Warren — Warren officials are putting the brakes, for now, on approving new gas stations and car washes in the city as it works to update its zoning rules for those establishments.
With a unanimous vote, the Warren City Council earlier this month approved an up to eight-month moratorium on the approval of gas station and car wash applications. Michigan’s third-largest city already has at least 69 gas stations and approximately 25 car washes, according to the resolution approving the moratorium.
“The City Council recognized that we needed to adjust our zoning rules and policies for car washes and gas stations to better control the proliferation of gas stations and car washes throughout the city,” said City Councilman Jonathan Lafferty. “We needed smart zoning to ensure that we’re spacing them and placing them throughout the city in a more reasonable fashion.”
The moratorium pauses the acceptance, processing or approval of any new site plan application, special land use application or other zoning approval for gas stations or car washes. It will give the city’s planning director and attorney time to prepare zoning ordinance amendments.
Lafferty said he expects them to finish the amendments in fewer than eight months. In that case, the city council could lift the moratorium early.
Warren isn’t the only community putting a pause on gas stations. In nearby Roseville, the city council on Tuesday extended its moratoriums on requests for approval for gas stations and car washes for 180 days. Roseville City Manager Ryan Monroe said the city is still reviewing its current zoning ordinance and considering potential changes.
Warren Council member Dave Dwyer said there are two gas stations at many of Warren’s intersections. He added that residents have complained about noise from car washes, which have vacuums and dryers.
“A lot of that creates noise throughout the day, especially on weekends, you know, when residents are outside in their backyards,” he said, “and if they’re close to those car washes, I’m sure that’s got to be totally annoying.”
The resolution says that the city’s current zoning ordinances don’t adequately address “site locational criteria” and development criteria specific to gas stations. The city’s planning director has identified similar issues with car washes and wants ordinance revisions for those establishments as well, the resolution said.
Lafferty said Warren doesn’t currently have any regulations that say a gas station has to be a certain number of feet away from another gas station or from a residential zone.
“We are not imposing a limit on the number of gas stations or car washes or … any specific type of business,” he said. “We are regulating how and where they are going to be located.”
asnabes@detroitnews.com
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Warren passes moratorium on approval of new gas stations, car washes
Reporting by Anne Snabes, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
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