Developer outlines plan for 8,400‑square‑foot Ridge Pike car wash; waivers requested

Kester Kelly, a civil engineer with BL Companies, told the Upper Providence Planning Commission the applicant is seeking land‑development approval for a roughly 8,400‑square‑foot car wash including one wet tunnel and two dry tunnels and accessory vacuum and employee parking.

"We're proposing a new, roughly 8,400 square foot car wash, which is 1 wet tunnel and 2 dry tunnels," Kelly said, describing site circulation, three pay stations, 11 employee spaces and 12 vacuum stalls. He added that pay stations will not include speakers or music and that operations will be enclosed within the building.

Kelly presented a set of waiver requests to the commission, saying the team has shown existing and proposed features on the property but is requesting relief from an off‑site survey requirement; a waiver from a landscape requirement that would otherwise require maintaining tree caliper/health data (the project will remove existing trees); a plan‑lettering size standard; localized slope/drainage minima in places where the developer proposes 1.5 percent grades; an open‑space requirement for land development; some minimum pipe‑size requirements; and a deviation from the township 24‑hour detention drawdown standard to a PADEP‑compliant slope‑release basin that the applicant says will drain within about 72 hours.

Planning staff confirmed the applicant submitted responses (August 11) and that the commission's August 17 review letter followed; staff said most items are resolved or are typographical fixes, though transportation comments and outstanding waivers remain to be finalized. The commission and applicant agreed the township cannot require a PennDOT Highway Occupancy Permit (HOP) before granting local approvals, but staff asked for at least a PennDOT review letter confirming driveway location so the layout would not change after final PennDOT review.

Ray Gargano of Spallus, the contractor representative, said the team is targeting a February–March start and estimated a roughly nine‑month build. Kelly and the project team said they are pursuing MPDES (stormwater) approvals and continuing dialogue with PennDOT.

The applicant did not receive final approvals at the meeting; commissioners said they saw no major plan‑blocking issues in the materials presented but encouraged the applicant to resolve PennDOT and transportation comments and return quickly. No formal vote was taken on the waivers at this meeting.