Madison Heights council denies special land-use request for De Quindre auto-repair site

Madison Heights — The City Council voted to deny a special land use request for a minor auto-repair facility at 32371 De Quindre Road after members said the proposal conflicted with the city’s master plan and the intended character of the M-1 industrial district.

The planning commission had recommended approval, with conditions, following a Feb. 17 public hearing. City Planner Matt Lonerstadter summarized required changes including a revised site plan, demolition and repaving, new stormwater-quality structures, concrete curbs and a revised landscaping plan to accommodate bio-retention and salt-tolerant species.

Mayor Pro Tem Bill Muir moved to deny PSP26-0132371, saying the proposed use "is not consistent with the advancement of the new 21st-century industrial applications being promoted" and that approving the request with multiple exceptions would undermine the recently adopted zoning standards. The motion was seconded and brought to discussion.

Property owner Sergio Basque asked council to consider the site’s context and the planning commission’s recommendation. "That building’s been vacant for 7 years, and you’re gonna get major major upgrades to it," Basque said, adding that the lot is surrounded by industrial uses, the work would be internal and the proposal included new bioswales and full pavement replacement.

Council members pressed staff and the applicant on details including whether future automobile sales would require separate approval; Lonerstadter clarified that auto repair is a special land use in M-1 while auto sales are a permitted use but would have to meet district standards and could require administrative approvals.

Councilors expressed a tension between filling long-vacant properties and preserving the intended industrial redevelopment the city’s recent zoning changes sought to encourage. After deliberation the clerk conducted a roll-call vote. The motion to deny carried (recorded votes: Toya Aaron — yes; Sean Fleming — yes; Laurie Gerald — no; Bill Muir — yes; [surname recorded as] Roback — no; Quinn Wright — no; Mayor Corey Haines — yes). The clerk summarized, “Yeses have it,” and council moved to the next agenda item.

The planning commission’s recommended conditions and staff’s required site-plan modifications remain part of the record. Council did not adopt an alternative set of conditions; the denial ended the request as presented and would require the applicant to pursue any future proposal consistent with the zoning code and master plan or request a different formal change.

The council moved on to other business.