Jessica Mathews / news@whmi.com


A variance request for the proposed conversion of a vacant building for another gas station in the Village of Pinckney was approved Monday night.

Plans call for the existing Rite-Aid to become a new Mugg & Bopp's convenience store with gasoline service and a Dunkin Doughnuts drive-thru.

Council also serves as the ZBA, which met prior to the regular meeting to approve variances with conditions.

The proposed parking lot setback that will be not less than 12 feet from the M-36 right-of-way line, there will be a parking lot setback from the Dexter Street right-of-way line; and there will be a 5-foot planting strip adjacent to the Dexter Street right-of-way.

Further, the variances were granted subject to a certificate of occupancy issued within 18 months of the start of construction.

It would be the second Mugg & Bopp’s in town, and there are already three other gas stations within a half-mile of the property. There has been opposition expressed by some residents, business owners, and nearby gas station owners.

An attorney from the firm representing the gas station across the street spoke against the variance, referencing issues such as self-created harm versus difficulty/hardship analysis. He called it the “poster child of self-created harm, or hardship rather” – and the developers are choosing a design that necessitates the setbacks.

It argued the application to reduce the setbacks in the proposed site plan “fails to establish any of the factors that are necessary for the variance”.

The bottom link to the letter is provided that lays out various reasons, including “the practical difficulty/hardship on which the variance request is based is not due to any exceptional and peculiar characteristic of the subject property or intended use, it is simply a convenience for the layout of the site development to maximize the profitability of the end use”.

Council member Rob Coppersmith raised some concerns, saying the setbacks are there for a reason. He was the lone opposed vote.

Village President Jeff Buerman said it’s a tough one and reiterated the project is about taking an old abandoned building and re-purposing it, and he thinks it will be a very nice structure that will add value to the community and offer service – adding it’s exciting they want to do this. Buerman further stated he believes both businesses can co-exist and do well.

Photo: Google Street View