Council denies rezoning for proposed Jones Malzberger car wash after neighborhood objections

San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg and the City Council denied a rezoning request (Item 21) on the April 2025 zoning agenda that would have allowed a Specific Use Authorization for a car wash at 15015 Jones Malzberger Road.

The proposal, filed by Lone Star Builders on behalf of Quick Quack Car Wash, sought a C-2-S rezoning for a car wash on a 0.63-acre former Pizza Hut site. Opponents said the lot is too small and the proposed operation would be too close to adjacent homes.

Why it matters: Neighbors said the car wash would put vehicle noise, blowers and operations immediately adjacent to a residential subdivision. Councilmember John White moved to deny the rezoning, citing the site’s proximity to homes and unanimous denial by the Zoning Commission and staff recommendation of denial. The denial motion carried.

Residents and business representatives spoke during the public hearing. Brandon Babcock, who said he owns and operates multiple car washes, warned of traffic issues and repeated noise, saying the car-wash blowers “generate between 80 and 90 decibels.” Resident Eunice Flores said her home at 2734 Pebble Breeze “would be right up against this car wash” and that residents “do not want strangers looking” into the neighborhood and “the noise level is gonna be atrocious.” Her neighbor Andrew Flores said the lot “is 0.63 acres” and that the developer’s proposed two-story tunnel “exceeds the 25-foot limit in a C-2 zoning district,” adding that neighbors “request that our city council deny the C-2-S rezoning request.”

Representing the applicant, Brandon Dennison of Lone Star Builders said the company provided a third-party sound study showing existing decibel levels at the residential line of 59 decibels and that the proposed facility would increase that level to about 61 decibels, below the City of San Antonio’s 63-decibel threshold at the residential property line. Dennison also said Quick Quack “recycle[s] 99% of all water used” and that the company proposes a 15-foot landscape buffer and a 15-foot wall between the car wash and residences.

Councilmember White thanked neighbors for their engagement and said the location was “much, much too close to the neighborhood,” moved to deny, and the council approved that motion. The council did not read a roll-call vote tally into the record during the meeting beyond announcing that the motion carried.

Action: Motion to deny the rezoning and Specific Use Authorization for a car wash at 15015 Jones Malzberger Road carried; the rezoning request is denied. A yes vote on the motion meant denial of the rezoning request.

What’s next: With the denial final at the zoning agenda, the applicant may revise the proposal and pursue alternative sites or modifications; no further council direction on a revised application was stated on the record.