Standard Auto Service, a gas station and auto shop in Ypsilanti, Michigan, is planning to conditionally rezone the parcel of land behind the business.
Standard Auto Service is a local business owned by the Musa family. It was established in 1998.
According to Adham Musa, a student at the University of Michigan and the son of the owners of Standard Auto Service, multiple local families, including his own, rely on the business.
“This business is our only source of income. It’s been what I’ve depended on for college education," said Musa.
In December 2024, the Ypsilanti Township Planning Commission informed the Musa family that they were not following the current site plan. The current site plan involves cutting off part of the sidewalk on the Standard Auto Service lot and planting trees in that space. This would create a discontinuous sidewalk and make some parking spots on the lot difficult to reach.
Instead of the current site plan, the Musa family hopes to conditionally rezone the parcel of land behind Standard Auto Service. The Musa family has owned that piece of land since 2004, and it is currently zoned as a residential lot.
The Musa family originally planned to fully rezone the land to be a commercial area but realized this would cause the lot to stand on its own as a separate commercial parcel, not part of the Standard Auto Service lot. Conditionally rezoning the lot would allow them to use the lot’s area to expand Standard Auto Service.
With this expansion, the Musa family is planning to build electric vehicle charging stations and expand the parking lot. They would also add additional green space to the lot without disrupting the sidewalk. They believe these changes would benefit their business as well as the Ypsilanti community.
“There’s a dire need for EV charging stations ... The city is really trying to prioritize a walkable, green Ypsilanti, and by providing EV charging stations … we’re trying to make a local community where [community members] that need [EV charging stations] can use the service,” said Musa.
The Musa family is currently gathering input from community members on their plan to rezone the parcel of land behind Standard Auto Service before they submit their proposal to the Ypsilanti City Council. Community members can give their opinions and see outlines of the current and proposed site plans here.
