Planning Commission approves BWM Car Wash site plan for Drake Road, subject to staff reviews

The Farmington Hills Planning Commission unanimously approved a revised site plan on Dec. 19 for a BWM Car Wash at 24,300 Drake Road, subject to conditions requiring the applicant to address outstanding review comments from planning, city engineering and the fire marshal.

Jim Butler of PEA Group presented changes to the plan that add an access drive onto Drake aligned with an existing shopping‑center drive, and reviewed a revised circulation plan. Traffic engineer Steve Russo of Colliers Engineering and Design summarized their traffic counts and analysis and told the commission that (1) a southbound left‑turn movement onto Grand River currently experiences queueing, (2) modest signal‑timing adjustments could mitigate the impact of the new access, and (3) the maximum queue for the car wash’s peak operation would be contained on‑site and would not spill onto Drake Road.

Planning staff raised discussion items related to a dead‑end aisle that serves vacuum bays (the ordinance discourages dead‑end aisles with more than eight spaces), the extent of hedging along the Drake frontage, the need for easement agreements and a clearly identified loading space for chemical deliveries. The applicant said vacuum spaces are 12 feet wide to allow maneuvering, offered to extend the hedge along Drake’s south frontage, and proposed designating an employee parking stall for loading use.

The commission’s approval is conditioned on the applicant addressing all outstanding comments in the planning review (Giffords Webster, Dec. 11, 2024), the city engineering interoffice review (Dec. 4, 2024) and the fire marshal’s interoffice correspondence (Dec. 4, 2024). The applicant expects to open the site by the end of 2025, pending permitting and construction timelines.

The commission also noted that several administrative items (mechanical screening, lighting calibrations and signage) can be resolved during final plan processing.