Pasco County sets new rules for proposed car washes, citing large increase in locations

Pasco moves to restrict opening of new car washes

Ariel Plasencia reports

NEW PORT RICHEY, Fla. - Pasco County commissioners voted Tuesday to place new rules on proposed car washes, aimed at regulating the location and appearance of these facilities.

Commissioners voted 5-0 to amend the county’s land development code and make new car wash facilities a "conditional use," meaning certain standards must be met before approval.

For example, anyone who wants to open a new car wash will be required to demonstrate that there’s a need for one in a particular location and will need to go through the public hearing process.

At their Sept. 3 meeting, commissioners discussed requiring new car washes to conduct an inventory of existing car washes within a 5-mile radius, a distance that was amended during Tuesday’s meeting.

"That's been reduced to a 1.5-mile radius to keep with the original intent of acknowledging what kind of car washes are within a certain proximity of a proposed car wash," Nectarios Pittos, Pasco County’s director of planning services, said.

In the past, county officials have discussed how some of the county’s car washes take up prime real estate on major thoroughfares while only providing a small number of jobs.

At the Sept. meeting, Pittos showed commissioners a map marked with the county’s existing car wash facilities, which he described as "72 different types of opportunities to wash one’s car."

On Tuesday, commissioners also approved new rules dictating what new car washes can look like, a topic they’ve discussed at length in their Sept. 3 meeting.

"We’ve heard it loud, and loud and clear: Hey, what’s up with all these car washes looking like putt putt golf courses with sharks and all sorts of funny things?" county commissioner Seth Weightman said. "Glad that we’re moving toward a direction to make our car wash product look a little more professional."

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