Township Shell station now able to sell alcohol

By Dana Casadei

For the first time in the history of the township, the Bloomfield Township Board of Trustees on Monday, May 12, voted unanimously to approve a local gas station the right to sell alcoholic beverages on site.

The request is the first since township trustees adopted an ordinance last November to allow for automobile service stations to serve alcohol if specific criteria could be met.

The Shell station, located at 6490 Telegraph Road, met the ordinance’s lengthy list of requirements in order to sell alcoholic beverages, which are still not as lengthy or stringent as what was previously required.

“We spent a lot of time deliberating the amendment to the ordinance and I think this is a good result; I’m pleased to support this,” said treasurer Michael Schostak.

Located within a B-3 general business district, the existing service station maintains a minimum 750 foot distance to a local school; exceeds the required 0.51 acres land area; does not have a drive thru or offer vehicle repair; and also exceeds the minimum building requirement of 2,000-square-feet for alcohol sales. This service station stands at 2,340-square-feet.

The station’s current hours will also remain the same, with no changes proposed, even though they were given approval to be open for 24 hours through a special land use approval in 2019.

No changes are planned for the outside of the store either, and there were no public comments when the public hearing was held at the board’s meeting on Monday.

“I know this has been a long process for the property owner… over 10 years, certainly he and his business have been thoroughly vetted,” said trustee Neal Barnett. “As someone who was originally opposed to this ordinance, I’m very confident in the owner and very supportive of this request that’s been presented.”

The gas station will plan to sell wine, beer and liquor. Selling beer, wine, and liquor may be uncommon in Bloomfield Township, but not the rest of the area, with many municipalities around Bloomfield Township allowing for this kind of sales at gas stations.

As of last spring, Bloomfield Township had never had one of its gas stations submit a site plan application for a liquor license, causing the board of trustees to wonder why. They asked the department of planning, building and ordinance to investigate, leading to the new requirements.

With those original standards only three of the township’s 12 gas stations even qualified to be able to apply.

The new amendments will allow for a few more of Bloomfield Township gas stations to obtain either a SDD or SDM license to sell alcohol.


The next step for the Shell gas station is to appear before the zoning board of appeals so they can obtain a liquor sign that would go on the outside of the building.

Approval passed 5-0, with trustees Valerie Murray and Chris Kolinski not in attendance.