This lot, part of the property on the northeast quadrant of Interstate 70 and Little Blue Parkway, was undeveloped until the Menard’s Center project in 2014. In the late 1990’s, part of the property was rezoned from agriculture/residential zoning to office/commercial zoning in conjunction with the Hartman Heritage project on the west side of the Little Blue Parkway but was never developed.
PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF PROPERTY
The proposed site is a vacant out-lot in front of the Menard’s store on the Little Blue Parkway. Other pad sites are occupied by Dairy Queen, Black Bear Diner, Lion’s Choice, Wendy’s to the north and a Dutch Brother’s Coffee under construction just south of the site. All the pad sites, along with the Menards and the QuikTrip to the north, are accessed via an internal access drive from the lighted intersection at Jackson Drive.
CHARACTERISTICS OF THE AREA
This is an active commercial mode on the east side of Little Blue Parkway, across from the Hartman Heritage shopping center and features an assortment of office, retail and restaurant businesses.
PROPOSAL: The applicant intends to construct a tunnel carwash on this 1.52+/- acre pad site in front of the Menard’s. The 6,502 square foot, 150-foot-long building will have an East/West orientation. Customers will enter from the Menard’s internal drive and wait in one of two lines at the northeast corner of the tunnel building before taking turns entering the west end of the tunnel. Exiting from the east end of the tunnel, customers will drive to a parking area south of the building to use the vacuums or exit the site. An additional feature of this facility is a dog wash in a part of the building on the south side of the wash tunnel.
Customers vacuuming (or visiting the office) will have 20 vacuum spaces in which to park, with one van-accessible ADA space. Seven parking spaces (one ADA) will be provided for employees or the occasional dog wash customers. The applicant has provided elevations and artist renderings of the building which will feature essentially the same grey/white masonry material with blue canopies and awnings as the company’s other two wash locations currently under construction on US 24 Highway and 23rd Street.
McBee intends to operate the carwash from 7:00 am to 9:00 pm year-round albeit with a flexible schedule during times of inclement weather; a business manager always onsite during operating hours.
Consistency with Independence for All, Strategic Plan:
The proposal is consistent with the Goal, “Increase economic prosperity of community”. It meets the strategy to, “recruit business.”
Comprehensive Plan Guiding Land Use Principles:
This site, along with properties in the northeast quadrant of Interstate 70 and the Little Blue Parkway, are designated for ‘Mixed Use’ by the City’s Comprehensive Plan. Such areas may feature a variety of uses assorted with both community and regional commercial uses with an emphasis on office, retail and dining establishments.
Historic and Archeological Sites:
There are no apparent historic/archeological issues with this property.
Public Utilities:
Water, sanitary sewer, and electrical services are connected to this property.
Environmental:
The on-site stormwater detention will be managed in underground pipes likely buried in front of the building, but their location is yet to be determined. Provided the business properly follows the City’s water quality standards for drainage from the wash equipment, Municipal Services has no environmental concerns.
CIP Investments:
In conjunction with the recently approved Northpoint Industrial Park project on Little Blue Parkway, a few miles north of this site, the City received approval for a cost sharing project with MoDOT for the improvements to the Interstate 70 and Little Blue Parkway interchange with anticipated construction in 2024. Its preliminary scope is the widening of the on/off ramps for Interstate 70 and adding turning lanes on both Interstate70 ramps and Little Blue Parkway. The project is not in design stage yet so scope of improvements might change.
Zoning:
When this entire property was rezoned to BP/PUD (Business Park/Planned Unit Development) for Menard’s in 2014 several restrictions were placed on the permitted uses in the project. The ordinance allowed all permitted, conditional, and special uses permitted in C-2 and BP zoning districts except for pawn shops, short term loan services, body art shops, recycling centers, home improvements stores (except on Lot 2) and used car lots. All conditional and special uses must follow the UDO requirements for minimum conditions and approval processes. Such uses include offices, restaurants, grocery stores, hair salons, entertainment venues on the commercial side with construction services, motor vehicle repair, limited manufacturing, and warehousing on the business park side.
Traffic:
McBee has provided data on its business practices to the City Traffic Engineer who consolidated it with the original traffic study data completed in conjunction with the Menard’s center rezoning. The engineer’s report is attached for your review.
