/screening (service bay doors facing Ford Road): Approved, roll call 6–0.

Reporting note: direct quotes in this story are drawn from the meeting record. The board’s vote grants the dimensional variances described above; it does not grant final site plan approval, building permits or environmental permits.