Board of Zoning Appeals to Review Plans for Car Wash on East Colorado Boulevard

The Board of Zoning of Appeals (BOZA) will hear a call for review on a conditional use permit (CUP) issued for a planned car wash at 2030 E. Colorado Boulevard. 

Critics of the proposal have said there are already more than a half-dozen car washes nearby.

The proposed project includes:

• Demolition of four of the five existing on-site buildings (8,237 square feet in total to be demolished).
• Removal of existing driveway approach on East Colorado Boulevard and modification of the two approaches on San Marino Avenue.
• Construction of a 3,490 square-foot car wash tunnel along the East Colorado Boulevard frontage; establish two vehicle queuing lanes on the east side of the subject site to allow vehicles to make payment at a new 75 square-foot kiosk prior to entering the car wash tunnel.
• Construction of two vacuum equipment structures of 168 and 212 square feet in the parking lot; renovation of the existing 2,580 square-foot equipment and storage building.
• Create 32 parking spaces behind the new car wash tunnel with 30 self-serve vacuums and two for employee use.
• Construction of three solar canopies over parking spaces in the parking lot.
• Construction of an 8-foot block wall at the rear of the property.
• Renovation of an existing 2,580 square-foot equipment and storage building at the rear of the site; and various site improvements (landscaping, paving and striping). 

On Nov. 18, the city Hearing Officer approved a CUP for the property that is presently vacant and occupied by five buildings previously occupied by a business dealing with vehicle services sales and leasing use.

The CUP would allow the operation of a new car wash called Wild Wash Express car wash.

Vice Mayor Andy Wilson requested the call for review on Nov. 30. The proposed development would be built in District 7, which Wilson represents. 

“When land uses switch from low-impact uses like a used car lot to a busy car wash there are potential impacts to neighborhoods including traffic, noise and parking,” Wilson told Pasadena Now on Sunday. “It is valuable to have Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA) take a second look and make sure necessary conditions are included to limit these impacts and protect adjacent residents”

The BOZA is not required to uphold the Hearing Officer’s recommendation. In correspondence to the Hearing Officer, local residents and business owners opposed the project.

“As a Pasadena resident who lives on South San Marino Avenue between Colorado and Del Mar, I beg you, please do not approve this development,” Clifford J. Green wrote in November. 

“First of all, Pasadena doesn’t need yet another car wash in the mid-central area of the city. Are you aware that there are already seven car washes just between Hill Avenue and Sierra Madre Boulevard and north from Colorado to the 210 Freeway? In fact, the biggest and busiest is the Fast 5 Xpress Car Wash which is less than 2,600 feet from this proposed location! The city needs yet another massive automated car wash so close to another? C’mon.”

One nearby car wash operator said he was opposed to the project.

“Many car wash operators and owners are already going through operating hardships such as but not limited to COVID-19, rise in operating costs such as utility bills, property taxes, worker’s compensation, liability insurance, and shortage of staff,” wrote  Anthony Kossoian, who owns Fair Oaks Car Wash. “To add another carwash into the mix will further increase these problems and can potentially lead to layoffs in staff. This will mostly affect those car washes that are under a three-mile radius to the subject property.” 

In response to public comments, the Hearing Officer added four conditions to address concerns related to traffic along San Marino Road and noise from the vacuums along the southern property line.

A site attendant would be required to direct on-site traffic to ensure that no vehicles block the sidewalk and no vehicle queues on the public right of way. In addition, vehicular traffic exiting the site would be restricted to left-turn only (towards Colorado Boulevard) to limit the cars traveling toward the residential properties to the south. 

As it relates to the vacuums located at the parking spaces along the southern property line, the vacuums would be used only between 8 a.m. and 7 p.m. and limited to only when customer demand would necessitate the use of the vacuums. 

The property is located within the East Colorado Specific Plan, the Route 66 area, where a car wash may be allowed with the approval of a CUP, according to a city staff report. 

The meeting begins at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 18. It can be viewed at https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84670638801.