Eagan planning commission recommends Club Car Wash at 2250 Cliff Road with reduced employee parking

The Advisory Planning Commission on Sept. 23 unanimously recommended approval of a planned-development amendment to allow a commercial Club Car Wash at 2250 Cliff Road, voting 6-0 to forward the application to the Eagan City Council with the conditions in the staff report and an amendment that reduces required employee parking to three stalls.

The commission’s recommendation covers redevelopment of an approximately 1.1-acre parcel that formerly contained a convenience store and gas station. City planning staff told the panel the site is guided for retail-commercial uses and that the proposed car wash is generally consistent with the land-use designation and nearby commercial development.

City planner Ms. Dusiak described the proposal’s key elements: a counterclockwise vehicle circulation with entrance on Slater Road, two queuing lanes that merge after the pay station to provide queuing for up to 21 vehicles, a single car-wash building on the southern portion of the lot, and two rows of vacuum stalls north of the building. The applicant proposes three employee parking stalls (including one accessible stall); Club Car Wash requested elimination of a staff condition that would add one additional stall and said an occupied vacuum stall could serve as overflow employee parking if needed. Ms. Dusiak noted the car wash hours would generally be 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. and that city code contains performance standards specific to commercial car washes, including requirements that wash doors be closed during operation when vehicles are not entering or exiting.

Traffic and queuing were central topics of the discussion. City engineer Mr. Perkey said the city’s trip-generation estimate for a gas-station convenience store at that location would be roughly 300 trip ends daily (about 150 vehicles during the peak hour), while a car wash of this type typically generates substantially less — “significantly less than about 80 trip ends,” he said, which equates to roughly 40 vehicles in the peak hour. The applicant’s engineer, Michael Lydig of Robert E. Lee & Associates, said Club Car Wash’s national data show about 70% of washes are subscription members and that his experience at other sites matches the national trip model. “They do have that membership style…which they see about 70% of their washes are members,” Lydig said.

The commission also reviewed site design issues raised in public comments included with the staff report: the proposed detached trash enclosure sits between the building and the right-of-way, a deviation from typical front-yard standards the applicant justified to allow trash-truck access while preserving landscaping. Staff recommended replacement of all on-site trees because existing trees are in poor condition; required tree mitigation calculates to six Category B trees and is included on the landscape plan. Because of the site’s history with an underground fuel tank, the planner noted stormwater infiltration is prohibited and water-quality treatment must be achieved through filtration measures; stormwater will flow to an underground detention system and then to the city storm sewer.

Commission members complimented staff’s packet and said they were satisfied that relevant code standards (landscaping, building materials, signage, setbacks and lighting) were met or could be addressed through conditions. Member Black moved to recommend approval with the amendment to require three parking stalls; Member Whitfield seconded. The motion passed 6-0. Chair and staff confirmed the item will be heard by the Eagan City Council on Tuesday, Oct. 7.

The recommendation is advisory; final approval will rest with the City Council, which will consider the staff conditions and the planning commission recommendation at its Oct. 7 meeting.