Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Land Use topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Commission approves oil-change use at 38400 Joy Road with conditions, forwards recommendation to council
Summary
Charara Property LLC received the Planning Commission’s approval to add an oil-change operation to a coin-operated car wash at 38400 Joy Road, subject to 13 conditions (hours limits, parking striping, dumpster enclosure, lighting and signage rules) and pending city council approval.
The Livonia Planning Commission voted unanimously to approve a waiver allowing Charara Property LLC to operate an oil-change business in connection with an existing coin-operated car wash at 38400 Joy Road. The motion (moved and supported) included 13 conditions and a one-year validity window under section 13.13 of the Livonia Zoning Ordinance; the recommendation will be forwarded to city council for final action.
Staff reported the site is a 40,000-square-foot parcel at the northwest corner of Joy and Hicks roads, currently occupied by a coin-operated car wash constructed in 1985. The petitioner seeks to re-use two interior bays for oil-change service. Under the zoning ordinance, an auto-wash requires 20 parking spaces and an auto-repair facility requires two spaces per repair bay plus one per employee; combined standards would require at least 25 spaces for the proposed combined use. The site plan shows 16 striped parking spaces plus service bays; staff noted city council may modify parking requirements based on demonstrated evidence of need.
Departmental correspondence read into the record: inspection (site must meet barrier-free/building/mechanical codes; signage conforming), police (no objections), fire marshal (no objections pending plan review), and engineering (no objections; stormwater compliance required if site is renovated; Wayne County permits required for work in Joy Road right-of-way).
Petitioners Sam Sharara and Hassan Sharara described building repairs, new vacuum islands, canopy and lighting changes, and said the planned oil-change service would be a drive-through model (10–15 minutes) with stacking managed by cones or striping if needed. They stated they will contain oil on-site and have contractors remove waste oil every one to two weeks depending on volume.
The approving resolution included 13 conditions: adherence to the submitted site plan; hours of operation limited (Monday–Saturday 7 a.m.–8 p.m., Sunday 8 a.m.–7 p.m.); parking spaces double-striped to meet size requirements; dumpster enclosure built of materials complementary to the building and kept closed; prohibition on outdoor storage of parts or waste petroleum; light fixtures limited and shielded to minimize trespass and glare; exterior lights turned off or dimmed between 8 p.m. and 7 a.m.; landscaping maintained; only conforming signage approved (additional signs require ZBA approval); no LED band or exposed neon; car-wash bay lights off when closed; plans to be submitted to inspection with building-permit applications; and one-year approval unless building permit is obtained. The roll call recorded Ayes across the commission; the commission will forward the recommendation to city council.
Commissioners asked about stacking and circulation, setback of vacuum islands relative to Joy Road (noting possible front-setback encroachment), lighting to limit neighbor disturbance, and water-recycling practices (petitioner confirmed the car wash does not recycle wash water). The commission recorded the action as a recommendation to city council.
