Spark Car Wash hearing continued after technical and neighbor concerns; board schedules closing statements for March 5

A continued hearing on Feb. 19 for Spark Car Wash LLC’s proposal at 25 Allwood Road drew extended testimony from the applicant’s engineer, traffic engineer, architect and planner and substantial questions from a nearby dentist and the zoning board. The board did not vote; the matter was carried to the board’s March 5 meeting, at 7 p.m., for closing statements and an inspection decision.

Attorney John Wychiscal opened the hearing and said the continued presentation would include engineering (Tungto Lam), traffic (Matthew Seckler), architecture (Oliver Young) and planning (John McDonough). The applicant seeks preliminary and final site-plan approval with variance relief to build an express, modern car-wash facility (a two-story building with tunnel and a “Spark Park” vacuum area) on a parcel that fronts Main Avenue and Allwood Road and lies under the Route 3 ramp area.

Engineer Tungto Lam described the site as largely paved today and outlined a plan that removes existing pavement, adds landscaping, provides ADA-compliant sidewalks and reuses two existing driveways (one reopening for emergency access to Main Avenue). He said the plan reduces impervious area in places, will use LED shielded lighting, and proposes masonry enclosures for noisy equipment. Lam said the vacuums’ drive motors (the turbine generators) would be relocated away from the…