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Commission approves Quick Quack car wash on same parcel; resident raises water‑use concerns
Summary
The Planning Commission unanimously approved CPD 259 for a Quick Quack tunnel car wash on the same 2.79‑acre parcel; a public commenter urged denial over water use and wastewater concerns, and the applicant described onsite recycling and discharge to the sanitary sewer.
The Camarillo Planning Commission unanimously approved CPD 259, a proposed Quick Quack tunnel car wash to be sited at Ventura Boulevard and Camarillo Center Drive on a 2.79‑acre parcel already slated for a neighboring EV charging market.
Associate Planner Serena Gonzales described the proposal as a roughly 3,058 sq ft tunnel car wash with about 5,000 sq ft of double‑lane queuing — more than the 2,000 sq ft the applicant needs for peak operations — three employee parking spaces and additional customer vacuum stalls. Staff presented a combined Class 32 CEQA exemption for the two projects and recommended approval subject to conditions.
During public comment, Camarillo resident Steve Du Bois urged the commission to deny the car wash because of California’s ongoing drought conditions and questioned how much water the facility would use, where the water would come from, and how chemical‑laden wash water would be handled. Du Bois asked directly: “Where's the water coming from? Are they pumping it out of the aquifer? Are they piping it in? What are they gonna do with the chemical laden water that's left over?”
Don Shively, representing Quick Quack, replied that the company uses a recycling system with settling tanks and filtration; he said Quick Quack captures and reuses much of the water and that, by the company’s account, it saves about 40% of the water compared with driveway washing and uses roughly 60 gallons per vehicle. Shively said wastewater would go into the sanitary sewer system after onsite treatment rather than into storm drains.
Commissioners asked technical follow‑up questions about recycling, filtering and where treated effluent is discharged; the applicant said the facility uses settling tanks and reverse osmosis in its recycle process and discharges treated wastewater to the sanitary sewer. Staff confirmed that final signage and mural reviews would return for Community Development approval.
After architectural review committee comments about design and signage placement, the commission voted to approve CPD 259 with recommended conditions. The approval carries the same requirements for final striping/signage review and post‑occupancy monitoring where applicable.
Next steps: applicant to submit final striping and signage plans and comply with conditions of approval; Community Development will review signage designs and final mural/art proposals before permitting.
