A proposal to replace the Uno Pizzeria & Grill at 106 Black Rock Road in the Oaks section of Upper Providence Township with an El Car Wash stalled Monday, as the board of supervisors declined to act on a request to remove a deed restriction blocking the use.
Board Chair Kelly Stevens said the board would take no action and consider the matter further, inviting the applicant to return with additional information. No supervisor made a motion to advance the applicant's request.
The application before the board was described as a two-part matter: a sketch plan and a petition asking the supervisors to extinguish or amend a 2004 deed restriction on the property. That restriction bars fast food, drive-through facilities, and car washes on properties that were rezoned to the Neighborhood-Convenience Commercial district on the north side of Egypt Road.
Rob Lewis, an attorney with Kaplan Stewart representing property owner Bainbridge Oaks LLC and El Car Wash, told the board the deed restriction was the central question of the evening. He said removing it would be only the first step, with a zoning hearing board decision and full land development review to follow.
Changing Conditions in Oaks
Lewis said the area around the Route 422 interchange has changed substantially since 2004, when much of the land was undeveloped. He said neighboring properties subject to the same restriction now include a Dunkin' and a bank with drive-through facilities.
Uno, which occupied the property, closed in August. Lewis said its lease was set to expire at the end of the summer and had not been renewed, adding that the roughly 8,500-square-foot building is too large for current casual dining operators, who typically seek spaces of 4,500 to 5,000 square feet. He also cited the closures of P.F. Chang's and Bob Evans in the township.
“Several prospective restaurant tenants came and went quickly because the building was not adaptable,” Lewis explained to the board.
The township’s planning commission on July 1 recommended that the board amend the deed restriction to allow for further consideration of the car wash use.
Traffic and Access Concerns
Supervisor Bill Starling said his main concern was the lack of proposed improvements to the site's access on Black Rock Road.
"The danger is not in the parking lot," he said. "The danger is making left-hand turns from either side of that road."
Starling said that without improved road access, he would have difficulty recommending anything other than a sit-down restaurant at the location, citing the high volume of traffic related to the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center and nearby shopping.
Starling also questioned the number of car washes in the area, noting recent projects in Phoenixville, Royersford, Limerick, and Spring City, as well as a proposal at the other end of Upper Providence on Ridge Pike.
Stevens said she also had concerns about the location.
"It's incredibly challenging on not even a busy day to make turns there," she said, adding she would need to see how access improvements would be handled.
The proposed site entrance aligns with the entrance to an adjacent shopping center that includes Wawa, Wendy’s and Buffalo Wild Wings. The intersection is not controlled by a traffic signal.
Left turns from the proposed car wash site are currently restricted from 4 to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturdays. Lewis said those turning restrictions are imposed by PennDOT.
Lewis emphasized the car wash is expected to generate fewer trips than the Uno restaurant at its peak and that a full application to PennDOT had not yet been submitted because the deed restriction question remained unresolved.
El Car Wash Operations
Gabe Schuchman, a partner in El Car Wash, said the company was founded in Miami in 2011 and operates more than 100 locations, primarily in Florida, with sites opening in the Philadelphia, Baltimore, Detroit, Chicago, and New Jersey markets. He said the company is 30 percent employee-owned and that the Oaks location would employ 35 to 40 people at a full-service site, with membership fees ranging from $25 to $50 a month.
Schuchman said the company would invest in the site and recycle 50 percent of its water. He said El Car Wash met with representatives of the adjacent property owner Audubon Land Development, who he said supported the project and raised concerns about circulation. He mentioned that 16 parking spaces initially included along the northern side of the plan had been eliminated to prevent cars from backing into a shared access drive.
Director of Planning and Zoning Geoff Grace told the board that township engineering and first responders had not yet reviewed the plan because the deed restriction was the primary issue. He said more detailed engineering review would occur during later land development stages.
Officials confirmed the applicant could continue to work with township staff regarding the potential project and come back to present additional information to the board.
