The Royal Oak City Commission will consider a rezoning and site plan Monday, June 9, to allow Sheetz to locate on the site of a former manufacturing facility.

The meeting begins at 7:30 p.m. at City Hall, 203 S. Troy St.

The Planning Commission voted 6-1 in February to recommend approval, but members expressed concerns about traffic generated by the gas station, convenience store, restaurant and car wash proposed for 3200 W. 14 Mile Road.

The Planning Commission’s recommendation was contingent on several conditions, including a review of the developer’s traffic study, which found the Sheetz location would not cause an unacceptable increase during peak hours.

A Detroit engineering firm, Hubbell, Roth and Clark, concluded that the data available were “inconclusive,” but also said the site plan as presented was “not acceptable,” according to city documents.

The engineering firm said the traffic signal at 14 Mile and Coolidge Highway would need a redesign, which should not be done at the city’s expense, since the proposed development is the “driving factor.”

Sheetz is proposing to locate on the site of the former MacLean-Fogg Component Solutions, a steel fabricating facility.

The restaurant would have a drive-through window and an outdoor seating area. Like all Sheetz locations, the Royal Oak outlet would be open 24 hours.

Unlike other Sheetz stores that have been approved in Metro Detroit over the past year, the Royal Oak location would also have an automated car wash.

Broder Sachse Real Estate, which owns the property, requested a rezoning from a general industrial classification to general business. Steve Robinson, vice president of acquisitions and development fore the real estate company, told the Planning Commission the property had been for sale for several years.

He said a residential development on the site was not practical because of its proximity to railroad tracks. An industrial development would bring semitrucks in and out of the site, making it undesirable for nearby residents.

“We own this property. We have rights. We will be developing it,” Robinson said, adding that the Sheetz proposal is a “responsible” use.

For about three hours, the commission listened to opponents, mostly Royal Oak residents, voice their concerns about increased traffic and late-night crime that they believed Sheetz would bring.

Residents said the T-shaped 14 Mile-Coolidge intersection already has frequent backups.

Sheetz opened its first Michigan location last August near Detroit Metro Airport in Romulus.

The Pennsylvania-based company plans to open 50-60 stores in southeast Michigan over the next five to six years, including approved sites in Novi, Fraser, Warren, Taylor, and Ypsilanti, Macomb and Chesterfield townships.

Sheetz proposals in Waterford Township, Rochester Hills, Madison Heights and Livonia were rejected. Farmington Hills allowed one Sheetz location but rejected a second one.

The company recently announced it is considering an alternative location in Waterford.

Sheetz officials have said each store will employ 30 to 35 workers, the majority of them full-time. The company has touted competitive pay, benefits packages for all employees, quarterly bonuses, paid time off and more.

The company operates more than 700 stores in several states.