Zoning administrator approves vehicle services facility and design review for 4362 Highway 12

Zoning Administrator McKay approved a minor conditional use permit and a minor design review on May 17, 2025, for a vehicle services facility (car wash) proposed at 4362 Highway 12 in Santa Rosa.

A project planner with the Planning and Economic Development Department summarized the proposal as a quick-back car wash with associated landscaping, internal service parking and shared driveway access with a storage facility behind the site. The planner said the applicant proposes operating hours of 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. seven days a week. "The applicant's proposing to operate between 7AM to 9PM, 7 days a week," the project planner said.

Staff described the property as zoned general commercial with a general plan designation of retail and business services and said the project was found categorically exempt and consistent with the general plan. The department reported it received three public comments during the notice period raising concerns about noise and concentration of similar uses. Staff said the applicant submitted a noise study and a transportation impact study; staff concluded the proposal would comply with the city's noise ordinance and that traffic impacts would be below thresholds of significance.

During the hearing staff and the zoning administrator discussed specific design and operational measures. The proposed landscaping includes crepe myrtles and elms intended to screen service areas from Sonoma Highway (Highway 12). The applicant's representative described the vacuum system: "It is exactly as you're describing, and it's enclosed in a concrete lock," the applicant representative said, explaining the central vacuum pump will be plumbed to individual stalls and that most sound will be limited to the nozzle at each stall.

Zoning Administrator McKay said the municipal code contains no "over concentration" standard for car washes and that the administrator's review must be limited to the findings required for a conditional use permit and design review. McKay cited the submitted noise and transportation studies in making required findings. McKay also confirmed a transportation recommendation to prohibit on-street parking on the south side of Sonoma Highway for 40 feet west of the driveway approach; staff indicated the prohibition applies within the incorporated area and follows the traffic consultant's recommendation.

There was discussion about the setback from Sonoma Highway. Staff located a plan note showing a building setback measurement of about 7 feet 6 inches from building face to the property line; another plan reference showed roughly 11 feet at a different point on the building, suggesting the setback varies by building element.

After discussion, McKay made the required findings and approved both the minor conditional use permit and the minor design review. The decisions are final unless an appeal is filed with the Planning and Economic Development Department within 10 calendar days; for these items the appeal deadline is Tuesday, 05/27/2025. Staff contact information was provided at the hearing for additional questions or appeals.