Bonita Springs City Council on Wednesday approved a special‑exception allowing a car wash at 22873.1 South Tamiami Trail in the city’s US‑41 overlay district, after staff and the applicant described site controls and engineering and one resident opposed the project. The motion passed on a roll call vote, 5‑2.

The request sought permission under the US‑41 overlay and the city’s land‑development code to locate a fully enclosed, single‑lane tubed car wash with a double‑lane payment queue, nine vacuum stalls and attendant landscaping on a 1.24‑acre parcel, applicant counsel Patty Kulak said. "The site is approximately 1.24 acres in size," Kulak told council during the quasi‑judicial hearing, and said access would be limited to the US‑41 access road.

The nut graf: staff recommended approval with conditions, the zoning board recommended approval 3‑1, and the council voted to approve the special exception subject to the conditions in the staff report. The decision allows the project to proceed to the local development‑order and permitting processes; the special exception does not itself guarantee building permits or final development approval.

Council and staff discussion and the applicant’s presentation focused on compatibility, infrastructure and noise. Michael Herrera, civil engineer with Blue Shore Engineering, said utilities are available adjacent to the US‑41 right‑of‑way and the parcel is covered by a master surface water management permit through the South Florida Water Management District. "We’ll be connecting to those facilities," Herrera said, and described pretreatment and discharge into the master stormwater system.

Kulak and the applicant said the site plan includes a 15‑foot side setback, a 25‑foot street frontage setback, code‑required landscaping buffers and an eight‑foot masonry wall with plantings along the eastern perimeter adjacent to apartments. Kulak said the wall and design were intended to address noise and glare.

The applicant’s sound study — discussed in the applicant presentation and summarized by counsel — concluded that traffic noise from US‑41 would be louder than the facility vacuums and that the proposed wall would provide additional attenuation. Kulak summarized the study’s finding: the "sound coming off of US 41 would be louder than those of the vacuums for the site."

A member of the public, Julie Basile, spoke in opposition during public comment and cited nearby wildlife, trash along the corridor and the presence of three other car washes within about a mile. Basile said she lives in the apartment community directly behind the site and that the area is an Audubon‑certified property; she said she "totally oppose[s] this and it will change how I feel about living in Bonita Springs." Council members discussed whether the property fell inside an Audubon sanctuary; staff said the parcel does not sit within an Audubon sanctuary but noted an existing conservation easement applies elsewhere nearby and does not affect the subject parcel based on the environmental review provided.

The council approved the motion to grant the special exception subject to the staff conditions contained in the staff report. Roll call votes recorded: Council member Bogaz — Aye; Deputy Mayor Purdon — No; Council member Carr — Aye; Mayor Gibson — Aye; Council member Corey — No; Council member Fullick — Aye; Council member Fitzpatrick — Aye. The mayor and city clerk will complete any further local development‑order and permitting steps required by the city's codes.

Council and applicant comments stressed that the special exception must still comply with the city site plan and noise ordinance, and that final construction and operational approvals require separate permitting and inspections. The applicant confirmed hours of operation were proposed at 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily per the conditions accepted by the applicant.

The council’s approval permits the applicant to move forward with required building permits, utility connections and the local development‑order process; those subsequent approvals are subject to staff review and are not guaranteed by the special‑exception vote.