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Hearing Examiner grants small buffer‑width deviation for Del Prado car wash; applicant to maintain enhanced landscaping
Summary
The Hearing Examiner approved a deviation reducing the required eastern landscape buffer from 15 feet to 12.09 feet for a car wash at 318 NE 16th Place, allowing a 6‑foot vinyl fence in lieu of a masonry wall after the applicant agreed to provide additional trees and shrubs beyond code minimums and staff recommended conditional approval.
At the May 6 Hearing Examiner session, the owner of the Car Wash Headquarters LLC (site of a Mr. Car Wash) asked for a deviation from the landscaping buffer requirements along the eastern property line at 318 Northeast Sixteenth Place. The applicant requested a 2.91‑foot reduction from the 15‑foot green space required when no masonry wall is present, proposing a 12.09‑foot buffer with a 6‑foot vinyl fence and additional plantings.
Applicant representative Linda Miller (Avalon Engineering) said the contractor installed a 6‑foot vinyl fence rather than the masonry wall materials listed in the Land Development Code; the vinyl fence does not meet the code’s wall material standards (concrete block, textured concrete, stone, brick or precast concrete). Miller said the development will exceed several landscaping requirements by providing additional canopy and accent trees and shrubs beyond the code minimums for a no‑wall buffer.
Planning staff (Candace Ford) said the site was properly noticed and that, although there are no topographic or shape constraints that compel a deviation, construction is nearly complete and requiring demolition/reconstruction to replace the fence with a masonry wall would impose significant delay and cost. Staff recommended approval with a condition that the eastern buffer be maintained as shown on the landscape plan prepared by Landesco and signed 02/02/2025.
The Hearing Examiner granted the deviation as requested and said she will issue an order. No public comment was made during the hearing.
Note on quantities: the transcript contains inconsistent numerical phrasing in the applicant’s presentation about the exact counts of trees and shrubs; staff’s condition references the landscape plan on record as the controlling plan.
