Council to Debate Carwash Project

The City Council will consider tonight whether a proposed North Laguna Beach carwash, facing neighborhood opposition, will gain final approval.

The Planning Commission first approved the carwash in November, but residents appealed the decision to the City Council, saying the project would create too much noise and traffic.

The mechanical carwash, which would include an enclosed wash tunnel, hand-held high-pressure blow dryers and an outdoor vacuuming area, was denied by the council on a 3-2 vote in December. At that time, council members said the business would be inappropriate for an area designated as a scenic highway.

The applicant, Scott Thompson, who also owns Sweetwater Car Wash in South Laguna, then proposed that he be allowed to build a residential building behind the carwash to buffer the noise.

Despite the protests of seven residents who spoke against it, the Planning Commission on March 8 approved the project, once it had met 40 conditions to satisfy parking, traffic, noise and landscaping concerns.

“We put so many conditions on it so that it will be an asset to the community,” Planning Commissioner Cheryl Kinsman said last month. “The carwash can be closed if they don’t meet the conditions.”

City staff has advised the council to deny the appeal and approve the carwash, which would sit on the site of an empty 18,000-square-foot lot at 1369 N. Coast Highway. The lot has been vacant since a gas station closed there in 1989.