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Factsheet:Futurecarwashat4895W.

38th
Updated12/3/2015

AfewDenvercitydepartmentshavereceivedinquiriesrelatedtoaplannedprojectat4835W38th
knownasGleamCarWash.Thefollowingisasnapshotoftheprojectatthistime.

THEDEVELOPMENT
Whatisthedevelopmentproposedtobe?
Thepropertyownerhasproposedadrivethroughstylecommercialcarwashon38thAvenuebetween
XavierandWolff.Aonestorybuildingisproposedalong38thAvenueclosesttoXavierStreet.

REVIEWPROCESS
Whatdid/doesthecitysreviewentail?Arequalityoflifeissuesconsidered?
Thesiteplanwasfirstsubmittedtocityreviewersin2014.Thesitedevelopmentplanhasbeen
approved;theplansforthebuildingareunderreview.Beforeapprovingtheplans,reviewersfrom
multiplecityagenciesrequiredseveralamendmentstoensurecompliancewithsafetyandqualityoflife
codesandregulations,includingfor:

Buildingplacement,setbacks,streetfrontage,etc.(DenverZoningCode)
Buildingsafety(InternationalBuildingCode/DenverBuildingCode)
Cityforestryregulationsfortreesandlandscaping
PublicWorkstrafficengineersrequiresitespecificingress/egressandtrafficmovement

Anycodeviolationsornuisancesresultingfromthisnewusemaybereportedto311.Neighborhood
inspectorswillfollowupandworktowardcodecomplianceonanyviolations.

ZONING
Whatisthezoninghistoryofthissite?
PriortotheadoptionoftheDenverZoningCodeinJuneof2010,thesitewaszonedB2,acommercial
zonedistrictallowingmyriadcommercialusesandallowing3storyheightsandtaller.

Duringthe2010citywiderezoning,threecriteriawereusedtoidentifynewzonedistricts:
a. Existingconditionsandcontext,includinglanduseandownershippatterns
b. Existingzoning,includingentitlementofallowedlandusesanddevelopmentcapacity
c. Planrecommendations

TheCitytookinputfromthepublicinpublicmeetingsandofficehours.Finally,thecitycouncilperson
wasconsultedandheultimatelyapprovedthefinalzoningmapforthecouncildistrict.Attheendofthis
process,CityCouncilzonedthissiteUMS3,orurban,mainstreet,3storiesthisdistrictallows
automobileservices,light,ausethatincludescarwash.StakeholdersviewedUMS3asthe
appropriatelowerscalemixedusezonedistricttoapplyinthisareaof38th,anarterialstreetthathas
historicallyfeaturedamixofuses.

Becausetheprojectisallowedundertheexistingzoning,itisconsideredausebyrightandrequires
administrativeapprovalonly.

ProvidedonbehalfofDenverCommunityPlanningandDevelopment,DenverPublicWorksandDenverEnvironmentalHealth.
Updated12/3/2015

HowdoestheMS3zonedistricttransitiontotheadjacentsinglefamilyresidentialdistrict?
Anypropertiesontheedgesbetweencommercialcorridors(suchas38th)andresidentialareastendto
facesomechallengesrelatedtotheirproximitytooneanother.This3storymixedusedistrictis
mappedadjacenttothe2.5storyresidentialdistrict(USUC1)foraheighttransition.TheUMS3
districtincludesanadditional10footsideinteriorsetbackandsolidfencingadjacenttothesinglefamily
residentialzonedistrict.Andbecausethisuseabutsasingleunitzonedistrict(USUC1),theDenver
ZoningCoderequiresthathoursofoperationbelimitedtothetimebetween7a.m.and10p.m.

PARKING
Howmuchparkingisproposed?Whatcanbedoneforthoseconcernedthatitsnotenough?
Forazoninguseofautomobileservices,light,theprojectisrequiredtoprovide4parkingspaceson
site.Thedeveloperhasproposed4parkingspaceswhichincludesoneaccessiblespace.

Theownerhastheoptiontoaddmorethantherequiredminimumofparkingspacesontheproperty.
However,thecarwashslocationonacommercialcorridoraffordsitsemployeestransportationoptions
otherthansingleoccupantdrivingandparking,includingRTDbus,walkingandbicycling.Residents
concernedaboutlackofparkingspaceonresidentialstreetscouldpursuearesidentialparkingpermit
programfortheirblock.

TRAFFIC
Whyarecurbcutsonsidestreetsratherthan38th?
Transportationengineershaveconfirmedthroughthesitedevelopmentplanthatthecurbcuts,as
proposed,meetcitystandards.Citytrafficengineersbelievethattheproposedaccessandcirculation
providedinthecurrentsiteplanwouldbethesafestandmostefficientforthesite.Additionally,main
streetzonedistrictsusuallypushtolocatecurbcutsonsidestreetstopreserveandimprovethemain
streetpedestrianexperienceaswellastrafficflowonthearterialstreet.

Whatabouttrafficeffects?
RepresentativesfromDenverPublicWorksreviewedtheplanstoensureoptimalingress/egressand
trafficmovementonandaroundthesite.Someeffectsrelatedtotrafficareexpected;propertiesonthe
edgesbetweencommercialcorridors(suchas38th)andresidentialareastendtofacethesechallenges.

Aswouldbeexpectedwithanycommercialdevelopmentonthissite,thevolumeoftrafficwillincrease
onbothWolffandXavierstreets.Bothstreetshavetheavailablecapacitytoaccommodatetheamount
ofanticipatedtrafficwiththistypeofdevelopment.

