The car washes are a low-overhead business, requiring no more than a water source and a few supplies to operate.
Council member Denise Lee, chair of the Special Ad Hoc Committee on Jacksonville’s Neighborhood Blight, said Wednesday the car washes should be monitored to ensure they are not contributing to crime or deteriorating the quality of life for nearby residents.
“We need to try and regulate the mop-and-bucket car washes,” she said. “Sometimes, there are no cars being washed, but there are 13 or 14 people hanging around.”
Calvin Burney, director of the city Planning and Development Department, said legislation is being drafted to regulate the “pop-up” car washes. Automated commercial car washes installed adjacent to service stations and convenience stores already are regulated under city ordinance.
Burney is working with the city Environmental Quality Division to craft language that would make the law apply to all car wash businesses. One aspect of the mop-and-bucket operations is there is no facility to properly dispose of wastewater generated by washing vehicles, which runs onto the ground or into a storm drain.
“The code is silent on mop-and-bucket car washes. We need to make sure the zoning is in order before we go out on a full enforcement effort,” he said.
Some of the mop-and-bucket car washes may actually contribute positively to a neighborhood, said Kevin Gay, president and CEO of Operation New Hope. He’s familiar with one of the businesses in Springfield.
“It has been on Main Street for more than 10 years. There are some older guys mentoring younger guys,” he said. “It’s a template of how to do it the right way.”
Burney said he expects the draft legislation to be ready for the committee’s review in February.
Lee said enacting a new ordinance to regulate all car washes is one of her priorities before she and other council members leave office due to term limits.
“We are going to get this legislation done before we leave on July 1,” she said.
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