Planning commission approves expansion of Lawrence Expressway service station with car wash, limits detailing services

The Santa Clara Planning Commission voted unanimously March 19 to approve a variance and a conditional use permit allowing an expansion of the service station at 2455 Lawrence Expressway that will remove part of the existing fuel canopy, reduce the number of fuel dispensers and add a 1,605-square-foot convenience store and an automated car‑wash tunnel.

City staff had recommended denial, citing zoning, compatibility with adjacent residential uses and generalized potential adverse impacts. In a staff presentation, Associate Planner Andrew Sloczek said the applicant submitted revised plans and a noise study but that “the proposed use may not be compatible with that residential use,” and that staff’s analysis found the variance findings had not been met in full.

The applicant team responded that they revised plans in response to the commission’s January 15 direction, hired a sound consultant and specified absorptive material inside the car-wash tunnel.…