Commission Denies Car Wash Project

Plans to add a car wash and allow beer and wine sales at a Unocal gas station were denied Monday on a 3-2 vote by the Planning Commission.

Commissioners believed the proposed expansion would have overcrowded the corner lot at Crown Valley Parkway and Puerta Real, an intersection that is already one of the busiest in the city.

The gas station is next to a lot where construction has already started on a 200,000-square-foot entertainment mall, which will bring even more traffic to the area, city staff noted.

But a Unocal representative said that rather than adding traffic, the project will provide a service for people driving through the area.

“We are not overcrowding this lot,” said company representative Scott Peotter. “We have designed this type of facility on much smaller lots with great success.”

The application calls for an express car wash that would employ two workers to hand dry vehicles. The company plans to raze the existing building on the property and replace it with a convenience mart.

Commissioners Susan Wilson and Tom Potocki supported the proposal. “It was a good facility,” Potocki said. “It would have been good for the area. It’s offering some amenities that aren’t being offered now.”

However, Potocki said he would only have approved the expansion if the company had canceled plans to offer beer and wine.

Peotter said the company currently plans to appeal the commission’s decision to the City Council.