Planning commission backs Bubble Bath car wash conditional-use recommendation amid form-based-code debate

The planning commission voted unanimously to recommend that city council consider a conditional-use permit for the Bubble Bath car wash proposed for the property adjacent to a planned Kwik Trip convenience store.

Project manager Braxton Key (speaker 1) presented the Bubble Bath design and emphasized the car wash’s water-reclamation system, saying, “We cut our fresh water usage down to just 19 to 36 gallons per wash.” Commissioners and staff probed the team on reclamation rates, projected cars per hour (applicants estimated 40–80 per hour in this market), ingress/egress and how the car wash and convenience store would be phased and permitted.

The meeting turned to the project’s fit in the town-center form-based code. Staff explained that the code contains provisions for "unlisted dissimilar use" and an "unlisted similar use" interpretation; staff read the code text that if a use cannot be interpreted as similar in nature and impact to a permitted use, "the use is not permitted and may only be approved through amendment of the code." Commissioners debated whether a convenience store plus car wash on the corner would undermine a long-term pedestrian-oriented vision for the town center, whether variances and appeals would be required for building height and frontage, and how the city should treat a combined project where the car wash requires conditional use but the convenience store would require a separate variance. Committee member (speaker 4) moved and the commission unanimously recommended the conditional-use permit to council, while noting the gas-station/convenience element will follow a separate variance/appeal track.