Commission approves Splash and Dash car wash amendment, including 1,000-sq.-ft. cafe with drive-through

The Santa Maria Planning Commission approved a plan development permit amendment (A2024-0014) and a conditional-use permit (U2025-0005) for the Splash and Dash car wash site at 1703 South Bradley Road, allowing a modified building design and a 1,000-square-foot cafe with a drive-through pickup window.

Carol Zisenhenny, project presenter, said the proposal modifies the 2018 approval by removing a caretaker unit and a mezzanine observation area and adding a cafe with a drive-through lane, solar canopies over vacuum/dry areas, and a 45-foot water-tower feature. The site is in Area 4 of the Enos Ranch specific plan; the specific plan allows a single car wash with up to 10,000 square feet of ancillary retail. Zisenhenny said required parking and the city’s minimum landscape coverage are met or exceeded.

Architect Guillermo Perez and the applicant were present. Project drawings show access from Meehan Street, covered drying/ vacuum areas with solar canopies, a queueing area that stacks cars without affecting Meehan Street, and design treatments intended to align with nearby dealerships. The proposed water tower is conditioned in the staff report to be free of signage unless a separate approval allows signage.

Commission discussion covered solar canopy structural changes, noise mitigation for the central vacuum system, the site’s circulation and parking, and whether the proposed cafe footprint reduced the previously identified 10,000 square feet of retail in the broader Enos Ranch development. Staff said the cafe is an ancillary-retail component and that they will review the prior approvals and square-foot accounting with the applicant; staff indicated the current approval’s conditions do not require delaying action on the amendment.

After public comment was closed with no speakers, a motion to approve the amendment and conditional-use permit passed by recorded roll call. The commission’s motion approved the updated design, including the revised solar-canopy details shown in the staff presentation, finding the proposal consistent with the Enos Ranch specific plan and the city’s design standards.

Approved elements include a carwash tunnel, covered solar canopies over vacuum/dry-down lanes, a 1,000-square-foot cafe with a drive-through pickup window (subject to CUP), a reduced internal waiting area in place of a previously proposed caretaker unit, and a water tower not to display signage except as allowed under future separate approvals. Staff will finalize permit conditions and work with the applicant on square-foot accounting for the broader specific-plan retail allocation.