75A - PH KARA GRANT APPEAL - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

the Car Wash Project. The Project was originally proposed in late 2016 as a building with numerous retail stores and a drive-thru restaurant. The entitlements necessary for development of the Car Wash Project —including rezoning the property to commercial and obtaining a General Plan amendment —were obtained under the pretense that a car wash owner and car wash developer were going to demolish the existing small gas station car wash and suddenly develop a retail center and drive-thru restaurant. It wasn't until July 2019 that there was any indication to the public that the Project would no longer include the retail building and drive-thru restaurant, and instead would house a massive express car wash with a 4,354 square foot car wash tunnel and 20 vacuum bays. The Council should send the message that this sort of manipulation and deceit is not how projects get approved in Santa Ana. The Council is also urged to adopt a moratorium on car washes to protect the Santa Ana's general welfare and economic stability, as the City of Escondido did in 2018. Santa Ana is on its way to becoming the car wash capital of Southern California. Currently, there are 22 car washes operating in the City and approving any more, including the Russell Fischer Car Wash Project, will have significant adverse impacts on the community and the City overall. Car washes provide little economic benefit to the City since they generate minimal sales tax revenue, they hire few employees resulting in lost income potential to residents and a reduction in employment opportunities throughout the City, they take up prime commercial property locations which are difficult to redevelop, and they have serious adverse impacts on the environment. Santa Ana needs a car wash moratorium and ultimately stricter requirements for permitting any future development of this use. Accordingly, the Council should deny Russell Fischer's application to build yet another massive, unneeded car wash, and should impose a moratorium to protect the City's general welfare, present economic stability, and future economic development. I. THE COUNCIL SHOULD REVERSE THE PLANNING COMMISSION'S APPROVAL OF THE CUP BECAUSE THE PROPOSED CAR WASH FAILS TO SATISFY FOUR OF THE FIVE MANDATORY FINDINGS REQUIRED TO GRANT A CUP. A. The Santa Ana Municipal Code Requires Five Findings Before A CUP Can Be Granted. The City's Conditional Use Permit Application states: "The conditional use procedure provides a method whereby specific uses, not considered compatible as a permitted use in a zoning district, are afforded an opportunity to locate in the zoning district on the basis of a specific location provided certain findings can be established." SAMC Section 41-638, provides that the Commission may grant a CUP for specific uses located at a particular location only if the Applicant establishes all of the following: 75A-13