Hesperia places temporary ban on new car washes

The Hesperia City Council has established a temporary ban on the construction or expansion of car washes due to negative safety and economic issues.

The 45-day moratorium on car washes was unanimously approved by the City Council on Feb. 7 and will allow city staff to further study the issue during the interim zoning ordinance.

City Senior Planner Ryan Leonard told the City Council that they could vote over the next six weeks to extend the moratorium by approximately 10 months.

Mayor Pro Tem Larry Bird told Leonard that he’d like to see a map that pinpoints the location of the car washes to see if any areas of the city are saturated.

Car washes 

Hesperia is currently home to 19 car washes, including two full-service facilities, nine express facilities, and seven facilities attached to gas stations, minimarts, and other auto-related services.

Full-service car washes are usually stand-alone facilities where employees either hand wash or detail vehicles.

Express car washes are usually fully automated car wash facilities with self-serve vacuum stalls.

Ancillary facilities are typically automated facilities associated with gas stations and are more commonly called drive-thru car washes.

Planned car washes

Leonard told the Council that since 2019, the Planning Commission approved five more car washes, including a new express wash on the corner of Main Street and Cataba Road.

Additionally, a 3,596-square-foot automated car wash is planned for a portion of the vacant K-Mart building on the corner of Main and E street. A gym has also been approved for the 40,790-square-foot building.

Other new car washes include constructing an automated facility on Main Street and G Avenue, Bear Valley Road, and Balsam Avenue and expanding on the corner of I Avenue and Main Street.

Safety and economic reasons

There are currently no city-wide regulations regarding car washes' operational and locational standards.

As developable land becomes scarcer in the city, there is concern that the proliferation of car washes without due consideration presents an immediate threat to public health, safety, or welfare, city staff said.

The threats are caused because car washes generate undesirable conditions for adjacent properties due to noisy, large-scale industrial equipment, including vacuums, pumps, pressurized sprayers, dryers, engines, and car stereos.

In addition, the use of car washes increases vehicle traffic in the immediate vicinity and can cause runoff of chemicals. Airborne mist, odors from chemicals, and vehicle exhaust are also a result of such uses.

Additionally, the oversaturation of car washes in the city provides little economic benefit to the city or its residents as there are minimal sales tax revenues associated with its use, few employees are hired, and typical wages would not increase the city’s overall median income.

According to the city, car washes are often noisy due to large industrial-sized equipment and cause an increase in vehicular traffic where they are located. Additionally, car washes near residential uses can expose residents to excessive noise and traffic.

City staff claims that the negative impacts frequently associated with the operation of car washes will likely increase as car washes continue to proliferate throughout the city, resulting in an unregulated and significant negative impact on public health, safety, and welfare of the community.

Studying the issue

Staff intends to study the issues associated with car washes to determine which locations are most appropriate for the use and the types of development standards that should be imposed on their operation to mitigate any potential impacts.

This includes reviewing land use definitions for car washes to determine if revisions are needed, evaluating all land use districts in which car washes are permitted for suitability, and studying development standards and best practices from other jurisdictions to determine if they would be appropriate city-wide.

Further, staff believes that continued approval of entitlements, building permits, or other approvals for new or expanded car washes poses a current and immediate threat to public health, safety, or general welfare.

Without further regulation of their location and operation, there is the potential for significant negative impacts by the development of new car washes or the expansion of existing car washes that cannot be mitigated.

Daily Press reporter Rene Ray De La Cruz may be reached at 760-951-6227 or RDeLaCruz@VVDailyPress.com. Follow him on Twitter @DP_ReneDeLaCruz.

This article originally appeared on Victorville Daily Press: Hesperia places temporary ban on new car washes