Government

Car Wash, Restaurant Approved for Vacant Federal Highway Lot in Boca Raton

by
Daniel Nee
October 31, 2024

The site of a future car wash and restaurant at 7900 North Federal Highway, Boca Raton, FL. (Planning Document)

The Boca Raton city council has approved a zoning change for an undeveloped parcel of land along Federal Highway as part of a larger approval of a new automated car wash and restaurant along northern portion of the busy corridor.

The mixed-use commercial site will be located at 7900 Federal Highway, which is just north of the Bailey Street intersection. Before approval, the council considered a measure that would revise zoning regulations for car washes, which were still referred to as “auto laundries” in the city code. Moreover, a nagging issue in recent years has been the fact that new automated car wash facilities are normally proposed as standalone businesses, whereas the code was developed with the mindset of a car wash being an accessory use to a gas station.

The site of a future car wash and restaurant at 7900 North Federal Highway, Boca Raton, FL. (Photo: Boca Daily News)

The council approved an ordinance that allows car washes in the city’s Motel-Business district on properties fronting North Federal Highway, subject to certain requirements. Most of the requirements concern car washes that will be in proximity to residential zones, including a mandate that hours are restricted to the period between 7:30 a.m. and 6 p.m., a prohibition on outdoor speakers and amplified sound, restrictions on the placement of vacuums and other noise-making devices, the obligation for a prospective operator to conduct a sound study, and a requirement that the architectural design of the building fit the character of nearby residential improvements.

A retail or restaurant use would have to accompany the car wash and take up at least 50 percent of the space allotted for the commercial use. Car washes must have separate entrances and exits, both of which should be screened from view by plants or similar natural barriers.

“There are car washes that are allowed in RB-1 and other zoning districts, but they are generally required to be an accessory to a gas station,” said Heather Hansen, a senior planner with the city. “So rather than require that there be a gas station, this at least allows them under certain circumstances if they are close to residential [zones].”

The newly-proposed facility is being constructed by Focus & Apply LLC. The car wash will be owned by an experienced car wash operator with locations in the suburbs of New York. According to planning documents, the development will consist of a two-story, 15,875 square foot commercial building, which will stand 32 feet in height.

The restaurant space, for which a tenant has not yet been named, would measure 4,000 square feet on the ground floor and 625 square feet for outdoor dining. The car wash portion would take up 3,906 square feet, with a small second-floor area that would house mechanicals and storage space.

The car wash portion of the building will be located on the northern end of the property, which is not immediately adjacent to existing single-family homes, Hansen said. The building will be set back more than 60 feet from the single-family lots to the east, with the setback inclusive of a 25-foot landscape buffer and 6-foot masonry wall with dense landscaping. The sidewalk along North Federal Highway will be expanded by two feet in width, and landscaped with palm trees and other flora north of Bailey Street.

The site of a future car wash and restaurant at 7900 North Federal Highway, Boca Raton, FL. (Photo: Boca Daily News)

The application drew both support and opposition during the council meeting.

“We strongly oppose the development of a car wash next to our property,” said Fionnuala Fordham, who lives in the home directly east of the property. “We have concerns with the noise, the privacy. Although you’re moving it away from us, you’re pushing it to another set of property owners.”

Those property owners include owners within a condominium complex to the north.

Fordham’s most pronounced concerns were with the potential for more traffic to be added to the area.

“What’s going to happen is that they’re going to be parking on Bailey Street, they’re going to be parking on the road, and they’re going to queue,” she said. “We have an issue with that, and I don’t believe it should have access onto Bailey Street and dump all that traffic onto our street.”

According to the zoning plan, the facility would have a full access driveway on Bailey Street and a right-in/right-out shared driveway on North Federal Highway, with cross access to the property to the north. Parking for the car wash and restaurant would be included on-site, as well as with a shared agreement with the Steinway piano showroom north of the site. In all, 124 parking spaces would normally be required with 104 provided by the developer.

The site will also include 25 electric vehicle charging stations, including “superchargers” for Tesla vehicles.

A new car wash facility drew support from a resident who was familiar with the business from his previous home in Long Island, N.Y.

“I’ve longed to move down here for years, and me and my wife and our young children chose Boca Raton as our home,” said Michael Mancusi. “Like any transplant, my wife and I have been comparing New York to Florida and we’ve noticed the schools are better, the government is better, the parks are better, the pickleball is definitely better – but the one thing you’re lacking in is car washes. They’re not as nice as the ones in New York and they’re missing some key elements.”

The new wash facilities are significantly more automated than older-style washes, largely touchless, can be accessed via smartphone apps or barcode stickers on car windows for unlimited washing, and are more compact and quiet.

“I own a security company … so I’ve probably gotten my cars washed at their car washes about a thousand times,” Mancusi added. “They’re always aesthetically pleasing. Car washes are infamous for being eyesores, but the car washed the applicant has owned are mistaken for catering halls they’re so beautiful. The service is excellent, the cars get washed incredibly well, and the staff is meticulous.”

The council approved both the ordinance revision, rezoning and the application for the building itself in separate measures.

“I understand your concerns, I hear them,” Mayor Scott Singer told the adjacent homeowner who spoke. “But I think the applicant has done good work to try to limit the buffer, and with the decibel requirements, it’s not going to be materially different than a restaurant, which could go there as a right.”