Plaza asks to expand allowed uses to sell coffee, smoothies

STERLING HEIGHTS — It’s not a coffee break, but the Sterling Heights Planning Commission recently gave a plaza owner more time to refine a request to allow the site to serve ice cream, coffee or similar food items.

J&M Plaza, located at 36833 Ryan Road, south of Metropolitan Parkway, was rezoned in 2017 from residential to C-1, local convenience business district. That conditional rezoning agreement contained a section that forbids the owner from using the property for food uses, such as a fruit market, a meat market, a candy store, a bakery, or a carryout or sit-down restaurant.   

According to city officials, J&M’s application has recently sought to amend this agreement to delete that restriction.

At the July 10 Planning Commission meeting, applicant Lance Dallo, on behalf of J&M, said he wants the property to be able to serve things like coffee, ice cream, pastries or smoothies as a way to adapt to a post-pandemic economy.

“It’ll increase occupancy, and I think it’ll contribute to the local economy,” Dallo said. “I’d also like to add that we understand the importance of maintaining standards, and we are committed to ensuring that … any future food tenant that comes in, they’ll meet all the regulatory requirements and uphold the city’s standards for cleanliness, health, safety, noise control or anything regarding the community harmony.”

According to the applicant’s representatives, the plaza is not seeking to have a sit-down restaurant.

The plaza property is next to several residences. During public comment at the July meeting, several residents aired their concerns over the proposal. Susan McNeil said the original conditional rezoning agreement was “a big deal” when it was originally debated in 2017.

“It’s totally inappropriate for my yard,” McNeil said regarding the new proposal. “I especially would oppose any food, even smoothies.”

Planning Commissioner Gerald Rowe advised the applicant to keep in mind that residents live very near to the property, and whatever additional food-related uses are sought, to “minimize any kind of adverse effect.”

“We don’t want to have, you know, rats in the area,” Rowe said. “We don’t want to have noise and all that.”

The property’s representatives said they were seeking to remove only some of the restrictions and didn’t need them all removed. But Planning Commission Vice Chair Nathan Inks said he wanted the applicant’s specific proposal in writing and not just spoken orally.

“You’re asking for a very broad amendment here that would allow for a lot of uses that the Planning Commission and City Council previously weren’t comfortable with,” Inks added.

City Planner Jake Parcell advised that the applicant should either keep the conditional rezoning amendment request as-is or be very specific in terms of hours of operation and what it wants to serve.

“There really is no in-between,” Parcell said.

Inks said that, as things stood, he would’ve voted against recommending approval of a broad conditional rezoning. He recommended postponing the matter until a Sept. 11 meeting so that the applicant can clearly define how they want to alter the property’s uses, and the applicant ended up agreeing.

The Planning Commission then voted to postpone 5-0, with four absences. According to city officials, even if the commission eventually recommends the proposal, the City Council would subsequently need to approve it for it to take effect.

Learn more about the Sterling Heights Planning Commission by visiting sterlingheights.gov and typing “Planning Commission” in the search bar.