Public meeting set for proposed car wash in Kingston’s east end

On Thursday, Dec. 15, 2022, Kingston’s Planning Committee will hold a public meeting regarding a proposed car wash in the city’s east end. The business would be located at the Esso Gas station in the Barriefield Centre, located at 760 Highway 15, just across from LaSalle Secondary School. The proposal has generated pushback from area residents, some of whom worry the structure could negatively impact pedestrian safety. 

“The car wash would be attached to the north end of the existing building,” notes the public meeting report. “Parking and landscaping are proposed to be altered to accommodate the car wash access. The property currently accommodates an existing commercial shopping plaza with 13 individual uses.” 

The property is currently designated “neighbourhood commercial” in the Rideau Community Secondary Plan. In order to allow the car wash to be built, the applicant has requested amendments to the City’s Official Plan, which seek to increase the number of individual units at the plaza from 13 to 14, while also increasing the leasable area to 1,988 square meters. The applicant is also requesting amendments to the City’s zoning by-laws in order to recognize a car wash as a permitted use of the space. 

Alongside the car wash structure, the application also includes a queue line along the west side of the plaza, accommodating up to 10 vehicles at a time. “Vehicles using the car wash appear to enter at one of the three proposed entrances to the site and exit to the north-east. An exit-only driveway is proposed at the far northwest of the site,” the report says. 

The report indicates that the Barriefield Centre’s parking lot will need to be revised in order to accommodate the car wash. “Traffic flow along the south side of the property is proposed to be converted to one-way. The west parking spaces are proposed to change to angled parking. The existing site-specific zone requires 90 parking spaces and the applicant has proposed 90 parking spaces on the submitted site plan.”

Ahead of Thursday’s meeting, a number of East End residents have written to the City expressing concerns related to the proposed car wash. “While the planned amendments are intended to support car wash access, the notice of application is silent on any specifics related to the entry and then subsequent exit of vehicles utilizing the wash,” reads a letter signed by 15 read residents. It should be noted that such information is included in the public meeting report. 

“LaSalle Secondary School is directly across Highway 15 from this proposed car wash. Each school day, students frequent various businesses in the Barriefield Centre and an increase in vehicle traffic is a safety concern.”

The letter also notes that an existing car wash is already located at the property immediately adjacent to the Barriefield Centre plaza. “The property next to the Barriefield Centre already consists of several bays for the hand washing of cars plus an automatic car wash. A second car wash is most certainly unnecessary.” 

The public meeting will be held inside Council Chambers on Thursday, Dec. 15, 2022, at 6:00 p.m. Following a presentation from the applicant, the Planning Committee will open the meeting up to questions and comments from members of the public. The application will return to the planning committee in the form of a future comprehensive report, which is when the committee will issue its final decision.

The meeting can be viewed online, both live and afterward, on the Kingston City Council YouTube page.