Public Hearing Held on 'Modern' Restaurants

What will restaurants in West Bloomfield look like in the future? The township Planning Commission held a public hearing to discuss amending a zoning ordinance to update the definitions of restaurants at its meeting Tuesday night in

The ordinance will now go before the Township Board for final approval. According to information made public, the amendment would change line items in Chapter 26 of the West Bloomfield Code of Ordinances to define restaurants in these four ways:

• Standard: Whether cafeteria-style, buffet-style or with a wait staff, standard restaurants in West Bloomfield would serve food on permanent tableware. Examples of standard restaurants in West Bloomfield under this definition would include 
• Carryout: Carryout restaurants in West Bloomfield would serve food primarily in disposable containers for the purpose of consumption off the premises. Examples of carryout restaurants in West Bloomfield would include and
• Drive-in: Drive-in restaurants in West Bloomfield would serve food for patrons to consume in their vehicles. Examples of drive-in restaurants, which are not necessarily in West Bloomfield presently, would include Sonic and A&W. The definition of a drive-in restaurant would eliminate the current definition of a fast-food restaurant.
• Drive-through: Drive-through restaurants would offer food in disposable containers, served through a window. Examples of drive-through restaurants, not necessarily in West Bloomfield presently, would include McDonald’s and Burger King.

Senior planner Sara Roediger said May 10 that a motive for establishing new definitions is to accommodate “modern” restaurants, including those that already have moved into the township (such as Five Guys).“We want to make it easier for these types of restaurants to come in to the township,” she said.

Stand-alone, carryout restaurants are being permitted in areas in which they were not before. In the B-2 community business district, including areas on Orchard Lake Road north and south of Maple Road and north of 14 Mile Road, carryout restaurants used to be permitted only as part of a shopping center. Standard and carry-out restaurants are permitted in the Township Overlay District.

Roediger made it clear that the new amendment would not allow for a change in definition for where drive-through restaurants would be allowed at a rate any greater than they are. Drive-through restaurants are permitted only in the B-4 district on Cooley Lake Road and along certain sections of Haggerty Road.

No members of the public offered comment at Tuesday's meeting.

The Planning Commission also read from a draft ordinance regarding the , which has been debated since the to write the draft May 2.

The commission offered a number of suggestions to the ordinance as it is currently written, including a suggestion to keep a distance of 50 feet between the property line and the chicken coop, but some members, including Steven Budaj and Jim Manna, said they did not support the idea of an ordinance altogether.

“We’ve put a lot of thought and effort into this, but … do we want to start farming in our homes, subdivisions? No,” said Manna. “We’ve made it so restrictive that by the time you get the eggs, it’s going to cost about 75 dollars a dozen.”

“We’ll schedule a public hearing and move it to the board,” said Roediger, who estimated that a public hearing would be called in July. “The cards can work where they fell and not have to spend a lot of time retweaking and going back and forth.”