Planning commission denies rezoning for proposed Flying Ace car wash at 361 Town Boulevard

The Middletown Planning Commission on June 10 recommended denial of a rezoning request that would have allowed a drive-through car wash at 361 Town Boulevard, voting 7-0 to deny the map amendment and forward its recommendation to city council.

Staff told the commission the 2.24-acre parcel contains a 20,000-square-foot vacant commercial building and that the applicant sought to reclassify the site from B2 (Community Business District) to B3 (General Business District) to permit a vehicle-washing establishment. "Staff recommends denial of the application for the following reasons," the staff report said, citing direct conflict with Destination Middletown's town mall special interest area vision and warning of spot zoning and potential increases in noise and stormwater runoff.

The applicant, represented by attorney Alexander C. Johnson and company representative Brian Clemens, argued the rezoning would spur redevelopment of a deteriorating commercial area, add local jobs, and include architectural and public-art improvements. "We are a new business in the area and we are seeking to create new job opportunities for the residents of the city of Middletown," Brian Clemens said, and Johnson argued the change would not necessarily permit unchecked industrial uses because conditional-use approvals would remain a review point.

Commissioners focused on whether the proposed car-centric use fit the city's pedestrian-oriented mixed-use goals for the town mall special interest area. One commissioner said a car wash is "opposite" a pedestrian-focused mixed-use vision; another pointed to the comprehensive plan adopted in 2022 and said the commission should not disregard that plan in deciding parcel-level rezoning requests. Staff had also noted there is no B3 zoning in the immediate vicinity, which the staff report identified as a factor supporting a denial and raising spot-zoning concerns.

After deliberation one commissioner moved to deny the application based on applicable review criteria (including consistency with the comprehensive plan and concerns about spot zoning); the motion was seconded and passed unanimously. Roll-call votes recorded Will Parsons, AJ Mintel, Roger Daniel, Nancy Griffith, David Cash, Tara Ramsey and Gabriel Shane as voting "yes" to deny.

The Planning Commission's recommendation will be transmitted to the Middletown City Council, which must act on any rezoning request under the city's development code.