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…