A new car wash is in the works on Port St. Lucie Boulevard east of Florida’s Turnpike despite the misgivings of a nearby homeowner.
The City Council voted unanimously Monday to approve a special exception to allow the car wash on a 1.4-acre site at 229 SW Port St. Lucie Blvd., between the Race Trac and BP service stations.
The council also voted unanimously to approve the site plan for the 4,352-square-foot “229 Express Car Wash.”
The approvals were subject to the car wash complying with the city’s noise limits before a certificate of occupancy is issued and erecting an 8-foot-tall concrete wall behind the facility.
Councilwoman Jolien Caraballo said she would grant no leeway if the dryers from the car wash exceed the city’s noise limits once the project is completed.
Brad Currie, a land planner representing the car wash company, said he expects the noise levels to comply with the city’s 55-decibel limit at the boundary with residential properties.
Shirley Rzeszutek-Petrin, who owns a home behind the car wash on Chapman Avenue, said she believes it will exacerbate noise, traffic and litter problems in the neighborhood.
“The noise from the machinery in a car wash will be excessive and will only add to the already loud Race Trac,” Rzeszutek-Petrin said in a letter to the city. “Attention to noise abatement is necessary. The loud machinery and vacuums should be controlled.”