Parking, Site Layout and Driving Surface:
In addition to the 20 space vacuum stalls, there are seven spaces for employees, and the occasion dog wash customer; all parking is south of the building. The site ingress and egress for customers will be on the east side of the site plan that connects to an existing private access road which serves the Menards development and out lots. The applicant has built in a ‘bail-out lane’, before and after approaching the pay kiosks. This allows for customers to easily exit in case of declined payment, required weekly deliveries, or any event where a vehicle could not be washed. In addition, the site has been configured to accommodate 25 cars to que at any given time.
Buffering and Screening:
As this site is positioned in a location surrounded by other commercial property no residential buffering is required. However, additional landscaping is needed on the south side and southwest corner of site adjacent to the southern vacuum row.
Recommendations and decisions on Special Use permit applications must be based on consideration of all the following criteria:
1. Compatibility of the proposed use with the character of the neighborhood.
The carwash/coffee shop site will be adjacent existing commercial along this corridor. Commercial uses lie adjacent to the north, west and south across Interstate 70.
2. The extent to which the proposed use is compatible with the adjacent zoning and uses.
A carwash/coffee shop will be compatible with the existing retail/service commercial node.
3. The Impact of the proposed use on public facilities.
As the site exists in a largely developed corridor, all public utilities are readily available and adequate to serve the project.
4. The suitability of the property for the permitted uses to which it has been restricted under the applicable zoning district regulations.
The property is well suited for an assortment of commercial uses, being located in an established commercial node.
5. The extent to which the proposed use may injure or detrimentally affect the use of enjoyment of property in the area.
The proposed project should not have detrimental affect on the use of or the enjoyment of other commercial businesses in the area if noise levels follow Code requirements.
6. The extent to which the proposed use will create excessive storm water runoff, air pollution, noise pollution or other environmental harm.
Waste water from the operation will be directed to the sanitary sewer system and the noise from the vacuums must be mitigated in accordance with City Code standards.
7. The extent to which there is a need for the use in the community.
While there are several other car washes in the area, the applicant believes this wash is different from those other operations.
8. The ability of the applicant to satisfy any requirements applicable to the specific use imposed pursuant to this article.
The applicant is a regular developer in the City and should be able to satisfy all requirements of the article.
9. The extent to which public facility and services are available and adequate to meet the demand for facilities and services generated by the proposed use.
Public services and infrastructure are sufficient to support this project.
10. Conformance of the proposed use to the Comprehensive Plan and other adopted plans and polices.
The Comprehensive Plan envisions ‘Mixed Use’ for this site.
11. The extent to which the use will impact sustainability or revitalization of a given area.
The addition of a carwash/coffee shop will add a new element to the Menard’s center commercial mix.
Draft Planning Commission minutes:
"Case 22-200-09 – Special Use Permit – 4121 Little Blue Parkway
Staff Presentation
Stuart Borders presented the case. Mr. Borders presented the Commission with a vicinity map, noting the area and surrounding zoning. He presented the Commission with an aerial map indicating the project area and explained the surrounding land uses. Mr. Borders outlined the following conditions:
1. All vacuum bays must be at least 25 feet from the front property line along Interstate 70.
2. Additional landscaping is needed between the southern vacuum row and the south property line, and the west property line along Interstate 70.
Applicant Comments
Ashley Smith, 1203 E. US 24 Highway, stated this will be their third location in Independence. She said they are okay with the staff recommendations. Ms. Smith noted their car washes use less water than one residential toilet flush to wash each vehicle. She reviewed their amenities including offering coffee with each car wash, access to a dog wash area, free vacuums and they inspect each vehicle after being washed.
In response to Commissioner Nesbitt’s question, Ms. Smith stated the vacuum stalls are standard parking spots, not angled. Ms. Smith said most people will use the vacuum parking spots if they’re using the dog wash. She stated they are aware of the planned car washes in the area and noted they generally need to provide 20 car washes an hour to remain profitable. Ms. Smith reiterated car washes are a convenience type business and people will come because it’s close to the other businesses they’re already visiting.
Public Comments
No public comments.
Motion
Commissioner Wiley made a motion to approve Case 22-200-09 – Special Use Permit – 4121 Little Blue Parkway, with conditions as outlined by staff. Commissioner Nesbitt seconded the motion. The motion passed with five affirmative votes."