Boca Raton planning board approves car-wash text amendment and clears mixed-use project at 7900 North Federal Highway

The Boca Raton Planning & Zoning Board on Aug. 15 approved a citywide zoning text amendment to regulate enclosed car washes and removed outdated terms such as “auto laundries.” The amendment adds supplemental regulations, off‑street parking requirements and allows car washes as a conditional use in the RB‑1 motel business district for properties with at least 100 feet of frontage on North Federal Highway.

Development Services staff presented the amendment and said it applies to about 111 RB‑1 parcels with the required frontage, of which five are vacant and the applicant’s parcel at 7900 North Federal Highway is one. Staff emphasized safeguards for sites bordering residential zones: required architectural compatibility, a 25‑foot landscape buffer and a 6‑foot masonry wall where applicable, limits on the location of dryers and vacuum stations, a requirement for a noise study, and daytime/nighttime noise thresholds tied to the city code (55 decibels daytime; 50 decibels at night). Staff recommended approval.

The board and staff said the amendment also requires that a restaurant or retail use occupy at least 50% of the total square footage of any development that includes a car wash, a provision intended to preserve a mix of uses along Federal Highway and prevent standalone car‑wash proliferation.

Board members sought clarification on the 50% requirement and on how many existing sites could be affected. Heather Hansen of Development Services and Brandon Duschak, development services director, said the requirement was meant to preserve retail and activity on the corridor.

The amendment was followed on the agenda by four related applications for a mixed‑use project at 7900 North Federal Highway: a future‑land‑use map amendment, a rezoning from R1B to RB1, a conditional‑use resolution to allow an enclosed car wash, and a site plan for a two‑story, 15,875‑square‑foot building that includes a 4,000‑square‑foot restaurant and a roughly 3,900‑square‑foot enclosed car wash. The proposed site plan shows 70 required parking spaces (42 on‑site, 28 off‑site) and 11 fast‑charging EV stalls; staff reviewed a traffic assessment and concluded the project would not adversely impact roadway links in the short term or in the long‑range planning horizon.

Neighbors who spoke during the public hearing said they feared increased traffic on Bailey Street (a dead‑end street), safety concerns near a school bus stop and noise from charging stations and restaurant music. Petitioner Ellie Zacharitis and the project team said the car wash is sited to minimize impacts on residences, noted the 25‑foot buffer and masonry wall, and proffered a 10 a.m. opening time for the restaurant (a condition included in traffic assumptions). Traffic estimates presented by the project team attributed roughly 14 peak‑hour trips to the car wash and about 70 to the restaurant.

After public comment, the board voted on each application in sequence. Roll‑call votes were recorded in favor of the text amendment and the four Bailey Street applications; each recorded vote passed unanimously (4–0). Several board members asked staff and the petitioner to continue discussions about possible site‑specific conditions — for example, whether limitations on EV charger hours would be appropriate — before the items move to city council.

The approvals on Aug. 15 were recommendations; city council action is required for final adoption of the FLUM amendment, rezoning and site plan approvals. The board’s approval of the text amendment now makes enclosed car washes a conditional use in the RB‑1 district subject to the conditions adopted in the ordinance.