A public hearing to solicit citizen input regarding a proposed car wash facility in downtown Oxford has been cancelled.
According to village Planning, Building and Zoning official John Elsarelli, the applicant has requested the item be “withdrawn” from the planning commission’s Tuesday, Jan. 20 agenda and indicated he’s “willing to consider other options” for the site.
Before the planning commission is a proposed site plan calling for a Pennzoil Auto Center Carwash and Oil Change to be located at 76 S. Washington St.
The 0.47-acre site currently contains a two-story house and is immediately south of Jeff’s Tire and Auto Service on the corner of S. Washington and Broadway streets. It’s owned by Bloomfield resident Fred Hadid.
The proposed two-bay oil change facility is a “permitted principal use” for that land, Elsarelli stated.
However, the proposed drive-through car wash is not and therefore requires approval of a special land use application by the village planning commission, Elsarelli said.
But before planning commissioners can either approve or deny a special land use application, they must conduct a public hearing, Elsarelli said.
The site plan had garnered criticism from the village planner, engineer and police chief in their written preliminary reviews.
“I believe that a car wash/oil change center does not belong in the Oxford downtown district and should be constructed in another particular area,” wrote Police Chief Mike Neymanowski in his Dec. 30 review.
Elsarelli said some members of the Oxford Community Development Authority also believe such a facility does not belong in the downtown district and were planning to attend the public hearing to voice their opposition to the project.