Board recommends approval for new seven‑bay Rocky Mountain Car Wash with noise and recycling conditions

The Whitefish Community Development Board unanimously recommended approval of WCUP 25‑08, a conditional use permit for a seven‑bay Rocky Mountain Car Wash proposed for a newly platted lot along Highway 93 South. The applicant, Rocky Mountain Car Wash, described the proposal as four self‑serve bays and three automatic bays in which the machine operates around the vehicle rather than a tunnel conveyor. “This is actually a smaller facility than a lot of their other locations and we're estimating just under 200 vehicles per day,” said Taylor Kasperic of Performance Engineering, the project engineer. The nut graf: board members and staff discussed neighborhood compatibility, water use, and traffic; neighbors and an existing local operator raised concerns about cumulative car‑wash density and traffic at the shared intersection. The board attached conditions requiring architectural review and site‐design changes, and a later friendly amendment added: “integration of a silenced dryer system and best feasible water preservation/recycling technology will be integrated.” Staff said the site complies with zoning (WB‑2), setbacks and parking, and that access will be off an internal subdivision road rather than directly onto Highway 93. The applicant explained water recycling practices: “The most efficient [systems] that we can find is anywhere between 55 to 60% ... usually what ends up ... is somewhere in between 15‑25%,” Riley of Rocky Mountain Car Wash said, adding the company captures reject water from reverse‑osmosis spot‑free systems and reuses it in earlier wash passes. Public commenters included nearby residents and business owners who cited water‑and‑sewer capacity, noise, and traffic at the intersection. Dennis Doherty, owner of the Whitefish Superwash across the street, said the proposed facility could exacerbate congestion near the site and on Highway 93 and urged the board to consider traffic implications. Staff responded that the applicant provided a comparative traffic analysis and that the project was estimated at under 200 trips per day, a threshold that does not trigger a full traffic study; staff and the board noted the new internal roadway will provide alternative turning movements. The board’s motion to recommend approval included staff conditions (architectural review, landscaping, screening of refuse, bike parking, fire and stormwater requirements) plus the silenced‑dryer and best‑feasible recycling requirement. The motion passed unanimously. The application will proceed to City Council for final action.