Developer won't move forward with proposed Highlands car wash after neighborhood opposition

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- The developer for a proposed car wash in the Highlands has decided not to move forward with the project.

The decision comes after neighbors voiced their opposition to the proposal during a meeting Wednesday night.

Barrett Development Group had been under contract to purchase property at Bardstown Road and Hawthorne Avenue, where a vacant PNC Bank currently sits, but did not yet own it. Developers said Thursday that they would not be closing on the property.

The group was proposing to replace the building with an automatic car wash and more than 20 self-service vacuum stations.

But neighbors who showed up to Wednesday's meeting voiced their concerns over the proposed site for the car wash. A couple who lives next door to the site, sharing a fence and mature trees, were strongly opposed to the car wash becoming their new neighbors.

"I don't want to be in my backyard trying to enjoy a nice fall or summer day and hear vacuum cleaners going off all day and music, loud music," Rick Riddle said.

Dustin Barrett, with Barrett Properties, said they estimated 800 cars a day could pass through the car wash.

"You've seen other car washes like this," the developer's lawyer, Clifford Ashburner, said while presenting to neighbors Wednesday night.

A majority of the property's land is zoned for commercial use. But, a section of the east side of the property is zoned for residential use. The developer wanted to make the entire property zoned for commercial use, so cars could line-up along the east side of the property.

Dozens of neighbors expressed concerns during Wednesday's meeting.

"I'm going to fight this thing like a rabid dog to keep this thing from going," one man said before walking out.

Assumption High School is across the street from the proposed site. The school's president, Mary Lang, also expressed concerns about a potential increase in traffic.

"We have sidewalks that are not raised here, they're actually flush with the street going from Assumption going down to Gardiner Lane," Lang said.

Neighbors also questioned the need for another car wash in the area. Several are already within a few miles of the proposed site, including one just a half-mile away.

This story may be updated.

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