Controversial car wash in north Wichita on Thursday’s planning commission docket

The Metropolitan Area Planning Commission will rule Thursday on a controversial zoning request that would bring a Club Car Wash to the bank of the Little Arkansas River just east of 21st and Amidon.

Four buildings in Coolidge Village were sold and slated for demolition to make way for the new carwash. Longtime Wichita bar and restaurant Penny’s Caravan closed in May, and Tacos Raymundo has merged with another restaurant.

Club Car Wash, which is co-owned by Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, has already opened two Wichita locations. Four more will be operational by the end of the year.

Residents can weigh in on the proposed development by speaking at a City Hall meeting, which starts at 1:30 p.m. The meeting will also be streamed on the city of Wichita’s YouTube page.

MAPC will consider a number of factors in their decision, including “uses and character of the neighborhood,” the “impact of the proposed development on community facilities” and “opposition or support of neighborhood residents.”

The Little Arkansas Community Coalition has been a particularly vocal opponent of the proposed car wash, encouraging people through their Facebook page to voice their opposition to the zoning request.

According to the coalition’s website, their mission is “to protect the Little Arkansas River, facilitate restoration, prevent damage and restore clean water for people and nature.”

Susie Cunningham, president of the Little Arkansas Community Coalition, lives downstream from the proposed car wash site, near North High School. She said a car wash “really doesn’t go with the neighborhood,” but her concerns aren’t just aesthetic.

Cunningham said she’s also worried about potential traffic congestion for Firehouse 7, the city fire station that sits just north of the proposed development site on Coolidge.

“Their driveways will just be a few feet apart, and they will be competing as a call comes and they have to rush out to a fire,” Cunningham said.

Jose Ocadiz, battalion chief of the Wichita Fire Department’s Community Risk Reduction Division, said a traffic study for the proposed development site made it clear that fire engines on their way to emergencies would not get caught behind car wash customers.

“The concern was brought up and it’s being addressed,” Ocadiz said. “Basically, they’re implementing a plan to make sure that there isn’t any traffic jams or any congestion there for Station 7 when there are emergencies.”

Ocadiz said the traffic study is in the agenda packet for the MAPC hearing.

Environmental concerns

Cunningham said she’s also worried about trash and harmful chemical runoff making its way from the car wash into the river. A number of pollutants, including phosphorus, can be found in many auto detailing products.

“They’re going to be recycling that water and cleaning it. That does not take care of what drips off the cars in the parking lot,” Cunningham said. “That will still run into the storm drains.”

Kristi Zears, communications director for the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, said it’s up to the local government to keep car washes and other facilities from contaminating water.

“We’d expect the facility to be plumbed into the city’s sanitary sewer,” Zears said in an email. “As part of either Wichita or Sedgwick County’s Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) permit jurisdiction, we’d expect the city or county to ensure that the facility does not have an illicit discharge to the storm sewer or streams and that any wash water and pollutants are contained onsite.”

None of Club Carwash’s Kansas or Missouri locations are identified by the Environmental Protection Agency’s enforcement tracker as having recent violations.

But before rebranding as Club Car Wash in 2019, the Tiger Express car wash company was the subject of a Missouri Department of Conservation investigation for pumping discharge into a Columbia creek, which turned pink.

The department of conservation determined that the pumping had no toxic impact, and Tiger Express was told to stop without being fined.

Representatives for Club Car Wash did not return requests for comment Wednesday.

This story was originally published June 2, 2021 at 11:18 PM.