Planning commission recommends conditional-use approval for car wash at former Rite Aid site

The Falls Township Planning Commission voted Aug. 25 to recommend conditional-use approval for Flagship Pennsylvania Opco LLC to redevelop the shuttered Rite Aid building at 547 West Trenton Avenue into a car-wash operation.

Commissioners heard that the property is 3.155 acres in the HC Highway Commercial district and that several dimensional variances were granted by the zoning hearing board, including reduced stacking distances and permission for vacuum bays and accessory equipment in the front yard. Julie Von Sprickleston, counsel for the applicant, summarized the zoning relief and said the applicant would comply with engineering and land-development review comments, including the Jones engineering letter dated Aug. 19 and the TPD traffic letter dated June 11.

Project engineer Kester Kelly of BL Companies described the operation as primarily an interior wet wash with three pay stations, one lane for monthly members, 11 employee spaces and 13 vacuum bays. Kelly said virtually all noisy operations would be inside the building and that an on-site reclaim/Oil-Water separation system would direct wash water to sanitary sewer, not storm sewer, and that detergents used are biodegradable. "We feel like the site, the access, and the overall utilities can support that," Kelly said.

Residents raised concerns about noise for adjacent homes on Sweet Briar Road, pedestrian safety in vacuum/queue areas, and whether detergents would reach creeks. The applicant said a 6-to-8-foot sound barrier along Pine Grove Road—an existing condition of the zoning-relief—will shield nearby apartments and that employees will manage circulation and pedestrian safety at key locations. A traffic memo from Traffic Planning & Design concluded the proposed car wash would generate roughly the same or slightly fewer PM-peak trips than the former Rite Aid use, with a small increase in Saturday peak trips.

Commissioner [name in record: speaker 3] moved to recommend conditional-use approval "based on the Jones letter dated 08/19/2026 and the TPD traffic letter dated 06/11/2026 with compliance of all requests." The motion passed with four votes in favor and one opposed (Yes: Aban, Everett, Hartsell, Leschuck; No: Henderson).

The commission’s recommendation now goes to the Board of Supervisors for final action, and the applicant said it will continue to provide the sanitary-sewer and lighting documentation needed for land development review.