Jesse Macias, M3 Design 

Request for a Use Permit (Case No. 20-300-00008) for a car wash on a 1.81-acre property zoned PAD, C-2 (General Commercial) located North of W. Yuma Road and East of S. Cotton Lane, south of Target at the Canyon Trails Towne Center.

1. Conduct a public hearing to consider a request for Use Permit for a car wash on a 1.81-acre property zoned Planned Area Commercial (PAD), General Commercial (C-2) located north of W. Yuma Road and east of S. Cotton Lane, in the Canyon Trails Towne Center.
2. Recommend conditional approval of a request for a Use Permit to allow a car wash (Cobblestone Express) on a 1.81-acre property zoned Planned Area Development (PAD), General Commercial (C-2) located North of W. Yuma Road and East of S. Cotton Lane, subject to  stipulations. (Guadalupe Ortiz Cortez, Assistant Planner)

1. Approval of the use permit does not constitute approval of a site plan. All future development will be subject to site plan review and approval by city staff, at which time all elements of site development will be reviewed, including, but not limited to, architecture, landscaping, grading and drainage, lighting, infrastructure, parking, access and circulation;
2. All signage shall require separate review and approval, and shall comply with the Canyon Trail Towne Center Comprehensive Sign Package dated May 16, 2005. No Signage is approved as part of this use permit;
3. A noise test must be performed by the owner prior to obtaining a Temporary Certificate of Occupancy/ Certificate of Occupancy to confirm that noise generation does not exceed 74.1 dB as measured at the north property line of the use permit site;
4. The noise generated from the operation of the car wash subject to this use permit shall not exceed 71dB as measured at the north property line of the use permit site.  The owner of the property subject to this use permit or the operator of the car wash shall make all modifications to its equipment and/or to the site as needed to ensure that the noise generated from the operation of the car wash does not exceed 74.1dB as measured at the north property line of the use permit site.  The failure to comply with the requirements set forth herein can result in the termination of this use permit;
5. North and South elevations shall be revised to use color palette approved in the Canyon Trails Towne Center Design Guidelines. Cobblestone Blue color may be used as an accent color, but not as a principal color on the elevations. The car wash entrance shall not be substantially visible from Yuma Road with the provision of a 6-foot wall and trellis;   
6. The hours of operation shall fall between 6:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. Monday – Sunday.

Although a fiscal impact analysis has not been conducted on this specific project, all new development will have an ongoing fiscal impact on the city. The development is responsible for construction of all infrastructure necessary to serve the site and will generate one-time revenue for the city through payment of permits, construction sales tax and development impact fees. Longer term fiscal impacts include increased demands for municipal services, the costs of which may or may not be offset by increased property values/tax levies, city sales tax, state shared revenues and the increased demand for commercial and retail development. Any areas that will be maintained by the city are constructed by the developer and then conveyed to the city two years after construction.

The subject property is located at the northeast corner of S Cotton Lane and W Yuma Road in the Canyon Trails Towne Center. The Planned Area Development, General Commercial (C-2) zoning was approved on May 16, 2005 with Ordinance No. 05-942. The C-2 General Commercial land use designation establishes car wash as a use that requires approval of a Use Permit.
 

Current Policy:
A car wash is a Use Permit use in the General Commercial (C-2) Zoning District subject to the provisions of Article IV for Convenience Uses, which includes self-service or automatic car washes. Convenience uses are also subject to the provisions of Article 4-2 (Uses Requiring Additional Evaluation) of the Zoning Ordinance, which requires additional evaluation regarding the appropriate location and conditions of the use or operation. The Use Permit request is to be reviewed by the Planning and Zoning Commission and approved by the City Council.

Section 1-3-2 (Use Permits) of the Zoning Ordinance provides that the Planning and Zoning Commission and City Council must determine that the proposed use meets the following two findings prior to granting a Use Permit:

1. The Use Permit will not be materially detrimental to persons residing or working in the vicinity adjacent to the property, to the neighborhood, or to the public welfare; and,
2. The proposed use is reasonably compatible with uses permitted in the surrounding area.

Section 4-2-2 (Convenience Uses) of the Zoning Ordinance requires evaluation of the following additional criteria for convenience uses regarding their potential impact on traffic congestion, the neighborhood in general, and their appropriateness for the site:

1. Adequacy of the parcel size and configuration to provide proper access and internal circulation.
2. Compatibility of proposed hours of operation with adjacent residential areas (hours of operation to be indicated in narrative).
3. Required traffic and access mitigation measures, if any which may include:
   1. Additional right-of-way.
   2. Off-site traffic mitigation measures.
   3. Restriction of some traffic movements through signs or other measures.
   4. Segregation of queuing lanes, vehicle access and pedestrian circulation areas.
   5. Cross-access easements.
   6. Driveway locations
4. Other concerns which may place the advisability of the proposed convenience use in question.

