The Livonia City Planning Commission voted to recommend that the City Council waive a 500‑foot separation requirement and allow Outback Steakhouse at 13010 Middlebelt Road to add an SDM license that permits sale of packaged beer, wine and mixed spirit drinks for off‑premise consumption.

Planning staff explained that an SDM license requires special land‑use approval under section 6.03 of the Livonia Zoning Ordinance and that the ordinance’s separation rules prohibit another SDM within 500 feet of an existing SDM business. Jacob Yuhazi, planning staff, said the site is in a C‑2 district and that Applebee’s (about 337 feet away) and Costco (about 455 feet away) factored into the department and police review. The police department’s written review said the request “does not comply with prior separation requirement guidelines” and recommended that the commission and council consider maintaining the separation standard to preserve Livonia’s family atmosphere.

Outback representatives said the proposed off‑premise assortment would be limited and intended to match offerings at other company locations. Donnie Thompson, joint venture partner overseeing the Livonia location, described the lineup as “very few actually…6‑packs of beer, bottle of wine…very simplistic,” and said curbside orders that include alcohol would be clearly labeled and that staff would check identification before handing product to customers. Owner David Franchuk acknowledged that violations occurred under previous management but said there have been no similar problems during his year‑and‑a‑half of ownership and that prior employees involved were terminated.

Commissioners questioned how curbside ID checks would be enforced and whether sealed containers could still be consumed in vehicles. Petitioners said employees taking curbside orders would validate ID before retrieving alcohol and that all packaged products would leave the premises sealed. Several commissioners expressed safety and underage‑sale concerns but noted staff and departmental reviews.

Commissioner Long moved to approve a recommending resolution that conditions the approval on city council waiving the 500‑foot separation and confirming site capacity and complementary use; the motion passed on a recorded roll call (Long Aye; Denaro Aye; Dross No; Ventura No; Cara Magno Aye; Chairman Aye). The planning commission’s vote is a recommendation; the final decision will be made by the Livonia City Council after its public hearing.

Next step: the recommendation will be forwarded to the City Council for its review and a decision on the separation waiver and SDM license.