Planning commission tables site plan for 9300 Dixie Avenue after concerns about pre‑manufactured office

At a Planning Commission meeting, commissioners voted to table the site plan review for 9300 Dixie Avenue, Dearborn, after members said the applicant’s proposed pre‑manufactured office would not fit the character of nearby industrial buildings and requested larger drawings and renderings.

Planning staff told the commission the project was previously approved to include a roughly 6,000‑square‑foot office building, but the applicant later proposed a pre‑manufactured office. Staff said the exterior appearance was within the commission’s discretion and raised concerns that the pre‑manufactured unit "does not" appear to be in harmony with surrounding structures.

Greg Needham, the applicant, said the change reflects a recent purchase by a neighboring business and reduced the need for a large indoor office footprint: "It's a smaller structure because it is only needed to have offices and a break room for the employees there," Needham said, adding that the smaller unit would free yard space for trucks and stockpiles. He also said the applicant recently closed on an adjacent northern parcel and plans to consolidate the lots into one parcel.

Neighbors raised operational concerns. Patrick Dargle of 6119 Hughes Street asked whether expanding the yard would increase dust and wind‑blown material into nearby residences.

Commissioners told the applicant they had not received sufficiently large or detailed plans for the new addition and asked for clearer site plans, renderings and justification for switching from a stick‑built structure to a pre‑manufactured unit. One commissioner said he would "vote no until we can get a real stick built building" if the applicant returned with a double‑wide trailer delivered on a lowboy.

An unidentified commissioner moved that the commission table the item until the next meeting to allow the applicant to provide renderings and additional information; the motion was seconded and carried on a roll call with five recorded 'yes' votes. The chair announced the motion carried and the item was tabled to the next meeting.

The commission also asked staff and the applicant to submit larger plan sets and clarified that the commission will review exterior elevations for visual compatibility when the item returns.