Boca Raton planning board approves rules to allow enclosed car washes and clears Bailey Street mixed-use project

The City of Boca Raton Planning & Zoning Board on Aug. 15 approved a text amendment to Chapter 28 of the city code to recognize enclosed car washes and add operational, parking and noise protections, and separately approved a set of land‑use and site approvals for a mixed‑use development at 7900 North Federal Highway that includes a restaurant and an enclosed car wash.

The amendment, read into the record by the city clerk, adds Article 15 supplemental regulations for car washes, updates outdated terminology, allows car washes as a conditional use in the RB‑1 (motel business) zoning district on parcels with at least 100 feet of Federal Highway frontage, and adds off‑street parking requirements and noise and architectural controls. Heather Hanson of the Development Services Department told the board the proposal requires enclosed facilities, recycled water, queuing, landscaping and a sound study and limits hours near residential areas to reduce impacts.

"Requiring that a restaurant or retail use comprise at least 50% of the total square footage provides uses within walking distance from the adjacent residential neighborhoods," Hanson said in her presentation, explaining staff designed the measure to prevent car washes from dominating the corridor. Development Services Director Brianna Shaffer added that the 50% retail/restaurant floor‑area requirement aims to preserve a mix of commercial uses along Federal Highway.

Petitioners also sought site‑specific approvals for a 15,875‑square‑foot, two‑story building at 7900 N. Federal Highway that would house a 3,900‑sq‑ft car wash and a 4,000‑sq‑ft restaurant, provide 70 parking spaces (42 onsite, 28 off‑site) and include 11 high‑speed EV charging stations. Applicant representative Ellie Zacharitis said the plan was revised during staff review to increase setbacks, add a 25‑foot landscape buffer and a 6‑foot masonry wall where the site abuts single‑family lots, and to set the car wash interior and noise controls.

Neighbors who spoke during the public hearing raised traffic and safety concerns tied to the proposed driveway onto Bailey Street, potential nighttime activity around EV chargers and dumpsters, and questioned utility work that appeared on the site before approvals. James Schmutz, a Bailey Street resident, asked why the city would amend zoning for a district if only a couple of vacant parcels could host a car wash. John Donaldson, representing the applicant, said vacant lots are often redeveloped and that FDOT denied the option of an additional Federal Highway driveway, which constrained access options.

Donaldson also cited the traffic study assumptions: "The car wash traffic is only about 14 peak‑hour trips; the restaurant is about 70," he said, and added that the restaurant proffered a 10 a.m. opening time to align with the traffic study assumptions. Staff confirmed the site plan requires a sound study and that contract provisions will limit dumpster‑collection hours to 7 a.m.–7 p.m.

After closing public comment, the board moved and approved the text amendment on a 4–0 roll call and then approved the related FLUM amendment, rezoning, conditional use and site plan for the Bailey Street Commercial project in separate roll‑call votes. Several board members asked staff and the petitioner to continue discussions about charger operation hours and other conditions before the City Council hearing.

The board’s approvals advance the applicant’s concurrent requests but do not authorize construction; the conditional‑use and site‑plan resolutions carry conditions (sound‑study requirements, landscaped buffers, off‑site parking arrangements and limitations on dumpster hours) and are subject to final review at City Council.