Blue Springs planning commission recommends rezoning and approves site plans for Tommy’s Express car wash

The Blue Springs Planning Commission on Jan. 13 voted to recommend rezoning and approved the planned development concept plan, preliminary plat and site-plan design review for a Tommy’s Express tunnel car wash proposed along Northwest Missouri 7 Highway.

The commission approved the rezoning from General Business to Plan Development Commercial (PDC) and the accompanying development plans by recorded roll call votes (five in favor, two opposed on the rezoning and concept plan). The preliminary plat and site-plan reviews also passed; commissioners recorded two ‘‘no’’ votes on some motions but the items carried. Staff said the approvals will be forwarded to the City Council for final consideration during the meeting week of Jan. 20.

Staff planner Chantelle Fry told commissioners the subject property is about 0.74 acres and that the PDC would allow the range of uses normally permitted in General Business plus a car-wash use while excluding cannabis-related uses, adult entertainment, bars/taverns and manufacturing. Fry said staff reviewed the rezoning under the city’s review criteria and concluded the application ‘‘is in accordance with the comprehensive plan’’ and recommended approval with conditions.

Under the plan, the proposed Tommy’s Express would be a roughly 4,500-square-foot pad-site building with a conveyor-belt tunnel wash. The concept plan shows two access points: a north entrance designated ‘‘entrance only’’ and a south driveway converted to ‘‘exit only.’’ Fry described traffic-control features including chevron striping and movable plastic bollards to reduce wrong-way turns, and a 5-foot ADA-compliant sidewalk along NW 7 Highway. The applicant requested reductions in a north side setback (from 10 feet to 3 feet), waivers of building transparency and primary-entrance standards, and reduced buffer widths (requested from 7 feet to 5 feet) and plant composition requirements; staff supported the waivers, citing that the site currently lacks buffering and that required buffers would significantly reduce buildable area.

Applicant Rob Heisey, who identified himself as an owner/operator with Heartland Tommy’s Express, described operational experience at six Midwest locations and said a traffic-impact study was conducted June 28, 2024 and has an acceptance letter from the Missouri Department of Transportation. Heisey said the company’s Midwest locations average about 600 cars per day, with rare peak days above 1,000 vehicles, and that a comparable Tommy’s site in Saint Joseph, Mo., has not generated backups onto the adjacent highway. Heisey also described the tunnel system as a conveyor-belt design that can change speed to process vehicles faster or slower as needed; he said a typical pass through the Tommy’s tunnel is about 2 minutes and 23 seconds.

Commissioners asked about stacking capacity, traffic flow and whether failures could produce backups onto Missouri 7. Heisey said the site provides 22 stacking spaces in the drive lane and that, in an unusual outage, staff would use cones and portable bollards to prevent additional vehicles from entering the site until operations were restored. Commissioners also pressed staff and the applicant on sidewalk plans along 7 Highway and on changes made since the project’s prior appearance before the commission; the applicant said the principal changes addressed circulation and the designation of the south driveway as exit-only.

Votes at a glance - Rezoning RZ11249418 (GB to PDC) — Passed (yes: Stochenbury, Sanderson, Graham, Ingersoll, Henning; no: Kratoff, Pumphrey). Recommended to City Council for final action in the meeting week of Jan. 20. - Planned Development Concept Plan PDC11249419 — Passed (same roll-call pattern; carried with three staff conditions). Sent to City Council with conditions. - Preliminary Plat PP-11-24-9420 — Passed (motion carried; two no votes recorded). - Site-plan design review — Passed (motion carried; two no votes recorded).

Why it matters: The approval would allow a new automatic tunnel car wash at a high-traffic arterial in a commercial corridor and includes deviations from standard zoning requirements (setback, transparency, buffer widths). The project will return to City Council for final decisions on the rezoning and associated permits.

Next steps: The approvals will be forwarded to City Council for final consideration. The Planning Commission’s next meeting is scheduled for Jan. 27.