Wheat Ridge to issue notice of noncompliance to car wash after neighbors report persistent noise

Wheat Ridge City staff told council members and neighbors on June 23 that they will issue a formal notice of noncompliance to the operator of a car wash near 40th and Gray, setting specific short- and longer-term deadlines to reduce noise and to show progress toward compliance with the facility’s special use permit.

Neighbors described months of sleep disturbance, anxiety and health impacts at the meeting’s public-comment period. “I just want my peace back,” said Gretchen Josten, a Wheat Ridge resident, describing a need to wear headphones to be outside and calling the situation “a nightmare.” Mike Josten, who also spoke, and other neighbors said the noise comes primarily from blowers and from bay doors left open at night.

Lauren Mikolak, Wheat Ridge’s community development director, said the city and the city attorney prepared a draft notice of noncompliance that staff planned to send “tomorrow,” and that it will include a set of near-term and longer-term corrective deadlines. “That notice is in draft form and prepared to be issued tomorrow with a series of very specific… I think I’m now up to maybe five or six specific deadlines,” Mikolak said. She added staff is seeking deadlines that are “measurable and understandable for both the operator… and the neighbors.”

A city attorney who addressed council described the legal framework for enforcement of a special use permit, saying that one standard for a special use permit’s continued effectiveness is that “the operations and maintenance of the facility be such as to not negatively affect adjacent land uses.” The attorney said the notice will cite the permit language and that failure to meet any deadline in the notice would allow staff to schedule a hearing to consider revocation of the special use permit.

City staff identified two immediate items they expect the operator to address: either turn the blowers off or reduce their sound to an acceptable level, and ensure bay doors are operated so noise does not escape. “Those can be addressed right away while we’re taking a longer-term view,” the city attorney said; Mikolak said the blower action is expected to be required “within about a week” as an early compliance item.

Staff also told council the operator has been asked to hire and pay for a noise study; the city has not yet received a draft or final report. “We have asked the operator to commission a noise study, at their expense,” Mikolak said. The notice will include milestones requiring evidence that the sound consultant has been engaged, a progress report and a later draft and final report timetable. Council members asked that any data from the study be provided to council as it becomes available.

Neighbors described recurring violations of agreed operational hours and cited time-stamped photos and incidents they said occurred outside the restricted times. One commenter told council a neighbor had been injured by debris from the site. Several speakers said frequent calls to police are impractical because the department has one decibel reader and by the time officers arrive conditions can have changed.

The criminal case tied to earlier enforcement activity has a court date scheduled for July 2, staff said. Mikolak and the city attorney told council that the notice is intended to create clear, enforceable deadlines tied to the zoning entitlement so that, if deadlines are missed, the city can move promptly to a revocation hearing before council. The city attorney also said councilors will receive updates; some information may be transmitted under attorney-client cover to preserve the ability to conduct a clean revocation hearing if that step is required.

Council members asked for frequent updates and confirmation that the short-term measures would be enforced quickly. Councilor Scott Ohm asked whether the city could immediately prohibit use of the blowers; staff answered that the notice will require near-term blower mitigation while the longer noise study and related design work proceed. Councilor Rachel Holting asked for confirmation of the court date and pressed staff to notify council promptly if deadlines are missed so council can move to a revocation hearing.

What’s next: staff will issue a notice of noncompliance to the special use permit holder the day after the meeting; the notice will include several short- and long-term deadlines (city staff said five to six deadlines are planned), an early deadline to address blowers and bay doors, and milestones related to hiring a sound consultant and delivery of study data. Failure to meet any deadline would permit staff to trigger a hearing to consider revocation of the permit. A criminal court date connected to prior enforcement activity is scheduled for July 2.

Key quotes from the meeting: “I just want my peace back,” Gretchen Josten, Wheat Ridge resident; “That notice is in draft form and prepared to be issued tomorrow,” Lauren Mikolak, Community Development Director; “When a special use permit is issued … the operations and maintenance of the facility [must] not negatively affect adjacent land uses,” City Attorney (name not specified).