A look at the former Total gas station in Mackinaw City from Central Avenue. The property, which the Lieghio family hopes to convert into a fast food restaurant, stands on the corner of Central Avenue and Nicolet Street. On the south end of the building (at left) is an alley that runs between the property and Cheboygan Lumber Company, which Village President Ron Wallin wants to convert into greenspace. The Lieghios plan to use the alley as part of the restaurant's parking lot, to allow vehicles to maneuver around parked vehicles, similar to how it was used when the gas station was in operation five years ago. A review by engineers and the Mackinaw City village attorney of the use of a public alley will delay an official decision by the village council on a hot dog restaurant at the site of the former Total gas station.

The Lieghio family, which plans to remodel the gas station building for the restaurant on the 150-foot by 150-foot lot, also wants to use the 11-foot by 50-foot alley there as part of its parking lot, the same way it was used when the gas station was in operation five years ago. The lane is now used mostly for access to the lumber yard of Cheboygan Lumber Company next door.

But Village President Ron Wallin said he would like to see the public right-of-way returned to the village so it can beautify the busy intersection of Central Avenue and Nicolet Street with landscaping. So at his suggestion, the council voted 4-3 for legal and engineering review of the Lieghio's site plan at its meeting Thursday, March 5.

Voting against the alley review were trustees James Alford, Lana Jaggi, and Matt Yoder.

Mr. Wallin was adamant in wanting the lane landscaped, to beautify the area and, for safety, to move the public sidewalk further away from the street and closer to the property line of the new restaurant. He argued the Lieghios have plenty of space on the property to do so, since their plan is to provide twice as much parking space as is required.

"The area looks unfriendly and bleak," said Mr. Wallin. "I think something can be done here. We have an opportunity to do a little bit of improvement here."

Village Manager Jeff Lawson said that because of a use agreement for the alley that is attached to the property, the Lieghios are allowed to use it, even though it does not conform to the city's zoning ordinance and is a public right-of-way.

"They didn't change the nonconformity in their plans, so, from a legal standpoint, we don't have a lot of flexibility to take that away, even though it is a public right-ofway," said Mr. Lawson. "We can say they have to use it as is and they can't improve it unless they conform to the city's ordinance.

"If we have a legitimate reason to change that, we can, but it has to be valid from a legal standpoint," he added.

Mr. Wallin argued that the safety issue of the sidewalk on Central Avenue being too close to the road could be a legitimate reason to remove the alley, however, Mr. Lawson said it was the city's engineers that studied the use of the right-of-way as part of the gas station's parking lot to allow vehicles to maneuver to the road, and they approved the lane when the gas station was constructed in 1989.

Trustee James Alford argued against Mr. Wallin's interest in landscaping the lane, saying that anything more than planting grass may cause obstruction to traffic. He also said that motor homes and vehicles with trailers will be challenged to make a turn without jumping the curb and driving over part of the landscape, if the lane were to be replaced with a curb and a non-drivable area.

"With that intersection, putting any other thing on that corner other than grass would be an obstruction, and that would be a mistake," said Mr. Alford. "For the purpose of safety, I would like as much view as possible there."

In other business, Council approved a farmer's market to be held every Wednesday during the summer at the parking lot of Mackinaw Outfitters on South Huron Avenue.

Council also approved changes to two scheduled events. Taste of Summer, which was to be held June 20, will now be held June 6, and the annual Hopps of Fun was moved from Labor Day weekend to September 11 and September 12.

Council approved a consumer protection complaint policy that will allow the village to collect complaints concerning consumer protection and forward them to proper local authorities. The policy was suggested by the village attorney to meet the state's consumer protection standards, said Mr. Lawson.