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Council approves Michigan Road overlay amendment allowing self-service car washes with operational limits
Summary
The Town of Zionsville approved Ordinance 2026-09 to permit self-service car washes in the Michigan Road overlay with limits on hours, vacuum counts and a 60-decibel cap measured at the property line; the measure passed 5-1 after council debate over noise and proximity to homes.
The Town of Zionsville Town Council on April 26 approved Ordinance 2026-09, a text amendment to the Michigan Road corridor overlay that replaces the term “car washes” with “self-service car wash” and adds operational standards intended to limit impacts on nearby residents.
Councilor Evan Norris, who moved the final reading, said the change preserves the overlay’s two-tier zoning structure while allowing vetted self-service operations subject to new rules, including limits on hours of operation, enclosed washing equipment, no more than 18 customer-operated vacuums on site and a 60-decibel maximum at any point on the property line. "The automatic car wash and its permitted ancillary uses shall not exceed 60 decibels measured at any point on the property line," Norris said.
Planning Director Mike Dale told the council the amendment is designed to make the overlay’s language precise and to rely on the underlying zoning to determine where the use is allowed. Kyle Resiterrez, representing interested parties, urged the council to approve the text amendment, saying the planning commission had vetted operational standards including enclosure requirements and noise limits.
Several council members raised concerns about noise and proximity to residences. One councilor who opposed the measure warned that vacuums and blowers could create persistent nuisance noise for neighbors and said the ordinance risked allowing a use that would be "too close to residential housing." Another councilor said the ordinance includes a 1,000-foot proximity restriction to residential property and that enforcement would follow a complaint-driven measurement process handled by staff.
Supporters argued the standards provide a path for new commercial investment and could help broaden the town’s commercial tax base. Council debate emphasized that this action changes the town’s text, not approval of any specific project; any future car wash proposal must still complete site and development review under the newly adopted standards.
The ordinance passed on final reading by a vote of 5 in favor, 1 opposed. President Plunkett announced the motion carried and recorded the tally.
