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The former Denny's at 176 Grant Ave. in Auburn.

Renderings of a Tidal Wave Auto Spa being proposed for 176 Grant Ave. in Auburn.

The Auburn Planning Board reviewed a proposal to build a car wash at the former Denny's restaurant on Grant Avenue on Tuesday, but the site plan will need touching up before getting the green light.

Randy Bebout of Bohler Engineering presented the proposal to the board on behalf of the developer, New Potato Creek Holding, which seeks to build a Tidal Wave Auto Spa at the 176 Grant Ave. property. The presentation mostly repeated one that Bebout gave to the board at its July meeting because, due to a technical error, that meeting wasn't livestreamed nor recorded on video by the city. 

The car wash, Bebout explained to the board, would be built after tearing down the former Denny's and the asphalt on the property.

The facility and single wash tunnel would be 3,620 square feet. Outside the facility there would be 25 parking spaces, 20 of which would be covered and offer vacuums for customers. The vacuums would technically be free, but signage, pavement markings and Tidal Wave employees would discourage people from using them without also paying for washes, Bebout said. 

The facility would employ about 15 people, with two to three working at all times. The remaining five parking spaces, including one accessible space, would be for them. There would be no retail operations, so aside from using the bathroom customers would have no reason to enter the facility. Customers would be able to pay as they go or purchase Tidal Wave memberships.

The car wash would be open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. seven days a week, but possibly close earlier in the winter. Vacuums would be shut off when the facility closes, and there would be no after-hours activities. Power equipment would be enclosed to reduce noise. New pole-mounted, dark sky-friendly LED lights would illuminate the site, and new greenery would be planted.

During redevelopment, the asphalt would be replaced with concrete, some outfitted with snowmelt technology. The two curb cuts on the property would be reduced to one, on its northern end. Bohler believes the Department of Transportation will approve the proposal, Bebout said, as traffic at the property is not expected to change significantly from its time as a Denny's.

Tidal Wave would receive deliveries from one box truck a week. The facility would also have a four-tank water recycling system, with one tank for separating water from oil. 

Water usage was one subject of the only public comment made to the board about the proposal despite substantial opposition to it on social media, including more than 450 comments on The Citizen's Facebook page. Chris Kubarek, owner of K&S Car Wash on Grant Avenue and three other locations in Auburn and Weedsport, questioned at the July presentation whether the city could handle the anticipated daily average of 10,000 gallons. He further questioned how snow would be stored on the property and how emergency vehicles would access it, according to minutes from the meeting.

Deputy Director of Planning and Development Stephen Selvek said the city's water filtration plant has a capacity of 10.5 million gallons per day, making Tidal Wave's water usage "not a concern."

The city is concerned, however, about snow storage and vehicular access.

Under Bohler's proposal, snow would be stored on the south end of the property. But upon melting, that water and sediment would flow into nearby North Brook, Selvek said.

The site plan, with its single curb cut, would also make it difficult for vehicles to enter the property and exit without going through the tunnel and therefore paying for a wash, Selvek continued. Regarding emergency vehicles, he plans on reviewing the site plan and current code requirements with the Auburn Fire Department to determine if the car wash would be in compliance.

In response to the city's concerns, Bebout said Bohler would try to store snow elsewhere, but "there's not a lot of area to push it." Vehicular access would be a similarly hard problem to solve, he continued. Those who see the sign for the wash entrance and don't want to enter can turn toward the vacuum area to exit, even though signage will discourage them from doing so without paying.

"That would be the simplest way to do it," Bebout said. "I don't know that I have a great answer for that."

The board voted to table Bohler's proposal as the meeting concluded. Bebout expressed his willingness to work with the board for approval at its September meeting, as New Potato Creek hoped to begin construction on the car wash that month. The Auburn location of Tidal Wave is one of several the Georgia-based chain is opening in New York as it expands into the Northeast and Midwest.

"The window is shrinking sooner than I would have liked," Bebout said.

Lake Life Editor David Wilcox can be reached at (315) 282-2245 or david.wilcox@lee.net. Follow him on Twitter @drwilcox.

WHAT: Auburn Planning Board meeting

WHEN: 7 p.m. Tuesday, July 5

WHERE: Memorial City Hall, 24 South St., Auburn

INFO: Visit auburnny.gov or call (315) 255-4104

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I edit The Citizen's features section, Lake Life, and weekly entertainment guide, Go. I've also been writing for The Citizen and auburnpub.com since 2006, covering arts and culture, business, food and drink, and more.

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The former Denny's at 176 Grant Ave. in Auburn.

Renderings of a Tidal Wave Auto Spa being proposed for 176 Grant Ave. in Auburn.

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