The Tuesday, Sept. 10 Planning Commission meeting to review the Splash Express car wash proposed for 1191 Healdsburg Ave. was sparsely attended: it took place at the exact same time as the Presidential Debate, 6pm to 7:30.
City Planner Ellen McDonald presented the overall plan for the car wash, and while both owner Lawrence Amaturo and project manager Jonathan Ramos were in attendance, they had no separate presentation of their own to offer, but they made themselves available to answer questions.
Dalene Whitlock of W-Trans, the transportation consultant used in this project’s development, and engineer Cort Munselle were on hand as well. Both live in Healdsburg.
As an overview, the previous seven-stall self-service car wash will be completely demolished, including concrete, paving and landscaping. In its place on the 1.32-acre lot will stand a new, 4,366-square-foot car wash, with two queuing lanes leading to two pay kiosks—one for members of a subscription wash plan, and one for drive-up customers.
Vehicles will then merge into a single lane to enter the 140-foot-long “tunnel” that can hold two cars in service at once. A high-pressure washing system is used, mostly using onsite-reclaimed water except for the final rinse cycle which uses potable water to avoid spotting.
A number of self-serve vacuum stations are found after the washing tunnel, for free use by customers whose cars or trucks have just been showered and machine dried.
Impulse Buy
There was some concern about the possible number of customers on a daily basis, but owner Amaturo said his was almost an “impulse buy” business, and experience had shown they could be expected to capture a less than 4% of passing traffic. “If we get 250 cars, we’ll be happy.”
There was only one public comment from those in attendance. Mike Muller said he lived on Monte Vista Avenue directly across the street from the car wash location, and complained of the noise it had generated.
“The prior car wash was just a nightmare,” he said. “I was so glad when Covid hit.” He said that the vacuum stations in particular were a problem as “everyone” who used them had loud boomboxes, truck or auto sound systems.
He also said that once people got their cars washed, they would “peel out” of the driveway—”you got a clean car and your tires are wet, so you peel out.”
Ramos, who said he had designed some 30 car washes, noted that the allowable sound limit in Healdsburg was 60 decibels, “about the noise of a car driving by.” He said the design of the new tunnel was on the long side, 140 feet, in part to minimize noise by placing the drying blowers farther inside the structure. He also said they’d be building out the vacuum stations, eventually to number 18, on a slow, as needed basis, depending on the growth of the business.
Commission members almost universally said they were eager for a new car wash in town, and at least one promised to join (like LUV, the Splash network has a membership plan of a flat yearly rate for multiple washes).
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Concerns and Conditions
There were a few critiques, however. Commissioner Carrie Hunt objected to the bold color scheme of the structure, which she called “flashy, bold, and loud.” She was relieved to hear however that Splash is not a franchise, and there was some flexibility in the station’s design.
Other commissioners agreed with her objections to the colors, and Amaturo said the colors were “not integral to our success.” Eventually it was agreed the blue tower of the main structure could give to a black, charcoal or grey palette, and other design elements could be added to break up the “massing” of the large structure.
Concern was also raised about people leaving the car washes while being inattentive or enthusiastic in their driving — “peeling out” — and causing problems for pedestrians, bicyclists and motorists on Healdsburg Avenue. Department director Scott Duiven, planner McDonald, as well as on-zoom support from other city staff, discussed the upcoming Healdsburg Avenue Plan construction, and no evident conflict was found — though posting “Good Neighbor” signs asking departing customers to drive cautiously was suggested.
Other commission discussion asked for more landscaping or trees where possible, but Ramos pointed out — which a quick look at city maps confirmed — there was a utility easement running in front of the property that limited its ability to plant trees.
Commissioner Conor McKay, who took over for Phil Luks as chairman with the Aug. 13 meeting, had a couple questions about environmental impact. He wondered if given the modest expected business the queuing capacity could be reduced to accommodate fewer cars, hence less idling. The overlay ambitious queue corridor could hold up 16 vehicles prior to the pay kiosks.
He also enquired about using less concrete or, barring that, incorporating permeable concrete where possible.
New vice chair Steven Barber was a strong voice for landscaping; at one point used he phrase “to shrub-up” the grounds, and other commissioners embraced the term as well.
The commission’s final recommendation, reached about 7:30pm, was to approve the project with several conditions: using a quieter color palette; moving the site monument sign closer to the north entrance driveway for easier direction-finding by motorists; installing Good Neighbor signs at the exits; and where possible, add additional landscaping and permeable or heat-reflecting groundcover.
With the Planning Commission’s approval, Ramos and Amaturo can move forward with applying for building permits — unless their decision is appealed to the City Council, which seems unlikely.
“The City of Healdsburg staff and Ellen McDowell were great to work with helping us secure the approval,” said Ramos. “We look forward to bringing a great car wash product to the city of Healdsburg.”
Amaturo and Ramos are also moving ahead in Ukiah with building a smaller Splash car wash — with an 80-foot long tunnel on a smaller lot, with only eight vacuum stations. Groundbreaking on that location is expected in the next couple weeks, said Ramos.
They indicated the Healdsburg Splash station should take about a year to complete, and be ready for business toward the end of summer 2025.
