Planning and Zoning Commission upholds staff ruling, denies appeal for proposed Greengate car wash

On April 13, 2026 the Canal Winchester Planning and Zoning Commission voted 3–2 to uphold the zoning administrator’s denial of an application by Express Wash Concepts LLC for a standalone car wash at 9875 Greengate Boulevard, rejecting the applicant’s administrative appeal.

The appeal hinged on competing readings of local development texts. Michael Freriedman, attorney for the applicant, told the commission: “Are car washes a permitted use of the property? The answer is yes,” arguing that the Green Gates development text incorporates the permitted and conditionally permitted uses from the 2001 Canal Winchester zoning code and thus treats conditionally permitted uses in 2001 as permitted by right for property inside Green Gates. Freriedman said the denial relied on the Violet Point Overlay District only if that overlay amends the Green Gates text, which he said was not the plain language of the code.

City staff and the law department urged the commission to focus on whether the zoning administrator’s interpretation of Chapter 1175 (the Violet Point Overlay District) was correct. City staff explained that the overlay, as amended, contains an explicit prohibited-use list (subsection F1C) that applies to properties inside the overlay and that standalone car washes are listed as prohibited within that overlay. As staff summarized, the overlay “created those prohibited use lists” and the site in question falls within the Violet Point overlay boundary staff reviewed.

After closing the hearing, the commission considered a motion to grant the administrative appeal — a vote in favor would have found the zoning administrator’s determination incorrect. The motion to grant the appeal was made on the floor (moved by Miss McDonald, seconded by Miss Gooden). Roll-call votes were: Mr. Richie — yes; Mr. Donahghue — yes; Miss Gooden — no; Miss McDonald — no; Mr. Paulsgrove — no. With a 2–3 vote the motion failed and the commission upheld the zoning administrator’s decision.

Because the commission did not grant the appeal, the applicant’s denial stands; the law department and staff explained that the applicant may next appeal the denial to Canal Winchester City Council under the city’s appeals procedures. If the commission had granted the appeal, the applicant would have been allowed to present a full final development plan to the commission at a subsequent meeting.

What was decided and why: The hearing focused on statutory and code interpretation — whether the Green Gates development text (which references the 2001 zoning code) or the later Violet Point Overlay District controls permitted uses for the parcel at 9875 Greengate Boulevard. The applicant urged that references to the 2001 code make the car wash allowable; staff countered that the overlay’s prohibited-use list, adopted later, properly applies to the property. The commission sided with staff’s reading.

Next steps: The applicant may appeal to the city council. If the commission had granted the appeal, the applicant would have been eligible to submit a final development plan for review. No final building permit or construction approval follows automatically from this administrative appeal; it resolves only the narrow question of whether the proposed use is prohibited under the cited overlay.