A proposed Wash-N-GO carwash on Telegraph Canyon Road is left in limbo for another month.
The Chula Vista City Council voted against staff’s recommendation to deny gas station owner Rod Bisharat’s appeal and affirming the planning commission’s approval of a design review permit and conditional use permit to construct a 2,380 square-foot automated car wash with vacuum stations.
After voting against the staff’s recommendation, the city council then decided to table the item for Jan. 22 to get the California Department of Transpiration’s opinion on the matter.
City Attorney Glen Googins said the city council is allowed to reconsider the item since the action the city council took Tuesday night was that they voted on whether or not to accept the staff’s recommendation, not an action to approve or deny the project.
Attorney John Moot, who is representing Bisharat, said he agrees with the city council that they should have Caltrans weigh-in with a traffic analysis.
Despite this, Moot said he took Tuesday’s action to mean that the appeal is upheld.
“The council made the right decision to deny the recommendation to reject the appeal,” he said. “The appeal had factual and legal merit and prudence would dictate, given the evidence of traffic spillback blocking such a busy intersection, a site-specific traffic study should be done.”
Moot, a former Chula Vista Councilman, noted that he has never seen an action in which the city council voted on a matter, then bring back an item for reconsideration.
Bisharat appealed the planning commission’s decision because he wants an independent traffic study done to see how it would impact his business.
“It’s not that Mr. Bisharat is against the project,” Moot said. “He wants an in independent traffic study to see how it impacts his business.”
Both Bisharat, and Wash-N-Go owner Neil Capin hired their own traffic engineers to do their own traffic studies. Both engineers had different results.
City staff say a traffic study is not needed because the lot at 495 Telegraph Canyon Road, is too small for one.
The lot is the current location of Don’s Auto Services.
The carwash has been a source of controversy for about 10 months, shortly after receiving the Chula Vista’s Planning Commission’s unanimous approval in January.
Judy Wilson, who has lived on Halecrest Drive, above the proposed carwash site, had been fighting against the project because she said she has a medical condition and that the chemicals from the carwash can affect her health.