WhatifthecarwashqueuebacksupontoWolff?TherearedrivewaysandschoolbusstopsonWolff.
Thecarwashdevelopmentislaidouttohaveapproximately15spacesforcarstoqueuewithinthe
property.ThislengthshouldbesufficientspacetopreventqueuingontoeitherWolfforXavier.If
operationsdobackoutontoWolfforXavier,thenthezoningandmunicipalcodeshaveprovisions
allowingcityofficialstoworkwiththecarwashcorrecttheissue.

Again,weexpectthecarwashqueuewillbecontainedwithintheproperty.Ifthequeuebacksupinto
Wolff,thenneighborsmaycontactDenverPublicWorks;PublicWorksrepswillworkwiththecarwash
sothatallqueueingoccursonthecarwashproperty.

Couldthelightat38thandWolffbeadjustedtoaccommodatechangesintrafficvolume?
Yes,itcouldbeadjustedifnecessary.DenverPublicWorksmonitorsandadjuststrafficsignals
ProvidedonbehalfofDenverCommunityPlanningandDevelopment,DenverPublicWorksandDenverEnvironmentalHealth.
Updated12/3/2015

throughoutthecitytooptimizetheiroperation.PublicWorkswillmonitorthisintersectionandmake
adjustmentsaswarrantedtoimproveoperations.

Whataboutaddingastoplightat38thandXavier?
Giventhelayoutofthecarwashsite,themajorityofthetrafficwillutilizeWolffStreetforaccess.No
additionalsignaliswarrantedatthe38thandXavierintersection.

Hastherebeenarecenttrafficcounton38thAvenue?
Yes.Trafficon38thbetweenStuartandTennysonwascountedinApril2014.Therewasjustunder
24,000vehiclesaday,including1,800duringthepeakmorninghourand1,830inthepeakafternoon
hour.Wewouldexpectbetween15,000and40,000vehiclesperdayonafourlanearteriallike38th.

Doesntaddingmorecarsto38thAvenueconflictwithMainStreetgoalsforthiscorridor?
Anyuseofthispropertyotherthanthelargelyvacantlotthatexistedherewilladdcarsto38thAvenue,
anarterialstreet.OtherallowedusesintheMS3zoningalongpartsof38thincludemultifamily
housing,gasstationandconveniencestore;eachofwhichwouldgenerateasmuchormorecartraffic
thanthisuseisexpectedtogenerate.Thecityrequiresthisdevelopmenttoincludeseveralfeaturesto
improvethemainstreetpedestrianexperiencehere,includingplacingbuildingfrontage(ratherthan
driveaislesandparking)alongstreets,includingactiveusesandbuildingtransparencyattheground
story,andlandscapingincertainsetbacks.

NOISE,EMISSIONS&OTHERCONCERNS
Whataboutnoise?
Becausethisuseabutsasingleunitzonedistrict(USUC1),theDenverZoningCoderequiresthathours
ofoperationbelimitedtothetimebetween7a.m.and10p.m.Further,adequatelandscapingandsolid
fencingshallbeinstalledtocontroltheeffectsofnoisewhereabayislocatedadjacenttoresidences.

Whataboutemissionsfromidlingcars?
Anenvironmentalassessmentisnotrequiredforapprovalofacarwash,althoughthedesignofthissite
doesminimizequeueing.Airemissionsfromthisfacility,withthepotentialtoaverageseveralhundred
carsperday,willnotbesignificantwhencomparedtotheexistingpollutionloadfromtrafficand
shoppingcentersintheimmediatevicinity.Nearbyairqualitymonitoringmeetsallhealthbased
standards,andthisbusinesswouldnotcauseaviolation.

Amoderngasvehicleemitsmuchlesswhenidlingthanwhendrivingoncitystreets.Denver
EnvironmentalHealthhaspreviouslylookedatemissionsfromacitywideperspectiveandfoundthat
emissionsfromidlingrepresentupto2%ofallpollutants.Atacarwash,idlingemissionscouldrangeup
toabout5%ofthelocalizedpollution.Thisisnotaconcernfromapublichealthperspective.

Whatabouttheeffectsfromconstruction,whilethecarwashisbeingbuilt?
Constructionprojectsinprogresstendtohavesome,limitedeffectsonimmediateneighbors.These
effectsareoflimiteddurationandareconstrainedbyvariouscitycodesandrequirements.Pleasesee
denvergov.org/constructionproceduresforrulesrelatedtoconstructionandhowtoreportviolations.

Someneighborssaythisprojectisaviolationoftheirpropertyrights.Isit?
Noneighboringpropertywilllosepropertyrightswiththedevelopmentofanewusenearby.Likewise,
theownerofthecarwashpropertyhastherighttousehis/herpropertyinamannerthatmeetsall
relevantcitycodes.Anypropertyownerisexpectedtoadheretoallcitysafetyandqualityoflifecodes.
ProvidedonbehalfofDenverCommunityPlanningandDevelopment,DenverPublicWorksandDenverEnvironmentalHealth.
Updated12/3/2015

Anycodeviolationsornuisancesresultingfromthisnewusemaybereportedto311.Neighborhood
inspectorswillfollowupandworktowardcodecomplianceonanyviolations.

Whatarethenextsteps?
Ademolitionpermithasbeenapproved.Nextstepsincludereviewingbuildingandzoningplansagainst
citycodesbeforeissuingpermits.Whenpermitsareapproved,constructionmaybegin.

ProvidedonbehalfofDenverCommunityPlanningandDevelopment,DenverPublicWorksandDenverEnvironmentalHealth.
Updated12/3/2015

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