- April 23, 2024
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Ormond Beach will have another car wash in town following a 3-1 City Commission vote approving Planned Business Development amendment for developer Paul Holub's Granada Pointe. City Commissioner Susan Persis voted against; City Commissioner Dwight Selby was absent.
Five of the six proposed amendments were passed by the commission: allowing privacy walls up to eight feet high, removing the eight parking spaces on the north parcel for the Three Chimneys property, modify the $10,000 contribution to the Ormond Beach Historical Society to allow the organization to use it without restriction, clarify that two parcels are permitted on the southwest end of the property and allow a car wash. The City Commission denied the removal of an additional historic tree, which Holub had already asked to be taken off the amendment request.
Eight citizens spoke against the car wash at the meeting; two spoke in favor, and a handful waived their right to speak as the night went on.
The vote came down to whether or not a car wash fit in with the city's comprehensive plan. It is the city's planning director's responsibility to interpret this plan and to apply it for development requests. City staff recommended the commission deny the car wash use. So did the Planning Board in January — the board voted 4-3 to deny it.
But, the City Commission felt differently. Ormond Beach Mayor Bill Partington said things have changed over the years with how car washes look and operate.
“I really don’t think this use is going to be bad in any way," Partington said. "I think it’s appropriate. It fits in that area.”
Partington said city staff "hasn't had the benefit" of the commission giving them policy corrections recently on the appropriate locations for car washes. He said he's always going to vote for projects that have less impact on the residents, alluding to the fact the parcel was approved for a fast food restaurant with a drive-thru, along with a special exemption for a Wawa gas station, in the initial PBD development order approved in 2017.
Persis said she couldn't support the car wash because the Planning Board and staff advised against it.
Among the residents that spoke was Rita Press, who used to serve on the Planning Board. She said if the commission allowed a car wash use on Granada Boulevard, it will be setting a precedent that would open the main corridor to other automotive uses.
She said the city's comprehensive plan is a road map intended to guide local governing policies with decisions. This is the controlling document of the city and takes precedence over the land development code. City staff determined the car wash didn't align with the plan, she said.
"I think we should back them up," Press said.
One Ormond Beach resident who lives behind Granada Pointe said he supported the car wash because he didn't want any fast food restaurants in the development.
Ormond Beach resident Suzanne Scheiber presented the commission with a survey with 201 participants, which she said was more than what some OB Life workshops received. The survey was open for nine days, and asked people what they wanted to see in Granada Pointe. Sit-down restaurants, specialty food shops and ice cream, bakery or coffee shop were among the top answers.
"To cast a vote for the car wash is going against the will of the citizens," she said.
She challenged the commission to come up with a "better vision" for Granada Pointe.
After public comment, Holub approached the commission once again saying that he never envisioned bringing a car wash like Modern Car Wash to the development. He said he "didn't know they existed."
He said opportunities for other fast food chains have come by, but that he rejected them because they weren't what he wanted to build.
After the commission approved the item, Ormond Beach resident Linda Williams made a comment on their decision while speaking on another issue on the agenda.
“I am heartsick at what happened here tonight," Williams said. "You did not listen to the citizens."