Details of the Request:
An express car wash is proposed on the northeast corner of W Yuma Road and S Cotton Lane, South of the Target in the Canyon Trails Towne Center. The subject property consists of 1.81 acres within the Canyon Trails Towne Center. The original Canyon Trails Towne Center Planned Area Development envisioned a car wash in this location of the center. The proposed site contains an automated car wash and 30 self-service vacuum stations/parking spaces. Customers remain in their vehicles through the pay and wash process and have the option of self-vacuuming their vehicles prior to or after the tunnel wash. The site will provide 13 new parking spaces to be shared with the Target and four bicycle parking spaces on-site. The proposed site includes a 5,359 square-foot car wash building. The building is oriented with the tunnel entrance and exit facing north and south onto Yuma Road. Zoning Ordinance, Article 3-3-6-B-7-b does not allow carwash service bays fronting onto public streets, however this building orientation is preferred to avoid creating detrimental noise impacts onto the Canyon Trails neighborhood east of the subject property. The car wash entrance tunnel will be screened with 6 foot-wall with a steel trellis from view on Yuma Road. The proposed business hours of operation will be Monday through Sunday from 7:00 AM to 8:00 PM. The car wash will employ 10-12 employees during different daily shifts. Site improvements will include adding additional parking spaces and landscape.

The Canyon Trails Towne Center has City Council approved Design Guidelines that include colors and materials to be used by all businesses in the center. Staff encourages the use of corporate colors as accents. Staff is considering approval of the corporate colors used as accent colors only. The proposed building height is 30 feet, not counting the screen wall, which is under the 56-foot maximum building height established for the C-2 (General Commercial) zoning district.

Customers will have the option of vacuuming their car first or entering the queue for the car wash. Customers may pay for the car wash in one of three pay station lanes, continue southeast and turning north into the car wash tunnel entrance. After exiting the car wash tunnel, customers may exit the property continuing north or may turn west to return to the vacuums area. The car wash offers a “racetrack” traffic circulation method to facilitate one-way motions to minimize vehicular conflict in the property.

The parking-vacuum canopies provide shade while customers vacuum their vehicles. All vacuum equipment is housed within the main building for noise insulation. The main building includes the car wash tunnel, an office, a storage room, a restroom, and vending machines. To mitigate potential noise to the adjacent business and neighborhood, the applicant will house all vacuum equipment within the main building. In addition, the applicant is installing dryer blower silencers at the car wash tunnel exit to mitigate noise concerns. A noise exhibit was provided showing the noise decibel levels at various distances from the car wash. Noise levels are predicted to be high at the northern property line, 74.1dB adjacent to Target, thus stipulation has been added to ensure future noise complaints can be mitigated.

The Site Plan was submitted concurrently. Site Plan will be approved administratively upon Use Permit approval.

Evaluation Criteria:
The Zoning Ordinance, Section 1-3-2 (Use Permits), provides that the Planning and Zoning Commission and City Council must determine that the proposed use meets the following findings prior to granting a use permit:

1. The use permit will not be materially detrimental to persons residing or working in the vicinity adjacent to the property, to the neighborhood, or to the public welfare.

2. The proposed use is reasonably compatible with uses permitted in the surrounding area.

 

3. Demands for public services that will be generated by the uses permitted in the proposed zoning district.

Nearest Goodyear Fire Station	Shortest path		Longest path		2nd Nearest Goodyear Fire Station	Shortest path		Longest path
	Mins	Miles	Mins	Miles		Mins	Miles	Mins	Miles
Fire Station #184/181	2.1	1.05	2.1	1.05	Fire Station #185	11.04	5.52	11.04	5.52

Section 4-2-2 (Convenience Uses) of the Zoning Ordinance provides the following additional evaluation criteria for convenience uses regarding their potential impact on traffic congestion, the neighborhood in general, and their appropriateness for the site:
 

1. Adequacy of the parcel size and configuration to provide for proper access and internal circulation.

2. Compatibility of the proposed hours of operation with adjacent residential areas.

3. Required traffic mitigation measures, if any.

4. Other concerns, which may place the advisability of the proposed convenience use in question.

Staff findings:
Staff has determined that, subject to the recommended stipulations, this request meets the conditions and required findings for a Use Permit for a Convenience Use.

Public Participation:
An alternative citizen review process was conducted for this proposal due to the city of Goodyear Emergency Declaration in Response to Coronavirus and notice of the application was provided to property owners within 500 feet of the property at least 35 calendar days prior to public hearing to provide ample opportunity for input prior to noticing the public hearing itself. To date, no objections or inquiries were received as a result of this notification. 

Notice for the public hearings before the Planning and Zoning Commission and City Council included a postcard mailed to the owners of the property and HOAs within 500 feet of the subject property sent on February 12, 2021; a legal notice published in the Arizona Republic on February 19, 2021; and a notice of public hearings sign posted on the property February 19, 2021. To date, staff has not received any objections to this request.