Tidal Wave car-wash plans rejected in Orange Township, but with debate

A Tidal Wave Auto Spa car wash won't be splashing in Orange Township.

A debate on the specifics of commercial development along the busy U.S. Route 23 was a factor when township trustees on Nov. 2 denied a rezoning application for the business proposed on 2.5 acres at 6519 Columbus Pike, at the southeast corner of Route 23 and Lewis Center Road.

The developer, New York-based PJ Land Development of Farmingdale, had planned a car-wash building and a vacuum-vending building, both enclosed with four sides, plus a pay-station drive-thru canopy structure and a vacuum canopy structure.

The site is vacant with grass, some gravel and trees, Orange Township documents on the proposal show.

The Nov. 2 discussion was a continuation of an Oct. 5 hearing, when the agent for the developer, attorney Jack Reynolds of Columbus-based Smith & Hale, asked for time to let the developer modify the plan to address concerns of trustees and neighbors.

A motion to deny the application was approved Nov. 2, with trustees Ben Grumbles and Erica Fouss in favor and trustee Lisa Knapp dissenting.

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As trustees discussed the plan, the question of whether the township should allow a car wash at the site, or elsewhere, was a main point of contention.

Grumbles said that when the township developed its Route 23 Corridor Overlay District, preventing car washes was a goal.

"When we sat down to redo the overlay," he said, "there was specific effort in paying attention to permitted uses, and so the base for my ... desire to not move forward ... to allow this rezoning was based on the fact that we actually took an effort to eliminate this particular use from the overlay district."

Other potential uses, such as a market, are allowed at the site, he said.

The overlay district covers a large section adjacent to Route 23, starting just south of Powell Road and extending north to Shanahan Road.

The trustees imposed a 10-month moratorium that ended in August on development applications in the district as the township staff and legal counsel reviewed the district's development requirements.

The overlay district is described in a 51-page document at tinyurl.com/346k95w5.

"My objection is simply to the use," Grumbles said. "We made a concerted effort to eliminate this use from our overlay for a reason. So as it goes to the general welfare (of the township) and things of that nature, that's my basis for it."

After the meeting, Fouss told ThisWeek she voted to deny the rezoning application for one main reason.

"The applicant was requesting the property to be zoned a planned commercial and office district (PCD) with the single use of a car wash, with all other activities being prohibited," she said. "In our jurisdiction as trustees, we are tasked with answering three questions. Does the proposed development meet the zoning resolution? Does it meet the 2018 Orange Township Comprehensive Land Use Plan? And does the proposed development advance the general welfare of the township and the immediate vicinity? After listening to resident feedback, I did not feel that the proposed development advanced the general welfare of the township and the immediate vicinity."

Knapp told ThisWeek she disagreed with the conclusions of Grumbles and Fouss.

"There was no valid reason to deny the Tidal Wave application," Knapp said. "Contrary to comments from my fellow trustees at the meeting, it meets all of the requirements of both the planned commercial district of our zoning resolution and our comprehensive land-use plan and was recommended for approval by both our zoning commission and the Delaware County Regional Planning Commission."

Fouss told ThisWeek the property was zoned for permitted uses of a convenience store, a produce barn or a gas station in 1984. In 1997, the property was approved for use as a produce barn to be used for store operations and retail food sales.

Knapp told ThisWeek those uses could be worse than a car wash in terms of traffic entering and leaving the site.

"The existing zoning allows for a use that is up to 23 times more intensive than this application, including being open twice as many hours than proposed,” she said. “Although we may feel there are already too many car washes in the area, the proposed use would be much less intrusive than what the property will most likely be zoned for in the future, such as a fast-food restaurant, gas station, convenience store, etc."

The trustees’ rejection of a planned Sheetz store along Route 23 in September 2021 led to a lawsuit by the company and a settlement with the township. Knapp said that might not become an isolated incident.

"Our constitution allows property owners the right to use their property in an economically viable manner," she said. "We've spent years developing zoning and use plans to protect our residents. Trustees cannot act in an arbitrary manner, and we could face legal action over this decision as it could be considered a taking. It's my job to protect our residents against the costs of yet another needless lawsuit so we can get back to serving them. "

An expected increase in traffic at the site was a concern of trustees and residents during the hearings.

Kayleigh Bevington of engineering and architect consultants Bohler (with offices in a number of eastern states) spoke on behalf of the developer Nov. 2 and said car washes attract only a modest amount of traffic.

She presented findings from the Institute of Transportation Engineers Trip Generation Manual that said a combined 51 vehicles would enter an automated car wash during peak morning and afternoon hours.

By comparison, she said, a convenience store-gas station would attract a combined 511 vehicles during the same hours, and a fast-food restaurant with a drive-thru would attract 200 vehicles.

Bevington and Reynolds did not comment after the trustees' vote. ThisWeek has been unable to contact Reynolds.

Find a video of the Nov. 2 meeting at youtube.com/watch?v=34mS3ushZ3g&t=11s.

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This article originally appeared on ThisWeek: Orange Township: Tidal Wave car-wash plan rejected, but with debate