Planning commission recommends Sheetz fuel center at 32300 Ford Road; site plan approved

The Garden City Planning Commission on Jan. 8 recommended that City Council approve a special land use for a Sheetz fuel center at 32300 Ford Road and unanimously approved the project’s site plan, after residents and commissioners raised traffic and circulation concerns.

Alex Sawicki, an engineer and representative for Sheetz, said the proposal calls for a 6,139-square-foot restaurant-convenience store with 14 fueling positions (seven pumps) on a 2.62-acre parcel at the northeast corner of Ford Road and Hubbard Avenue. "We are a restaurant convenience store," Sawicki said, describing Sheetz as a 24/7 operation focused on made-to-order food. He told the commission the company wants a mobile pickup lane (app-based pickup only), which reduced on-site stacking in a pilot market and would limit use of ordering kiosks and speakers at this location.

The city’s planning consultant told commissioners the site meets the zoning ordinance’s dimensional and setback standards and that the master plan’s "general commercial" designation contemplates gas stations and restaurants at high-traffic corridors. The consultant recommended approval contingent on a revised site plan that adds the required notes prohibiting vehicle sales and outside storage, provides screening along the east property line, supplies details on drive-through speaker sound control if speakers are used, and obtains Michigan Department of Transportation approval for the Ford Road driveway approach.

About a dozen residents spoke at the public hearing. Supporters said the redevelopment would replace a long-vacant, deteriorated dealership site and bring jobs and tax revenue. Daniel McCausland said the change would "restore that prestige" to the property. Other neighbors, including Zach Glaza and Linda Skoroff, voiced traffic and cut-through concerns for nearby residential streets and asked whether large delivery trucks or semis would use Hubbard Avenue. Jason Hamadi told the commission he feared the new store could hurt small, local businesses.

Becky Klein, the civil engineer for the applicant from PEA Group, said preliminary coordination with MDOT indicated the department would support the curb cut if a cross-access easement is provided for future shared access. "Their initial review indicates that they don't feel this is gonna create such a huge impact on Ford Road that those kinds of restrictions would be necessary," Klein said, while recommending additional signage, striping and a traffic or circulation analysis if the commission desired one.

Commissioners asked the applicant to provide revised large-vehicle tracking, updated circulation diagrams, and clarified landscaping and screening plans. The applicant agreed to a masonry dumpster enclosure, denser landscaping around the detention/bioswale area, and to keep the future stacking lane available even if the store initially operates as mobile-pickup-only. The planning commission’s motion to recommend special land use approval (contingent on the consultant’s listed items) passed by roll call 6–0; the site plan approval vote was also unanimous, 6–0.

Next steps: the planning commission’s recommendation will go to the City Council for final action on the special land use. The applicant must return with revised civil/site plans addressing the consultant’s notes and secure MDOT approval for the Ford Road driveway and city engineer and fire marshal signoffs before construction permits are issued.