Pompano Beach board rejects special-exception request for express car wash at Federal Highway and NE 50th Street

The Pompano Beach Planning & Zoning Board on July 17 denied a special‑exception application to replace a gas station and outdoor storage yard at the southwest corner of North Federal Highway and Northeast 50th Street with an express car wash.

City Principal Planner Max Weems summarized staff’s review of application PZ25‑170000006, saying the site is a 0.8‑acre corner parcel zoned B‑3 with a commercial future land use and that the project includes demolition of a gas station and auto repair use and a proposed 3,600‑square‑foot tunnel car wash with associated landscaping, stacking lanes and a single access point on 50th Street. Weems read staff conditions including the requirement to obtain final site plan, building design approval, zoning and a business tax receipt.

Applicant representative Christina Belenke described the proposal as an express car wash with a roughly three‑minute tunnel wash and 13‑car stacking capacity; she told the board the site design includes a single access on the western side of 50th Street, a 15‑foot dedication of right‑of‑way and perimeter landscaping. She said the site’s surrounding uses are predominantly automotive and that the project would reduce daily trips compared with the existing combination of gas station and convenience-store uses.

Mike Saw, owner of an adjacent mechanic shop, spoke in opposition and said the business relies on local customers and could be harmed by a new car-wash operator across the street. He told the board he pays about $5,000 a month in mortgage and that converting the parcel to a car wash would threaten his livelihood.

Board members asked about hours (the applicant said 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.), noise, screening, stormwater and whether the project would increase truck or residential traffic on the side street; applicant representatives and staff said the operator intends to use on‑site water reclamation and odor controls and that landscaping and walls would screen residential properties roughly 150 feet west of the site. The applicant's traffic study — prepared and later reviewed by the city's consultant — showed the proposal would reduce daily trips relative to the existing gas station/convenience‑store operation.

At roll call the motion to grant the special exception failed, with two board members voting yes and four voting no. The board therefore did not grant the car wash special exception and the applicant will need to reassess the site plan and entitlements if it wishes to proceed.