Sheetz gas station faces setback in Fraser location plans, city calls it 'not a good fit'

Fraser’s Planning Commission unanimously agreed Wednesday to deny a rezoning recommendation to the City Council that would clear the way for the development of a new Sheetz convenience store and round-the-clock gas station.

The development is part of a longer-term plan by the regional company to expand throughout Michigan, including Rochester Hills, where the company is expected to make its pitch there at a zoning hearing set for next week.

In Fraser, those at the meeting welcomed the commission's rejection with applause, a bad sign for the family-run, Altoona, Pennsylvania-based company with about 670 stores, which, in late 2022, said it expected Michiganders to embrace the brand.

The commission's decision in Fraser also illustrates what communities nationwide are wrestling with as they try to balance economic development with other concerns that people increasingly care about.

The commission, however, emphasized its decision was not the final word on the matter.

"I encourage you all to go to City Council and publicly speak, if there is a public hearing," the commission’s chair Kathy Czarnecki told residents after listening to many outline their concerns, which included parking, public safety, historic preservation, potential environmental harm and competition to existing businesses, for about two hours. "Thank you for your patience."

The five commission members voted against rezoning. They were unconvinced by what the Macomb Daily reported was an attempt by Sheetz before the hearing to sweeten its offer.

Sheetz, the local newspaper said, had proposed building a 3,000-square-foot park overlooking a retention pond and adding a pedestrian plaza with a monument commemorating the State Bank of Fraser, the old building on the southwest corner of Utica and 14 Mile roads it hopes to demolish and replace.

It's unclear what Sheetz will do next or whether it will affect the company's long-term plans to add dozens of Michigan stores.

In an email to the Free Press, Sheetz said only that beyond its previously announced Romulus location, it "isn’t prepared at this time" to identify any others.

Rochester Hills said Sheetz is seeking to build a new gas station and eatery on the 3900-block of S. Rochester Road and set to make its case for variances at a 7 p.m. public hearing Wednesday before the zoning board.

In Fraser, the commission’s recommendation, combined with the public show of force against the development, raises the bar for the case the chain must make for the Macomb County city to approve the development.

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Czarnecki, who at times had to admonish impassioned attendees interrupting the meeting, tried to make clear during the hearing that the commission wasn’t approving or rejecting the development, only recommending to the council whether to make requisite zoning changes.

She also said she agreed with the other commissioners, saying she didn’t think the gas station was a "good fit."

Other planning commission members said before voting that they heard and agreed with the residents’ concerns. One said the project appeared to be a good one, but just not at that location. The City Council is expected to consider the commission’s recommendation and debate whether it wishes to approve it.

Sheetz, a family-run gas station chain that pokes fun at its name in its advertising, told the Free Press in late 2022 that it was moving into Michigan, and aimed to open a metro Detroit store in 2025 — and more later.

The first store in Michigan, the company said last year, is expected to open in Romulus.

Bob Sheetz started the company in 1952. He bought one of his father’s dairy stores in Altoona, and opened a second store in 1963, calling it "Sheetz Kwik Shopper." Five years later, the company opened a third store. In 1972, Sheetz had doubled from seven to fourteen stores, and the next year it added gasoline pumps.

By 1983, the company opened 100 stores and it now operates in six states.

"We are thrilled to continue our growth into Michigan and bring the ultimate one-stop-shop to people across the state," Travis Sheetz, the company's president and CEO said at the time. "Sheetz is dedicated to being a great employer and neighbor and we cannot wait to put those values into action as we expand into our first new state in two decades."

While Sheetz made its official announcement first to the Free Press, reports of its Michigan expansion had been quietly circulating on the internet since earlier this month.

On its website — under the heading "What's a Sheetz?" — the company calls itself "a mecca for people on the go," adding that "if you need to refuel your car or refresh your body, we have what you need" all the time, "even on Christmas."

Loyal customers, the company said, call themselves "Sheetz Freakz." And the company, recognizing how its name elicits amusement, has a marketing campaign: "Why the Sheetz not?"

But the private company's expansion was unusual at a time when other companies, and consumers, are cutting back on costs, and automakers are pushing to shift auto sales away from gas-powered cars to more electric.

What the chain is betting on is convenience: A customer's need for low-priced, easy-to-get goods in a 24/7 economy.

When it announced it was expanding into Michigan, the CEO said at the time the company believed what it was offering "will resonate" with local residents and it aimed to have a "major presence in the entire Detroit metro area" and about 75 stores in the state.

Contact Frank Witsil: 313-222-5022 or fwitsil@freepress.com.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Sheetz gas station faces pushback against plans for Fraser location