Planning commission recommends approval of Green Clean car wash at 6102 Jefferson Ave.

The Newport News Planning Commission on Feb. 5 recommended approval of a conditional use permit for a new Green Clean Auto Wash at 6102 Jefferson Avenue, voting 7-1 to forward CU20240014 to City Council with staff-recommended conditions.

City planner Saul Garcia told the commission the 0.84-acre outparcel sits along a commercial corridor and that the One City One Future 2040 plan designates the site for regional commercial use. Garcia said the parcel is zoned C-1 and that the proposed express car wash is consistent with the corridor’s drive-through and service uses. Staff recommended the permit with 19 conditions, including submission of a class I site plan, an approved landscape plan conforming to the zoning site regulations, review and approval of building elevations and exterior materials by the director of planning, and allowance of only one freestanding sign on the property.

Garcia noted an 8-inch water main traverses the parcel and that all structures must be outside the utility easement or the waterline will need relocation to the southern property line. The conceptual layout places the masonry building facing Jefferson Avenue with no parking between the building and the street. Stacking for the automated tunnel and 19 vacuum stalls are shown behind the building and internal to the site; landscaping within the required street buffer is intended to screen vacuum bays from Jefferson Avenue.

Tyler Rose, an attorney with Williams Mullen representing Green Clean, described the company as a local operator that emphasizes detailed landscaping and community engagement and said the applicant reviewed and accepted the 19 conditions. "Green Clean is excited about revitalizing and repurposing this constrained site with a state-of-the-art car wash facility," Rose said. He said the vacuums will be free to the public during business hours and that the applicant operates a “Green Clean Cares” program that supports local nonprofits and fundraisers.

Commissioners asked operational and design questions. One commissioner asked whether vacuum stations would be powered and accessible overnight; the applicant and staff confirmed vacuums would be turned off when the car wash is closed (the applicant indicated hours ending at 8 p.m.). An engineer for the project clarified an elevation detail: what appeared in the conceptual elevations as a roll-up door on the west facade would be treated as an opaque window or spandrel glazing rather than vehicular access.

Two public comments were recorded in favor of the permit; no public opposition speakers appeared in the record. After discussion, a commissioner moved to accept the conditional use permit; the motion was seconded and passed on a 7-1 roll-call vote. The staff report states that all 19 conditions will be incorporated into the ordinance forwarded to City Council for final approval.

The planning commission’s recommendation and the staff conditions will be transmitted to City Council, which the planning record indicates will consider the ordinance on Feb. 25. The applicant will be required to submit a class I site plan, detailed landscape plan, building elevations and any necessary utility relocations before issuance of building permits.