Greenville County committee advances amended car-wash noise rules to council, holds broader noise overhaul for redline review
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Summary
The Roads and Infrastructure and Public Works Committee held the consolidated noise ordinance for further redline comparison but approved amended car-wash standards — removing a chain-link requirement and striking retroactive compliance for existing facilities — and sent the car-wash rules to full council.
The Greenville County Roads and Infrastructure and Public Works Committee on March 17 moved the county’s proposed car-wash noise standards to full council after adopting several amendments, while deferring the broader consolidated noise ordinance for a staff redline and further review.
The committee voted to remove a chain-link fencing requirement and struck a clause that would have required existing car-wash operators to come into compliance within 12 months; members approved the amended car-wash provisions and agreed to forward them to the full county council for consideration.
Why it matters: Residents told the committee that noise from car-wash blowers and nearby construction has disrupted sleep and outdoor life, while owners and developers warned that some draft requirements — notably a proposed 1,000-foot setback and a 50-decibel nighttime standard — could impose large retroactive costs or effectively block new and existing businesses.
Greg Minton, who said he represents the Spinks Company, told the committee the draft would impose retroactive compliance on established businesses and described the proposed nighttime limit as impractical for commercial corridors. “This request to change it to 50 decibels at night really is something that can't be accomplished in these key commercial quarters,” Minton said, arguing the 1,000-foot setback “eliminates the ability for people that have invested and purchased commercial real estate to be able to even develop on that.”
Lisa McDonald, a Simpsonville resident who said families near a car wash have endured nearly three years of continuous noise, described measurements “reaching between seventies and the high seventies and the high eighties” and urged the committee to adopt protections that also address currently affected households. “The noise is not just occasional. It's consistent. It's constant throughout the day,” McDonald said.
Car-wash owner Theo Theopolis of Sonic Suds Car Wash said his business complied with existing property-line decibel limits and disputed evidence that operations exceed 70 dB. He also estimated that required fence and vegetative buffers at one site could exceed $100,000 in cost. “If the decibel level is 70 or below at the property line of the residence, why would the county require a fence structure and a vegetative buffer at a considerable cost?” Theopolis asked.
Staff and legal advisers warned committee members the draft contains two different compliance approaches — a traditional decibel-based meter standard and a new “plainly audible” standard. Legal staff cautioned that the plainly audible test is inherently more subjective and could be harder to defend in court, though it can be enforced without specialized equipment. “The plainly audible standard ... is more of a subjective standard, so there is wiggle room, both interpretation and enforcement,” a county official said.
After public comment and discussion, a committee member moved to hold the broader consolidated noise ordinance in committee so staff could provide a redline comparison to show what existing ordinances would be repealed or changed; that motion passed. The committee asked staff to provide the redline and related documents in roughly two weeks so council members can review the changes side-by-side.
On the car-wash standards, the committee voted 4–1 to remove the draft’s retroactive applicability language that would have required existing car washes to come into compliance within 12 months. The committee also voted to remove chain-link from the fence-structure language and then approved the ordinance as amended for transmission to full council.
What’s next: Staff will prepare a redline comparing the consolidated noise ordinance against existing county ordinances for the committee’s next meeting. The amended car-wash standards will be considered by the full Greenville County Council according to the committee’s referral.
Details omitted or not specified in the record: the draft ordinance’s exact final decibel thresholds as amended by the committee (the record references proposed 50 dB at night and current 70/60 limits), and specific vote-by-name tallies for every motion beyond those noted in the committee discussion notes.
