Planning board reserves decision on Spark Car Wash site plan after traffic and noise concerns

The Town of Babylon Planning Board on May 2025 closed the public hearing and reserved decision on a site plan from Spark Car Wash LLC to demolish a 3,018-square-foot, two‑story building at 560 Montauk Highway in West Babylon and construct a 4,793‑square‑foot, two‑story automated car wash.

The board said the record will remain open for written comments while staff reviews the public input and remaining site‑plan issues. The applicant and its consultants presented a revised layout intended to eliminate on‑site conflicts at the driveway by shifting the building to the east, creating one‑way counterclockwise circulation and adding employee parking and vacuum stalls.

The applicant’s attorney, Matthew Inber of Brown & Altman, told the board the application had been revised since a November 18, 2024 hearing and that his team had “reviewed the memorandum” from Denise Graziana, Commissioner of Planning, dated April 30, 2025, and “have no objection” to the listed conditions. He asked that the prior hearing record be incorporated into the current one.

Trent Starr, real estate manager for Spark Car Wash, described operations: hours of 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., weekly trash pickup, a membership model using license‑plate recognition, and site staffing that he said typically totals 10–13 employees. Starr said the company will use underground water reclamation tanks to recycle and reuse up to 80% of water, and that vacuums at the site will be free but not operational after hours.

Nicholas Tortorella, the project traffic engineer with Stonefield Engineering and Design, said the revised plan shifts the wash to the east side of the lot, adds a right‑in/right‑out driveway and striped channelizing island at the tunnel exit, and provides one‑way circulation so “vehicles exiting the wash tunnel could make right turns out only back onto Montauk Highway,” which he said eliminates the prior conflict with vehicles entering the site. His office’s trip generation, based on Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) data, estimated roughly 80 total vehicle trips in the weekday evening peak hour and about 40 total trips in the Saturday peak hour.

Tortorella also described on‑site queuing: 10 stacking spaces for pay stations (four for members, five to six for nonmembers), 10 vacuum spaces (one ADA accessible), and three employee stalls. He said observed operations at a higher‑volume Spark site showed maximum observed nonmember queues of five vehicles that dissipated quickly and that IMEG, the town’s traffic consultant, and the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) reviewed and concurred with Stonefield’s conclusions.

Residents who spoke during public comment raised traffic, safety and noise concerns. William Farley of 59 Fleets Point Drive said the roadway and intersection are often congested and he expects backups; Peter Sarasol of 75 Cutter Place and other Cutter Place residents described frequent misuse of nearby curb cuts and called the neighborhood prone to cut‑through traffic. Several residents asked for a noise study and questioned whether vacuum stations and blowers would create sustained noise in backyards. Craig Roberts (79 Cutter Place) and others said they have observed long lines at other Long Island car washes and worry similar queues would form at Montauk Highway.

Board members sought clarifications during the hearing. Members confirmed that the easement to the rear of the site (used as a bailout/egress lane toward Fleets Point Drive) exists and was identified in the applicant’s title research; it would remain available to exit oversized vehicles or those that cannot be processed through the tunnel. Applicants said garbage trucks and emergency vehicles can use a 13‑foot wide drive aisle to access the trash enclosure and exit via the easement and that the pay station gate attendant could open a gate to allow a vehicle to exit through that cross‑access if needed.

Questions about after‑hours access and gating drew discussion: applicants said they will not gate the site because that could impede emergency vehicle access and would require automated locks; they said vacuum units will be inoperable after business hours. The town’s Department of Environmental Control staff reminded the board that town noise standards (Chapter 156) apply and that any measurement must be taken from an adjacent property line, not the applicant’s property.

No final action was taken. Planning Board members moved to close the hearing and reserve decision — a motion by Planning Board member Julianne Nolan, seconded by Frank Santos, carried with members voting to close the hearing — and the record was left open for written comment. The board directed staff to review the public comments and outstanding site‑plan issues before rendering a decision.

If approved, the application will require any applicable NYSDOT highway work permit because the site fronts Montauk Highway, which is under state jurisdiction. The planning department said application documents and the traffic studies are available for public inspection during normal business hours and that the record will remain open until the board takes action.

Ending: The planning board emphasized that it will review written comments submitted to planningcomments@townofbabylonny.gov or delivered to the planning department, and that the decision will be taken only after staff considers public feedback and outstanding technical issues.