Politics & Government

City Council Denies Car Wash Appeal

The Redondo Beach City Council denies the neighborhood's appeal of the Planning Commission's approval of plans for a new car wash on Torrance Boulevard.

An auto spa will replace the demolished car wash at 617 Torrance Blvd., the Redondo Beach City Council decided Tuesday night.

The controversial car wash was the centerpiece of a six-hour public hearing that ended with a 4-1 vote in favor of denying an appeal of the Planning Commission's approval of the project. Councilman Bill Brand, whose District 2 includes the property, dissented.

The council did, however, add additional conditions to the conditional use permit, including restricting Sunday car wash hours to 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and prohibiting the vacuum stations and credit card kiosks that are hallmarks of a self-serve car wash.

The council also modified one of the conditions to say the car wash must meet all city noise ordinances, unless residents at the property line don't allow access to their homes so interior noise levels can be measured.

Additionally, the council removed a 200-car-per-day restriction, replacing it with a 10,000-car monthly limit.

Neighbors have opposed the construction of a car wash on the property since plans for an express car was were first presented to the planning commission in January 2013. That application was denied after a tag-team presentation from residents, who cited noise and traffic concerns.

The current plans for a full-service car wash were presented to the Planning Commission in the spring and approved, despite resident opposition.

Both sides were out in force with their own experts and attorneys. Each side was given an hour to present its argument after a presentation from city staff, followed by several hours of public comment.

"We know that people are upset—not everybody gets their way," Mayor Steve Aspel told those assembled after the vote.

"The neighborhood is not going to welcome you with open arms," he told the car wash developers, encouraging them to continue to work with neighbors. "You know that."

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