He said the developer has switched gears, hoping to garner approval for a new plan after the old one was rejected.
“The car wash was denied months ago on the basis that the plan was not consistent with the approved preliminary development plan that was on file,” Wiegand told the Journal-News. “So what Steiner is doing is saying if that is the case then what we will ask to do is change the preliminary development plan so the car wash would then become consistent enough to be approved.”
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In July, car wash owner Emilie Parry told the zoning commission she wants to build the “Taj Mahal” of car and pet washes on the south side of Liberty Way near where Steiner + Associates said it plans to build luxury condominiums.
“There are not a lot of car wash options, so we felt we want to give the people in the community more options for car washes,” Parry said. “We want to use the best technology, we want to be different, we want to have the Taj Mahal of car washes, where you don’t feel like you’re doing through this dingy, dark car wash.”
After several neighbors opposed the project because it doesn’t fit in with what is proposed for the area, the zoning commission voted 4-1 to deny it. On a separate parcel adjacent to the one in question, Steiner had proposed luxury condos.
“There were questions on size, type of business, location, access points, there were numerous inconsistencies that the zoning commission deemed, in totality it added up to being inconsistent,” Wiegand said. “It wasn’t one magic bullet so what they’re doing is saying alright if we put together a preliminary plan that shows a car wash specifically on this site then you basically get to the point where it becomes an approved use.”
Because Steiner is proposing a major change to the development plan, it will ultimately require township trustee approval.
Steiner officials could not be reached for comment.
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