LA PALMA : Carwash Request Faces Opposition

Residents opposed to another carwash business in the city are gearing up for a battle in city hall at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, when the City Council holds a hearing on an application for a carwash at Crescent and Moody streets.

A newly formed La Palma citizens group, Save the Vision Committee, has mailed a letter to residents, urging opposition to the carwash application. The committee contends that La Palma already has more than enough carwashes.

The committee said the choice for the city “is between being known as the Kingdom of the Carwashes or Truly the City of Vision.”’

The applicant, Paul Son, said in an interview he thinks a new carwash would be an asset for the city and consumers.

“More competition (in business) is good,” he said, adding that the public benefits whenever several businesses compete for customers. Son also said neighbors near the proposed carwash do not object to the project.

The Save the Vision Committee was formed recently around the idea that residents are taking a back seat to businesses in decisions by city officials.

In its organizing letter sent as a mass mailing, the group said: “A number of us in La Palma have become increasingly concerned that the ‘City of Vision’ has lost its direction and that it needs all of our help to refocus its goals and objectives.”

“City of Vision” is La Palma’s motto. The new citizens group contends that residents need to be more militant in watching City Hall if the “vision” motto is to be true.

“Whether it be providing city services, enforcing city codes, or planning for future growth, we feel that our city has forgotten that the needs of the ‘residential community’ should be their No. 1 priority,” the letter said. “For this reason we decided to form the ‘Save the Vision Committee.’ ”

The Save the Vision Committee, in its letter about the car wash issue, said the choice for the city “is between being known as the Kingdom of the Car Washes or truly the City of Vision.”’

The council meetings is at 7:30 p.m. at City Hall.