Although it appeared headed for approval last month, the Splash Car Wash’s proposal to add oil changing to its services went down the drain in a 3 – 1 vote Tuesday night by the Planning and Zoning Commission.
After the decision, Jason Frank, a car wash manager, quickly left the Planning and Zoning office on the third floor in City Hall without commenting.
Dominick Thomas, the lawyer for the applicant, “Crossroads at Exit 13,” did not attend the meeting and wasn’t available for comment late Tuesday.
Thomas had previously said Splash was forced to build a larger-than-planned facility on the Bridgeport Avenue site as a result of past decisions by the commission.
The business needed the oil change service to survive, he said.
In early November, Zoning Administrator Rick Schultz said the panel had reached a “favorable consensus” regarding the proposal. A zoning staff resolution called for two bays to open for a year and reviewed afterward, as well as changes to the parking lot.
But Chairwoman Ruth Parkins, and commission members Thomas McGorty and Virginia Harger had concerns about traffic. Parkins said she also reviewed past board decisions denying other proposals to add services to the car wash.
“It was approved after much back-and-forth as a car wash only. I’m perplexed at what has changed since then. It was very well thought-out the first time around,” she said.
Zoning Consultant Anthony Panico said the applicants “feel this is an extension of the service.”
“It is an entirely different request,” he said.
Commission member Joseph Sedlock, who cast the lone approval vote, urged the panel to think about the recession’s local effect.
“With the present state of the economy, I think we should be thinking about the businesspeople,” he said.
But Parkins replied, “We can’t make decisions at this table based on the economic situation.”
