Planning commission postpones decision on proposed Clean Express car wash at Meijer parking lot

The Canton Township Planning Commission opened a public hearing Sept. 8 on a special land‑use application to install a Clean Express automatic car wash within the Meijer parking lot at 45001 Ford Road and voted to postpone action to allow the applicant to submit additional materials addressing staff comments.

Planning staff recommended postponement, citing incomplete information in the application package needed to determine whether the proposal meets the township’s special land‑use standards (section 27.03(c)) and the car‑wash development standards. Staff noted outstanding items including detailed plan sheets showing 25‑car stacking capacity, pedestrian and sidewalk connections, landscape buffering toward the adjacent Waltonwood residential campus and a market analysis specific to the local trade area.

Patrick Sloan, planning staff, summarized the staff review and said the proposed building and circulation would reduce Meijer’s on‑site parking from 795 spaces to 643 — a reduction of 152 spaces — but that the applicant’s materials suggested the remaining parking could be sufficient. Sloan also flagged potential incompatibility with adjacent residential uses and questioned whether a car wash would advance the township’s adopted master plan policies promoting pedestrian‑oriented infill and non‑auto‑centric redevelopment.

The applicant’s design engineer told the commission the team had just received the staff memo and agreed with postponement to provide the missing detail. Nearby residents and association representatives spoke against the proposal, citing proximity to Waltonwood (a senior residential facility) and the Carpenter Park/Carriage Park condos, proximity to truck loading areas used by Meijer, and general concerns about additional auto‑oriented uses in the block. Mike Moyer, speaking for Carriage Park, called the location “a disaster” for a car wash given the close proximity of senior housing.

Staff’s review notes multiple car wash businesses within a roughly nine‑minute drive time of the site and questioned whether the new facility would result in excessive duplication of service in the area. The applicant submitted a market study that staff said relied on national trends and did not provide sufficient site‑specific demand analysis; staff offered to assist the applicant by using the township’s Placer.ai subscription to analyze the local trade area.

Commissioners expressed concerns about pedestrian safety because the site currently includes a pedestrian connection between Waltonwood and Meijer; staff said this connection would need safe, dedicated walkways and should not force pedestrians to negotiate vehicle circulation through the proposed car‑wash lanes. Other technical items cited by staff included building architecture, screening on the south side of the facility adjacent to Waltonwood, and compliance with the car‑wash development standards in section 6.02(d) of the zoning ordinance.

Commissioner motioned and the commission voted to postpone action pending revised materials; the applicant will not be required to repeat the public hearing when it returns because the hearing requirement has been met. The motion to postpone carried unanimously.

Ending: The applicant indicated it would supply revised plans and a more focused market analysis; staff and the applicant agreed to coordinate on outstanding technical items prior to resubmission.