- Boone County officials denied Whitewater Car Wash’s proposal to replace the vacant Frisch’s Big Boy in Burlington with a new express car wash.
- Residents raised concerns about increased traffic, infrastructure strain, and competition with nearby Bailey’s Car Wash.
- Commissioner Chet Hand abstained, citing conflicting principles between supporting residents’ concerns and encouraging economic competition.
The Boone County Fiscal Court rejected a proposal from a car wash franchise to demolish the vacant Frisch’s in Burlington and build a new express car wash in its place.
In December, Whitewater Car Wash, a Tomball, Texas-based company, presented a proposal to the Boone County Planning Commission to demolish the vacant Frisch’s Big Boy at 1731 Jones Circle in Burlington and replace it with a 4,375-square-foot car wash featuring a 126-foot-long wash tunnel, three pay stations, and 21 free vacuum spaces. The 1.4-acre plot is currently zoned as Commercial Two/Planned Development.
After numerous residents voiced concerns about the development’s possible adverse effects on traffic, roadway infrastructure and local small businesses, the fiscal court approved an ordinance, with a vote of three to zero, denying the project.
Judge/Executive Gary Moore and Commissioners Cathy Flaig and Jesse Brewer voted to deny the project, while Commissioner Chet Hand abstained.
One sticking point raised by several residents throughout the process was the potential impact of Whitewater on Bailey’s Car Wash, a neighboring full-service car wash at 5864 Taylor Dr. in Burlington. In previous meetings, many residents rallied around Bailey’s, filling the fiscal court chambers to voice support for the business while expressing skepticism toward Whitewater’s proposal.
Prior to the vote, attorney Nicholas Pieczonka, representing Whitewater Car Wash, argued that denying the project was unlawful economic protectionism favoring an existing local competitor – Bailey’s Car Wash.
“An adoption of the findings of fact is nothing more than unlawful economic protectionism of a local business, and that’s Bailey’s Car Wash,” he said. “This court cannot use land use regulations to interfere with free competition, and in fact, courts have repeatedly recognized that protecting a discrete interest group from economic competition, in this case Bailey’s Car Wash, is not a legitimate governmental concern.”
Whitewater’s Executive Vice President of Real Estate, Gregg Murry, argued that Bailey’s full-service operation appeals to a different clientele than Whitewater, which uses automated conveyors for quick service, allowing customers to stay in their cars during the wash.
“The other thing, just directly to Bailey’s itself, we don’t look at a full serve wash as a competitor, because they’re two different clienteles. People that are going to full service – they want their car detailed, they want the interior, their car clean, and that typically is an average of 18 to 25 minutes for a customer to go through a full circle wash. Our wash is truly that – it’s an express wash, an eight to 10 minute cycle time.”
Commissioner Chet Hand explained his abstention, noting that while he valued residents’ input from prior meetings and agreed with the planning commission’s ‘findings of fact’ supporting denial, he worried that opposing the measure could hinder economic competition and stifle Whitewater’s property rights. Ultimately, he attributed his abstention to “principle.”
“I suppose my intention to abstain from the vote on principle, because I do feel like, while I would like to listen to what the residents say, I disagree with stifling innovation and competition in the area, so it’s kind of two principles in conflict with each other on this one,” Hand said. “I think the court is totally within its rights and totally justified in denying the project. I think we’re also probably totally justified in approving it, too.”
