Planning commission approves Green Clean car wash conditional-use permit, 7-1

The Newport News Planning Commission on Feb. 5 recommended approval, by a 7-1 vote, of a conditional-use permit to construct and operate a Green Clean Auto Wash at an outparcel of the Newmarket Shopping Center on Jefferson Avenue.

Planner Saul Garcia presented the application (CU2024Tech0014) on behalf of the owner, Newmarket Outparcels LLC, and said the site is zoned C1 (retail commercial) and designated regional commercial in the One City, One Future 2040 comprehensive plan. Garcia said the proposal "fits this designation as it is located along a commercial corridor and is a service establishment" and described staff-recommended conditions including submission of a Class 1 site plan, a landscape plan conforming to the zoning ordinance, and prior review of building elevations and exterior materials by the director of planning.

Tyler Rose, an attorney for the applicant, told the commission Green Clean is a local company with locations in Virginia and North Carolina and emphasized the company’s site-design and community programs. "Green Clean is excited about revitalizing and repurposing this constrained site with this state-of-the-art, car wash facility," Rose said. He said vacuums would be free and publicly accessible during business hours and that the applicant accepts the 19 conditions listed in the staff report.

Staff described the concept as a masonry building with wood accents and canopies, internal one-way circulation, stacking on-site for the tunnel wash, 19 vacuum parking spaces behind the structure, and an 11-foot landscape strip along Jefferson Avenue. Waterworks staff noted an eight-inch water main crosses the parcel and that structures must stay outside the easement or the waterline would be relocated.

Commissioners asked about operational details and potential noise; staff and the applicant said vacuums would be turned off outside posted hours. One commissioner noted the corridor already has several car washes but said the site would improve the visual appearance of the shopping-center frontage; another commissioner praised the planning department and applicant for flipping the site so the building fronts the street rather than leaving parking between Jefferson Avenue and the facade.

A motion to approve the conditional-use permit carried on roll call: Commissioners Williams, Shook, Stodghill, Black, Bowditch, Michelle and Chairperson Taylor voted in favor; Commissioner Dias voted against. The commission’s recommendation and the staff package – including the 19 conditions that must be met prior to permits – will be forwarded to City Council for final action in late February 2025.