Cape Coral City Council will discuss revisions to the city’s car wash facilities and as self-storage facilities ordinances during a first public hearing Wednesday afternoon.

Council-approved moratoriums on each expire on Jan. 17, 2025.

Car wash facilities

Regarding car washes, the land development code sections include a revised car wash facility definition, revised use table and a new car wash.

The definition has been revised to state “car wash facility, is a temporary or permanent area or structure which is used for the placemaking exterior and/or interior washing and cleaning of automobiles and other motorized vehicles. Such a facility and associated equipment encompasses both self-service and full-service operations and includes constructed stand-alone structure(s), accessory uses and structures, and integrated uses as part of a mixed-use site or structure.”

The revised districts permitted as conditional use include commercial and commercial corridor.

There also is a new section that lays out specific regulations for car washes. The section includes applicability and exceptions; locational requirements; enclosure requirements and exceptions; residential adjacency requirements; landscape screening requirements; outdoor signage and display prohibitions; hours of operation limitations; noise mitigation requirements; water recycling requirements and general prohibitions.

The location requirements include a minimum separation distance between uses of one mile, only permitted on parcels which have primary frontage on minor collectors, major collectors, minor arterial, major arterial and principal arterial roadways. The facilities shall also be located at least 500 feet away from any major intersection involving any combination of collector and or arterial roadways.

There are specific exemptions regarding applicability, which primarily stem around those facilities that are accessory to a primary use.

In addition, all the systems and equipment – an ancillary or accessory to the operation of the facility – must be completely within an enclosed building.

The proposed changes also specify car wash facilities that are adjacent to residential zoning, or use. In this circumstance – there should be additional screening. Equipment and uses must also be oriented away from the residential district/use.

Self storage faciities

Regarding self-storage facilities, the land development code includes revised districts for permitted as condition use for commercial, industrial, and commercial corridor.

A new section was created in the land development code for specific regulations for self-service storage facilities. Those include limitations; locational requirements; enclosure required; mixed use inclusion; building and site aesthetics; perimeter landscaping; outdoor storage and display; hours of access and prohibitions.

The limitations include a total aggregated amount allowable citywide to be limited to a maximum of 10 square feet per resident.

The current allowance based on population includes 2.13 million square feet. The existing square footage that is either built or pending is 3.10 million square feet. The allowance based on the max population of 375,000 is 3.75 million square feet.

Enclosed buildings are also required for self-storage.

Here are also mixed-use inclusions in the code for those integrated vertical mixed-use developments. There are four areas that must be met. Some of those include it must predominately front directly along and towards the adjacent rights-of-way and no storage unit or area may occupy any area of the ground level.

The site aesthetics should include such things as having an appearance of a multi-floor structure and parking areas and loading and unloading zones shall be oriented away from residential districts and right of way.

The 4:30 p.m. meeting will be held Wednesday, Oct. 2, in City Council chambers, 1015 Cultural Park Blvd. The meeting is open to the public.