Car wash plan meets with opposition

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 15/07/2016 (3367 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A vacant building on DeVries Avenue in North Kildonan may soon be the new home of a Blondies Car Wash, but not everyone is happy about the possibility.

Blondies owner Gilbert Gauthier appeared before the East Kildonan-Transcona community committee on July 12 to request a conditional use permit and zoning consolidation of the property at 2074 DeVries Ave., site of the former Nott Autocorp. Gauthier hopes the site joins existing Blondies locations at 176 Watson St. in the Maples and 2449 Main St. in northwest Winnipeg.

The preliminary design calls for an automatic wash bay, between 16 and 20 car wash stalls and a small convenience store.

It will also result in the elimination of vehicle access to Bonner Avenue from the car wash, an effort to reduce neighbour concerns about increased traffic and noise, Gauthier said.

“I’ve operated on Watson Street for 11 years and Main Street for three and have never heard any noise complaints,” Gauthier said. “I’ve lived in the community for 25 years and I will surely not hamper any residents in terms of noise.”

Gauthier came prepared to address a long list of concerns neighbours did indeed share later that evening. He said the automatic wash doors will remain closed when the dryers are in operation and the dryer he has chosen is the quietest option on the market, even though it takes longer to complete a cycle. Vacuums will be situated close to DeVries at a distance of “between 100 and 200 feet” from the nearest houses.

Those pledges did little to placate some homeowners on Bonner. Pat Naherny said her home is next door to the planned car wash.

“I am absolutely opposed to the development,” Naherny began.

Her concerns included noise from the dryers, added traffic in the area, and the combination of poor notification and a July meeting when many people are away on vacation.

Naherny produced what she said was a 2013 letter from North Kildonan Coun. Jeff Browaty that questioned the merits of additional development in the area without the construction of a proper arterial roadway.

Gauthier’s project manager Dan Bockstael said the entire operation, including the convenience store, will be closed from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. A municipal committee reviews all plans before a building permit is issued and that a noise study is typically submitted at that point, he added.

Gauthier said he expects many of his customers to both arrive and depart via Lagimodiere Boulevard, and most traffic coming from side streets is traffic already in the area.

Browaty said he supports Gauthier’s plans for many reasons.

“This site has long been a blight on the neighbourhood, particularly the Bonner and rear facing sides of the property. It is already zoned C2. All sorts of egregious things could happen on site, so this gives us an opportunity to have something we know will be operating with set hours and which will be well used and received by the neighbourhood.

“It is not a negative for the immediate area.”

Neighbours already have to contend with highway noise and should be used to the noise Nott Autocorp made when it operated on the site, he added.

Browaty asked Gauthier to increase his noise prevention fence height to 78 inches high from 72 around a majority of the property. He also recommended Gauthier be allowed to remain open an extra hour until 11 p.m. in the evening.

The committee approved the recommendations for consideration by council. A city clerk told all speakers they will have an opportunity to appeal the council’s decision once rendered.

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Ms. Naherny’s name was spelled incorrectly and has been fixed. My apologies for the error.