Sheetz details changes for planned location
Sheetz officials have related further details on changes they plan for a 24hour gas station and eatery proposed for the southwest corner of 14 Mile and Utica roads in Fraser.
The Pennsylvania-based company last year announced it had purchased the former State Bank of Fraser with plans to demolish the building and develop it into a fuel center, convenience store and drive-thru restaurant.
Sheetz is planning a twohour informational meeting Thursday to outline the changes to area residents and business owners concerned about the controversial proposal.
“We’re excited to meet with our potential neighbors in Fraser and to talk more about this project,” Nick Ruffner, spokesman for Sheetz, said Monday in an email to The Macomb Daily.
The changes include:
• Increasing the buffering distance from resident neighbors
• An increase in landscape/greenspace buffering
• Removing the drivethru from the project.
Residents in the area say they’ve received postcards in the mail from Sheetz advertising Thursday’s open house. The postcards indicate there’s a “new” site for the project, but the company said the location is the same with the changes listed.
Although the drive-thru would be eliminated, the restaurant presumably would still be part of the equation. Menu items include made-to-order sandwiches, burgers, salads, subs and pizza.
The open house comes three months after the Fraser Planning Commission voted to recommend denial of a conditional zoning request that would have paved the way for the multi-million dollar development. About two dozen people opposing the gas station spoke against it.
Commissioners and neighbors — including employees of two existing gas stations on opposite corners of 14 Mile and Utica Road — said the plan was too big for Fraser’s smalltown flavor
The developer, Columbus, Ohio-based Skilken Gold, is seeking a conditional rezoning to allow a store and gasoline service station. The request also asked for a freestanding fuel pricing sign, other wall signs, special land use permit and other zoning variances.
As a nod to the State Bank of Fraser’s decades of existence, the company proposed to construct a 3,000-square-foot park overlooking a detention pond and add a historical pedestrian plaza that would include a monument to commemorate the bank.
Fraser Mayor Michael Lesich, in a social media post informing residents of the open house, said he expects a public hearing on the item will be scheduled in May or June before the City Council. The Planning Commission’s denial is only advisory.
“While investments and developments are generally positive for our city, we need to carefully consider whether this specific location is the right fit for a Sheetz in Fraser,” he said.
Sheetz officials say the open house will be set up in a kiosk-style format with each station by various company experts covering various aspects of the proposed development, such as buffering space and safety.
According to its website, Sheetz operates nearly 670 store locations throughout Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Virginia, Maryland, Ohio and North Carolina. All Sheetz convenience stores are open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
The Sheetz open house will be held from 5:30 p.m.-7:30 p.m. at the Fraser Lions Club, 34540 Utica Road, south of 15 Mile Road, in Fraser.