Wheat Ridge residents press city over 24/7 noise from Auto Wash at 40th and Gray; police say business is violating city noise rules

Residents and business owners near 40th Avenue and Gray Street told the Wheat Ridge City Council on March 24 that a new automated car wash is producing a constant drone that exceeds local noise limits and is disrupting homes and a veterinary practice nearby.

Jan Fasinelli, a Wheat Ridge veterinarian who said she has worked at 4355 Grama Street for 28 years, told the council she can no longer open windows during consultations because "there's a constant drone of noise. I can't open the windows. I have a very quiet practice." Fasinelli said she measured 68 decibels at about 6 p.m. when one blower was running with a door down, and that readings at neighbors' doors ranged from about 58 to 62 decibels.

Other neighbors, including Julia Rees, Gretchen Joesten, Sandra Sands and Austin Caldwell, described 24-hour operation of multiple dryer motors and said the business opened without mitigation measures they expected would protect nearby residences. Josten told the council the car wash operator had said "we followed all city requirements" during permitting but that the company was operating four automatic bays with dryers and had not implemented noise mitigation when it opened.

Wheat Ridge Police Chief Matthew Murtha told the council the department responded to complaints more than two weeks ago and took sound readings at affected property lines, which is the measurement point specified in the city code. "When we did do that, we did find that they were over and exceeding the allowable noise, in the in the, ordinance that we have in Wheat Ridge," Murtha said. He added that the city's decibel meter was checked against Arvada's meter and produced similar results.

Murtha said officers observed higher readings when more than one motor was running. "When there was 1 motor running at a time, they did meet compliance most of the time," he said. "But when it was more than 1, they almost always were in violation of the sound." The department issued a violation notice to the business about 10 days ago and requested a meeting; the owner canceled a scheduled meeting last week but a new meeting was set for the coming Thursday. Murtha said the city aims "to create an environment where they could prosper in their business, but certainly, protect the needs of the neighborhood." He added that if the owner continues to delay compliance the matter could move to court and that failure to meet city codes could affect the business license.

City staff and councilors told residents they are pursuing multiple avenues: continued enforcement under the city's noise ordinance, follow-up meetings with the owner, and a review of the building and permitting records by community development staff. Councilors raised the possibility of broader policy review of automated car washes and their placement near residential areas.

Residents asked for immediate mitigation such as sound barriers; police and staff said they had discussed technical fixes with the owner, including venting through the roof and other abatement steps, but that installation and cost decisions rest with the business.

The city will continue sound monitoring and direct communication with complainants; enforcement options range from corrective orders to a court hearing and possible revocation of the business license if violations persist.