Commission approves general development plan for drive‑through car wash at 1700 S. Kohler Street

The Planning Commission approved a general development plan (GDP) for a drive‑through car wash at 1700 South Kohler Street, the former Applebee's site, allowing the applicant to proceed to the site‑plan phase where certain deviations will be addressed.

Staff described the site as a former restaurant building in an SMU‑PD zoning district and said the proposed Tommy's Express‑style car wash would replace the existing structure. The conceptual site plan includes 20 vacuum stations and 28 parking spaces (48 total), exceeding the code maximum of 25 parking spaces; staff said the applicant will need a Board of Site Plan (BSM) approval during the SIP phase for increased parking and any impervious surface ratio exceptions. The plan also slightly exceeds the SMU district's 70% maximum impervious surface ratio by about 1%.

The applicant's representative, Peter Schwabe, said the landowners (the Killian family) plan to remove the abandoned building and redevelop the site and will address landscaping, impervious surface and other comments during the SIP. A developer representative explained that Tommy's national site planning typically uses vacuum‑station counts to avoid backups at the exit; that rationale informed the 20 vacuum stations proposed.

The commission discussed access changes (removing one entrance on South Kohler and using two access points on Osborne Avenue), landscaping point calculations and that final building elevations and design details will be reviewed during the SIP. The GDP was approved in a roll call vote; the SIP review will address required variances for parking and impervious surface.