THOUSAND OAKS : Mobile Carwash Limits to Be Weighed

Mobile car washers will have one last chance to plead their case in Thousand Oaks City Hall on Tuesday when the council considers an ordinance regulating mobile businesses.

After months of negotiations and a half-dozen City Hall showdowns, the City Council will try to wrap up the issue during a public hearing scheduled for 7:30 p.m.

Owners of fixed-site carwashes have complained that their mobile competitors unfairly undercut their prices because they have little overhead costs and few standards. The mobile car washers have defended their right to invent cheap, effective methods of cleaning automobiles and have protested proposed regulations.

The ordinance up for consideration Tuesday, drafted as a compromise, bans mobile car washing and detailing from shopping centers. Washers must obtain formal permission from property owners before working in the parking lots of office buildings, and they may not solicit in commercial or industrial zones.

Other conditions stipulate that car-washing must take place at least 75 feet from a storm drain and limits the mobile crews to 30 minutes at a given parking lot each day.

Despite the tough negotiations that went into the ordinance--the staff report exceeds 600 pages--Councilman Frank Schillo said he worries the law is still too tough on entrepreneurs.

“I don’t think you need to get into such detail, pardon my pun,” Schillo said. “They should get permission from property owners and that’s sufficient. We don’t want to nail them to the ground.”