WATERFORD TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WXYZ) — The plans for a proposed Sheetz gas station were up for review Tuesday night in Waterford Township.
The 7 Investigators have been looking into allegations of a conflict of interest with the site and Oakland County Board of Commission Chair Dave Woodward.
The proposal to rezone the property hit the brakes after the planning commission deadlocked Tuesday night on whether to move forward on this. For now, it’s postponed until next month.
Watch Heather Catallo's video report below:
Several people during public comment referenced the 7 Investigation we reported Monday about the controversy surrounding the property.
“If we put at 24-hour gas station, restaurant, liquor store in this area, what will that do for the crime rate?” resident Robin McGregor said about the rezoning efforts. “Changing the zoning on this isn’t going to help the master plan of what we have. The things that this planning board and the planning commission has done has been phenomenal, but this really doesn’t fit in that.”
Previous report: Did Oakland County commission head use position to help along possible Sheetz in Waterford?
The proposed Sheetz gas station location had been planned for right next to the Oakland County airport. The property owner asked the county for an easement onto county property.
“Between here and where the proposed site would be, there’s already 12 gas stations, four on that same exact side of the road. The last thing Waterford would need is another gas station. When it comes to Oakland County, we rank number two in the most gas stations,” said Tony Attisha, a Waterford resident and gas station owner.
As we’ve been reporting, the Oakland County commission chair has confirmed that he is a paid consultant for Sheetz, which some local leaders say is unethical.
Woodward has denied that this a conflict of interest but after we started asking questions about what role he played in all of this, the county announced they will not approve the easement.
Previous report: Oakland County commission head defends Sheetz side job, denies conflict of interest
“The reason they want it rezoned is because they want to put a Sheetz gas station in there. So I want to argue there’s no reason. That is a high-traffic, high-volume area and you’re gonna put a pig in a poke right in the middle of that mess,” resident Greg Bower said.
At the planning commission meeting, one member was absent and at least three of them voted against this, resulting in a 3-3 vote. So, they’re going to have revisit this again at their meeting next month.
We tried to talk to the property owner after the meeting but so far, they are not commenting.
