Berkley Zoning Board Delays Gas Station Variance Amid Split Over Legal Standards

BERKLEY -- January 9, 2024, Berkley Zoning Board of Appeals postpones decision on use variance for long-dormant gas station at 21141 West 11 Mile Road. The board voted 5-1 at its January 9 meeting to continue the matter to February 12, rather than force a vote requiring five of six seated members to approve. Petitioner Fari Haji, owner of FNL Berkley LLC, told the board he spent more than $150,000 bringing four underground fuel tanks into DEGLE compliance after purchasing the property in 2022, only to learn the gas station use had lapsed under the city's 180-day nonconforming-use rule, a status lost roughly eight years before he bought it. Board members disagreed on whether the underground tanks and the site's unbroken gas-station character satisfied the four-part use variance standard under Section 138-606 of the zoning ordinance. Chair McAlpine warned the petitioner that a denial at Tuesday's meeting would be final, with appeal requiring a court filing, prompting Haji to request the postponement.