July 17, 2026
Residents encouraged by the decision to block the reopening of the facility that had flooded their communities with burning oil and rotten egg smells for over a decade.

DETROIT – The City of Detroit’s Buildings, Safety Engineering and Environmental Department (BSEED) has denied the Special Land Use application filed by Daymax Holding LLC to rebuild and expand the former Aevitas Specialty Services Corp. facility at 663 Lycaste Street (Case No. SLU2026-00019), blocking a plan to nearly double the facility’s footprint on Detroit’s lower east side.

The facility, a used oil recycler, was destroyed by a massive fire on June 30, 2025, whose cause remains undetermined. BSEED’s own January 2026 review found the facility had operated without valid permits for years. Since 2013, the site has drawn 64 air complaint investigations, 17 citations, and 7 open violations. After the fire, complaints of burning oil and rotten egg smells from the surrounding neighborhoods dropped by 90% according to a study by eastsideenvironmental.org, a site that tracks pollution violations on the east side of the city.

“This neighborhood has been breathing Aevitas for over a decade,” said Eden Bloom, who lives in the impact area of the facility and hosts the site. “The city looked at its own record, considered the facilities impact on our air quality, health and quality of life and said no. This is what accountability looks like.” The decision follows an 8-0 Detroit City Council resolution brought by Council Member Latisha Johnson in October 2025 and a petition campaign organized by impacted community members.

The fight isn’t over. Aevitas has 14 days to appeal the decision to Detroit’s Board of Zoning Appeals. “Every Detroit neighborhood deserves this same level of care, with the City putting residents’ health and quality of life ahead of corporate and industrial interests, every time.” said Andrew Bashi with Great Lakes Environmental Law Center (https://glelc.org). “We also understand that a denial only means something if the City is willing to fight for it. In the case of an appeal we expect the law department to prepare a vigorous defense of this decision.”

Aevitas also has a state Permit to Install pending before the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE), a separate process unaffected by today’s ruling. EGLE’s public comment period runs now through August 25, 2026, with a public hearing scheduled for August 18 at 6pm at Wayne County Community College East, 5901 Conner St, Detroit, MI 48213.