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Zionsville planning commission approves Crew Car Wash at Appaloosa Crossing with noise, landscaping and lighting conditions
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Summary
The planning commission granted conditional approval to a Crew Car Wash development plan on Outlot F of Appaloosa Crossing, imposing requirements including an 8-foot textured sound barrier, exterior lighting to dim to 50% by 10 p.m., confirmation of a roll-up dumpster door and an updated sign package.
The Town of Zionsville Planning Commission voted April 20 to conditionally approve a development plan for a Crew Car Wash at Outlot F in the Appaloosa Crossing commercial area, after receiving staff recommendations and hearing public comment.
Roger, a planning department staff member, told commissioners the parcel falls within the Michigan Road overlay and noted that the town council that morning amended the overlay to allow automatic car washes with specific standards. Staff recommended conditional approval but asked the petitioner to resolve several items, including details and relocation of a proposed sound barrier wall, clarification of the dumpster enclosure, and an updated sign package.
Kyle Russetaros, attorney and representative for Crew Car Wash, said the petitioner had revised the proposal in response to staff comments: the project would reduce vacuums from eight to seven, relocate the sound barrier so it fits outside the required front yard setback, and enclose the dumpster with a roll-up overhead door. Russetaros described the planned sound barrier as an 8-foot masonry wall matching the building materials and said the firm had added landscaping to both sides of the wall.
"I went and tested the decibels today," Russetaros said, reporting measurements at a comparable Crew Car Wash site: "the maximum DBA reading that I had on my decibel reading device was about 78. . . . On the other side of the wall . . . the decibel reading ranged from 57 to 61 decibels." He added that with the proposed 8-foot wall and other site adjustments, staff and the petitioner were confident the 60 dBA property-line limit in the ordinance would be met.
A neighborhood resident, Andrew Fagan, said he opposed placing a car wash at the subdivision entrance because of traffic and safety concerns, and warned it could affect property values. Petitioner representatives noted a traffic study had been submitted and reviewed by the town’s DPW, and staff said DPW did not identify required changes as a result of that study.
In two votes, the commission first approved a waiver of the overlay—architectural requirements for Appaloosa Crossing and then approved the development plan with conditions. Conditions recorded during the meeting included: accepting the revised site plan showing seven vacuums, an 8-foot textured masonry sound barrier (with detail to be finalized), gooseneck wall sconces consistent with the architecture, dimming exterior site lighting to 50% at 10:00 p.m., a clarification that the dumpster enclosure uses a roll-up overhead door and is inside the building envelope, and an updated, site-specific monument sign package to be submitted.
The commission approved the motion by voice vote; no roll-call tally was recorded in the public transcript. The commission chair closed the matter and moved to the next agenda item.
What happens next: the petitioner must resolve remaining staff comments and provide the specified detail and revisions in the plan set and sign package before final administrative sign-off or ILP issuance, per town procedures.
