TO: Mayor and City Council
FROM: Nolan Ming, Deputy City Manager
SUBJECT:
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Ordinance Approving a Special Use Permit to Allow an Automobile Service Station and an Accessory Car Wash, Located at the Northeast Corner of Route 59 and Theodore Street (ZBA 2026-34)
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BACKGROUND:
The petitioner, S & P RE LLC, is requesting a Special Use Permit to allow an automobile service station and an accessory car wash in the B-3 (general business) district at the northeast corner of Route 59 and Theodore Street. The subject site is an undeveloped lot within Cobalt Commercial Subdivision, which was recorded in 2021 and currently contains a CarMax car dealership as the only developed use. There are commercial developments with B-3 (general business) zoning at the other three corners of the Route 59 and Theodore Street intersection. Across Theodore Street south of the subdivision is the Pheasant Landing residential subdivision, which is zoned R-2 (single-family residential).
The petitioner proposes to develop the 2.9-acre site with a gas station, car wash, and drive-thru restaurant. The gas station and the car wash require approval of a special use permit while the restaurant is a permitted use in the B-3 (general business) district. A future subdivision will be needed to create a separate lot for the restaurant building because the Zoning Ordinance only allows one main building per lot. The car wash is considered an accessory use to the gas station so both uses would be located on the same lot.
The gas station will consist of an approximately 4,150-square-foot building with a convenience store, a canopy with eight fuel pumps, and 16 parking stalls. The proposed car wash will consist of a 3,200-square-foot tunnel wash building and a vacuum station with ten stalls. The gas station and car wash will be under the same ownership. The gas station will have approximately six total employees and the car wash will have two total employees. Proposed hours of operation for the car wash are 7 AM to 9 PM, while the gas station will be open 24 hours.
The buildings will be required to meet the City’s Non-Residential Design Standards. The proposed elevations show that the main exterior materials for the gas station, car wash, and restaurant will be brick and stone. The gas station canopy poles would also be wrapped in brick and stone. Elevations and renderings are included in the Zoning Board of Appeals staff report packet. The development will also need to comply with the City’s landscaping regulations, which will include installation of plant materials in the existing perimeter landscape easements. The site has landscape easements on the north, west, and south sides of 10, 25, and 20 feet respectively. Per the annexation agreement for Cobalt Commercial Subdivision, the landscape area along Theodore Street will need to include a berm. The east side of the site will need a 5-foot landscape area.
Cobalt Commercial Subdivision includes two private interior roads, Cobalt Circle and Cobalt Drive, to serve the lots while minimizing access points to Route 59. The subject site will have two accesses off Cobalt Circle and one access off Theodore Street where there is an existing curb cut. These access driveways and the interior drive aisles will serve all proposed uses on the site. The future subdivision of the site into two lots will need to include appropriate easements for cross access throughout the site.
The car wash and the drive-thru restaurant will require approval of a drive-thru permit through City Council. The petitioner has been coordinating with the Public Works Department to finalize the site plan layout. The most recent version of the site plan is included in the Zoning Board of Appeals staff report packet. Once the future users of the car wash and restaurant are confirmed, the Public Works Department can complete their review and then the drive-thru permit can move forward for Council review.
The Zoning Ordinance states that car wash establishments may not be located within 100 feet of a residential zoning district. There are properties with R-2 (single-family residential) zoning south of the subject site across Theodore Street. The south property line of the subject site is around 112 feet away from the north property line of the residentially-zoned lots, so the proposal meets the spacing requirement.
The request meets the criteria for special uses. The operation of the proposed use will not be detrimental to public health nor be injurious to the use of other property in the immediate vicinity. Additionally, the proposed use will not impede development of surrounding property. The site is within a recorded commercial subdivision along the Route 59 commercial corridor. The other three corners of the intersection contain commercial uses. The site is served by the existing drainage and utility infrastructure within Cobalt Commercial Subdivision.
The proposed ingress and egress to the site has been designed to minimize traffic issues. The site will be accessed from the existing private road and an existing curb cut off Theodore Street. Additionally, the stacking and circulation requirements for the car wash will be evaluated through the required drive-thru permit. The proposed use will conform to other applicable land use regulations for the B-3 (general business) district, including landscaping requirements, building setbacks, design standards, and photometrics.
ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS PUBLIC HEARING:
The Zoning Board of Appeals held a public hearing on this matter on August 20, 2026. Pinakin Patel, petitioner, and Gregory Ziomek, architect, represented the petition. One person spoke with concerns about the petition. Meeting minutes are attached.
RECOMMENDATION OF THE ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS:
recommendation
Jesse Stiff moved that the Zoning Board of Appeals recommend approval of the Special Use Permit to allow an automobile service station and an accessory car wash, located at the northeast corner of Route 59 and Theodore Street, subject to the following conditions:
1. That building elevations that meet the City’s Non-Residential Design Standards shall be submitted as part of the building permit plan set;
2. That the automobile service station canopy poles shall be wrapped in masonry materials that match the masonry materials used for the main structure;
3. That a landscape plan that meets City Ordinance shall be submitted as part of the building permit plan set and landscaping per the approved plan shall be installed prior to the issuance of a Certificate of Occupancy;
4. That the Special Use granted herein, per Section 47-5.2(E) Special Uses, shall terminate and lapse unless a building permit or certificate of occupancy is obtained not later than 180 days of the effective date of this ordinance and the erection or alteration of a building is started or the use is commenced within such period; and
5. Should the property be declared a public nuisance, it may be subject to a rehearing and a possible revocation of the Special Use Permit.
Debbie Radakovich seconded the motion, which passed with four (4) aye votes and no nay votes. Voting aye were: Nachtrieb, Stiff, Ness, and Radakovich. Voting nay were: none. Absent were: Bias, McGrath Schmig, and Leon.
RECOMMENDATION:
recommendation
Staff concurs with the recommendation of the Zoning Board of Appeals and recommends that the Mayor and City Council adopt the following, subject to the same conditions approved by the Zoning Board of Appeals above:
1. Ordinance Approving a Special Use Permit to Allow an Automobile Service Station and an Accessory Car Wash, Located at the Northeast Corner of Route 59 and Theodore Street
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