Get AI Briefings, Transcripts & Alerts on Local & National Government Meetings — Forever.
Developers pitch Costco fueling relocation, Meijer Express and El Car Wash to address traffic at Millennium Park
Summary
Developers told the Livonia City Council they will relocate Costco’s fuel station to the back of the property, add a Meijer Express with pumps and build an El Car Wash in Millennium Park, saying the design increases capacity, removes underground tanks to EPA standards and will improve circulation; council placed the petitions on the May 18 consent agenda.
Developers and planning staff presented three interrelated petitions at the Livonia City Council study session on May 4 seeking to relocate the Costco fueling facility, establish a Meijer Express convenience store with fueling pumps, and construct an El Car Wash within Millennium Park.
Planning staff said the 2023 planning commission approval required Costco to study traffic circulation and that subsequent coordination among property owners — including Meijer and Home Depot under a reciprocal easement operating agreement — produced a revised plan to move Costco’s fuel island from the front of its warehouse to the rear, add parking where the old station sits and reconfigure driveways and intersections to reduce conflict. Planning consultant Jim Epping described the changes as a traffic solution that will, among other things, modify one internal exit to a right‑turn‑only egress, create a four‑way stop within the site, restripe approaches and add landscaping.
Developers told the council the new Costco fueling configuration would increase fueling capacity from the existing eight pumps to 20 pumps, which the team said would allow many more vehicles to pass through more quickly. As Jim Epping put it: "When we go to the back area... we'll now have 20 pumps." He said the goal is to move the fuel traffic away from Middlebelt Road and organize circulation so fueling trips are less disruptive to the primary intersection.
Applicants also described environmental and site work: removal of the old tanks and remediation "pursuant to the current EPA standards," adding about 88 new parking spaces where the existing fuel island sits and adding more than an acre of green space and additional landscaping. Costco’s real estate manager, Larry Jurczyk, confirmed membership is required to buy fuel at Costco: "Yes, you do have to be a member to pump gas," he said.
The applicant team said the projects were unanimously approved by the planning commission after revisions addressing architecture, landscaping, dumpster placement and vacuum enclosure design for the car wash. The El Car Wash representative described a design that encloses most vacuum stations, recycles "over 80% of its water" and uses lower‑light levels and masonry facades to respond to planning feedback.
Councilmembers who spoke said the proposals appear to improve circulation and add landscaping. The development team said the combined projects will be placed on the May 18 consent agenda for a formal vote. No vote occurred at the study session.
The developer’s stated investment estimate, read aloud during the presentation, was "$2,627,000,000 dollars worth of investment." That figure was presented by the applicant during the session and has not been independently verified by the city at the study hearing.
The petitions include land‑use waivers and design approvals that the council will consider at its May 18 meeting.
