ROSEVILLE, Mich. (WXYZ) — Roseville City Council is expected to vote Tuesday night on whether to extend a moratorium that would continue blocking new car washes and gas stations from being built in the city.
Within Roseville's 9.86 square miles, there are already 23 gas stations and 11 car washes. Two more car washes and a new Sheetz gas station are expected to be completed by the end of the year, though those projects had plans approved before the moratorium was put in place and are not affected by it.
Watch Peter Maxwell's video report below:
In December, city council implemented a 180-day moratorium on new car washes and gas stations. The temporary pause was put in place to give officials more time to review zoning rules and examine whether those types of businesses are becoming too concentrated in certain areas.
Roseville City Manager Ryan Monroe said Gratiot Avenue and other corridors attract commercial development for a reason.
"Gratiot and other areas in the city are advantageous because we have so much commercial travel through the city," Monroe said.
Monroe said the council is taking the concerns of residents seriously as it weighs extending the moratorium.
"Council is listening to what our residents want and we're going to take a hard look at this and figure out what's in the best interest of the city as we always do," Monroe said.
Related video: Warren pumps the brakes on new gas stations and car washes with 8-month moratorium
Some residents say the concentration of car washes and gas stations along Gratiot is already too high. Gerald DeFrance, a Roseville resident, said he supports the pause.
"We need to put a pause on this for sure. There's already too much going on," DeFrance said.
Lauren Clark, another Roseville resident, agreed.
"There's quite a bit. Quite a bit," Clark said.
Tony Elkins, an Uber driver who stopped at a self-service car wash in the city, said the density of those businesses stands out.
"Roseville is too small to have that many gas stations and car washes. It's too small," Elkins said. "They're too close together. Roseville has too much and too many."
Clark said she would like to see more variety of businesses come to the city.
"I wish we had some more different things going on here maybe some cool restaurants, maybe a new bar," Clark said.
Not everyone shares those concerns. Roseville resident Writer Bush said the current mix of businesses makes sense given what drivers need.
"What do cars need? Gasoline and car washes. So it's kind of par for the course to have that many here," Bush said.
