Warwick Car Wash seeks to cement longstanding agreement

Warwick Car Wash, located on Elm Street in the village of Warwick, is seeking approval to annex a neighboring lot and bring a long-time agreement with said property up to village code.

As the representative for M&L Equity Auto (the corporate name of Warwick Car Wash) explained to the Warwick Village Planning Board at their May 14 meeting, Warwick Car Wash has a long-standing agreement with the neighboring, residential property located at 42 Orchard Street to use part of that property for traffic flow, stockpiling snow in the winter and maintaining easier access around the back of the building.

The representative further explained that although the agreement between the two properties was legal in nature, because the Warwick Car Wash was using a portion of a designated residential property for commercial use, it didn’t comply with village code. Although this arrangement has been ongoing since the 1980s, the applicant was approached by the Warwick village building inspector and is seeking to rectify the situation.

Warwick Car Wash last came before the planning board in October and has since appeared before the village of Warwick’s Zoning Board of Appeals to get the variances needed to subdivide the neighboring lot for business use. Warwick Car Wash seeks to obtain a change in zoning classification for the annexed parcel from residential to light industrial.

The board discussed the property line between the two lots and such potential issues as noise and privacy that could arise if either party should decide to sell. The planning board also declared itself lead agency to conduct the necessary environmental review of the proposed application. The public hearing for the application is scheduled for June 11 or soon thereafter.