Arnold City Council members approved a business license for a car wash to be built in the northern part of the city, despite a split vote by the city’s Planning Commission rejecting the venture.
The City Council voted 5-1 on Sept. 15 to approve a conditional-use permit that will allow Scrubbles Express Wash to be constructed at 839 Jeffco Blvd.
The location, a vacant lot that used to house a Burger King restaurant, is between the Fox C-6 School District campus that is home to Fox high, middle and elementary schools and the district’s service center.
Ward 3 Councilman Mark Hood voted against approving the permit, and councilmen Jason Fulbright of Ward 1 and Brian McArthur of Ward 2 were not at the meeting. McArthur is the council’s liaison on the Planning Commission.
The commission voted 4-3 on Aug. 9 against the conditional-use permit after members expressed concerns about the business adding more traffic to a section of Jeffco Boulevard that can become congested in mornings and afternoons during the school year.
“I have a concern with the traffic,” Hood said. “There is no traffic study that has been done. I don’t have a problem with the business. I just felt like this kind of came from out of nowhere.
“The Planning Commission voted it down, and then we are getting the information without a good reason from the Planning Commission for why they voted 4-3 against it.”
Elizabeth Lum, a lawyer with Smith Amundsen, filed an appeal to the Planning Commission’s decision on behalf of Todd Buckner, who owns Scrubbles Express Wash.
She spoke to the council members before they approved the permit, pointing out that the business met all of the requirements necessary to operate at the location. She also said the city should not place restrictions on how customers can enter and exit the business.
Before voting against the permit, the Planning Commission had inserted a condition that would allow customers to enter the business only by making a right turn off Jeffco Boulevard onto the property and exit the business only by making a right turn onto Jeffco Boulevard.
Lum said the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) owns and maintains Jeffco Boulevard, so that entity would have the final say on how traffic can enter and exit the property.
“Our client meets all of the criteria set forth in your conditional-use permit ordinance, and (city) staff has noted they are all satisfied,” Lum said. “All the driveways up and down Jeffco are full right-turn, left-turn entrances. We are asking for a conditional use in the middle of other conditional uses with a similar business focus and configuration.”
Buckner said he plans to announce later this year when the car wash will open. He said Scrubbles Express Wash will be open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. seven days a week, and he anticipates the busiest times to be between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. on Thursdays through Sundays.
Before voting to approve the permit, the council voted 5-1 to remove the stipulation calling for right-hand turns only. Hood voted against removing that condition.
“I would have wanted the no left turn out put in there as a recommendation,” Hood said. “MoDOT could always supersede us, but I wanted that in there.”
City Administrator Bryan Richison said he was glad the council approved the permit for the car wash. He said city staff believes the Burger King restaurant that had been on the lot has been gone for more than 20 years.
“That lot has been vacant for quite a while,” he said. “It is good to see something go in there. We do like to see new businesses in the northern part of Jeffco, which is the older part of the business district. We like to see new investment in that area.”
Richison said he also was glad a car wash is able to adhere to strict rules the city put in place for that type of business following the construction of a Tiger Express Wash (now a Club Car Wash) located at 1414 Jeffco Blvd.
A primary rule requires a car wash to provide space for the equivalent of 10 times the number of vehicles to line up behind the washing tunnel as the number of vehicles that can be washed at one time.
Lum said Scrubbles Express Wash meets this standard because it will allow for as many as 40 vehicles to line up behind its four washing tunnels. One vehicle can be in a washing tunnel at a time.
“We learned some lessons with Tiger, which is now Club Car Wash, and we made some changes to the code,” Richison said. “I am happy to see they (Scrubbles) were able to comply with those, and I think it makes for a better operation. I think all around it is a good plan, and I think it will be a good fit on that piece of property. I am glad it was approved.”
Richison also said he was glad the council removed the entrance-exit restrictions, and noted MoDOT’s role as the decision-maker.
“We haven’t done a traffic study,” Richison said. “We don’t have anything to rest any kinds of conclusions on (regarding entrance and exit rules). I felt it was better in this case to not weigh into that issue and let MoDOT handle it.
“We know they are aware of what goes on in that area because we have talked to them about looking at the signal at (the intersection of Tenbrook Road and the Fox C-6 campus) for the timing of the lights.”
Because of wording on the land deed, the Fox C-6 School District has the right to approve any business, with the exception of restaurants, that would occupy the lot between its school campus and the service center, according to district officials.
Fox C-6 had no objections to a car wash being built on that land, and therefore the Board of Education voted in a closed session on April 26 to unanimously approve the use of that land as a car wash, a district official said.
