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Neighbors press township over noise, early hours and speeding tied to Tommy’s Car Wash
Summary
Multiple Allendale residents told the Planning Commission that noise, early-morning lights and increased traffic from Tommy’s Car Wash are disrupting their neighborhoods and asked for enforcement and mitigation including tree replacement, fencing and targeted patrols.
Several Allendale residents raised repeated complaints at the April 20 Planning Commission meeting about noise, lighting and speeding tied to Tommy’s Car Wash.
Tony Vasquez, who lives on Eric Street, told the commission that traffic through the neighborhood is fast and “a safety risk for the children that play outside,” and asked for more police presence and installation of speed limit signage to deter speeding. Tella Tucker and other Jordan Street residents said noise from the car wash is audible both inside and outside their homes; Tucker asked whether the car wash could install a fence or replace dead trees to buffer sound.
Richard Barber, who lives on Jordan Street, pointed to a 2023 landscaping installation that failed during a dry May and asked whether the property owner could be required to replace the dead evergreens near the duplexes. Barber also cited the township noise ordinance, noting that loud noise is prohibited before 7 a.m., and said, “The car wash should not be open until then,” as one partial mitigation.
Jim Anderson, whose backyard adjoins the car wash, said lights from the business illuminate his home by 5 a.m. and staff run system tests between 6:00 and 6:30 a.m.; he added that the facility’s audio instructions can be heard from his house. “I wake up at 3:30 a.m. every day and every day at 5 a.m., the lights from Tommy’s Car Wash illuminate everything,” Anderson said.
Supervisor Adam Elenbaas asked anyone seeking follow-up to complete a contact card so staff can respond. Commission staff were directed to place a separate zoning-text discussion about outdoor wood boilers on a future agenda after an unrelated site-plan matter (a separate item) raised text-amendment interest; commissioners did not take enforcement action on the car-wash noise at the meeting.
The public comments left three clear requests for follow-up: (1) targeted sheriff patrols to check speeds in the afternoon and early evening, (2) enforcement or clarification of the noise-ordinance start time and whether the car wash’s hours comply, and (3) remediation of landscaping or installation of fencing to buffer noise. The commission did not vote on any of those remedies during the meeting; residents were told staff would follow up with those who submitted contact information.
