An Auto Spa Express Car Wash proposed to join the planned Bel Air Costco would be capable of washing up to 200 cars an hour, project planners said during a community input meeting last week.

The meeting was held Wednesday at the Harford County Public Library’s Bel Air branch and drew over a dozen community members who asked project planners about the proposal and voiced their concerns with the increased traffic the development could bring.

Engineers explained that the 5,223-square-foot car wash would be on the same 33-acre parcel as the proposed Costco.

Project planners explained that car wash access would be only from within the shopping center’s property — eliminating the ability for car wash traffic to have direct access to and from the site’s neighboring main roadways.

The current proposal shows a 130-foot, automated, belt-operated car wash tunnel with 26 parking spaces for vehicle drying.

Per county code, each project needs to complete a traffic impact study to determine how many vehicles the new development would bring, and how existing roadways would handle the increased traffic.

The traffic impact for the car wash is outlined in the traffic impact study for Costco. According to data in the Institute of Transportation Engineers Generation Manual — a nationally accepted, industry standard document for traffic studies — the car wash is estimated to bring about 73 daily weekday trips, and about 155 trips between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. on Saturdays.

Planners noted that according to the traffic data manual, car washes could generate up to 130 cars max during peak hours.

Chad Bohn, the acquisitions and development director for Auto Spa Express Car Wash’s parent company, WLR Automotive Group, explained that the three lanes and high-throughput capabilities of the car wash are intended to alleviate traffic overflow.

“If the stack lanes go past the building, then we are not doing something right operationally,” Bohn said, noting that Auto Spa Express Car Wash is like the “Chick-fil-A” of the express car industry.

When plans for a 162,000-square-foot Costco store with 821 parking spots and a 24-pump gas station at the corner of Plumtree and Emmorton roads were introduced last year, residents raised concerns about traffic surrounding the site.

Similar to their concerns with the number of customers Costco will bring, residents expressed concern with the car wash, as they said it would add to the number of customers and vehicles traveling in and out of the area.

“It is a disaster,” Bel Air resident Jim Reyerson said to the project’s planners during the meeting. “Costco is going to be horrendous. You’re going to add your little bit and all the other stores will add theirs and it is not a good idea.”

Costco is classified in the manual as a “discount club,” a category created in the 1980s. Discount clubs generate some of the highest traffic in the manual; however, through the use of existing Costco traffic studies, a third-party traffic expert says the 5,500 daily visitors estimated for the Bel Air Costco severely underestimates site visits by thousands per day. 

State Del. Susan McComas, a Republican who represents the greater Bel Air area, referred back to when Walmart was trying to develop a store on the site but ultimately backed out due to traffic concerns and community pushback.

“Traffic is much, much worse now than it was when we were fighting the Walmart,” McComas said. “I think we should have a very planned organization for that property because I think it would make a good [continuing care] seat because it’s close to medical, grocery stores and the Festival.”

If approved, the car wash would be the second Auto Spa Express Car Wash location in Harford County, joining one in Churchville that has been in operation for eight years.

Approval for the car wash and subsequent developments on the site, including an 8,000-square-foot fast-food restaurant and 29,000 square feet of high-turnover sit-down restaurant space outlined in the traffic impact study, relies on the Costco project receiving full project approval.

If the Costco does not receive full approval, plans for proposed businesses on the site will also fail, project planners said. So far, the Auto Spa Express Car Wash and Costco are the only two businesses to propose plans for the site.

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