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Council upholds land‑use denial for proposed 7,000 sq ft Tweety Boulevard laundromat
Summary
The Southgate City Council denied an appeal asking to classify a proposed 7,000 sq ft self‑service laundromat as "personal services general," upholding staff's finding that the size exceeded the municipal code's 2,500 sq ft agency threshold and required a different allowance. Council cited code ambiguity and precedent concerns.
The Southgate City Council on May 12 denied an appeal seeking to reclassify a proposed 7,000‑square‑foot self‑service laundromat at 4382–4390 Tweety Boulevard as a permitted "personal services general" use.
Staff informed the council that Southgate’s municipal code currently lists two dry‑cleaning/laundry categories: a "laundry agency" (less than 2,500 sq ft and retail/drop‑off oriented) and a "plant" (greater than 2,500 sq ft, typically back‑of‑house processing). Planning staff said the director had concluded the proposed 7,000 sq ft proposal was most analogous to the plant definition and therefore not allowed at the TMU‑1 Twitty Boulevard zone site. Staff acknowledged ambiguity arising from a 2015 code update that removed the explicit "laundromat" category and said a potential code amendment to reinstate a laundromat use with conditions is being considered.
Applicant Eric Baroo and his development team argued the proposed facility is a walk‑in, self‑service model where customers operate equipment themselves and the use is therefore more similar to fitness centers and other "personal services" allowed in TMU‑1. The applicant said it had signed a long‑term lease and committed capital (the presentation referenced lease payments and more than $3 million in investment), and argued Tweety Boulevard lacks laundromat capacity compared with other corridors in the city.
Opponents — including Sanjay Patel, owner of a nearby Fiesta Coin Laundry — urged the council to uphold the director, saying the 2,500 sq ft threshold is explicit and shifting a laundromat into "personal services" would set an undesirable precedent and could allow other prohibited uses into the zoning district.
Council members debated statutory intent, parking and pedestrian activation for the corridor. Several members said the municipal code as written supported the director’s approach and expressed concern that reclassification would undercut the Tweety Boulevard specific plan’s objectives and open the door to unintended uses. A motion to follow staff’s recommendation to deny the appeal carried on roll call; two council members recused or abstained for conflicts of interest.
What happens next: Staff said it is preparing code amendments to clearly define laundromat uses and possibly add distance or conditional use requirements to prevent over‑concentration. The applicant can pursue the conditional‑use route or seek a legislative code change.
