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Neighbors are not happy with QuickQuack car wash

When the County let the Quick Quack Car Wash go in on Watt just below Arden, neighbors were told the sound would be buffered by a required wall. But the wall the County approved doesn't do much to reduce noise impacts from the car wash. The nearby neighbors say the noise from Quick Quack itself is made even more annoying by car audios blaring as customers vacuum their cars. Those neighbors have tried without success to get Quick Quack to do something about the problem. There is even is a Facebook page, Boycott Quick Quack CarWash Arden/Watt, with pictures and videos that make it obvious that something is dreadfully wrong.  There are car wash businesses all over the metro area, but the Quick Quack one on Watt is perhaps the only one located so close to residences. Quick Quack replaced a long-vacant building that had become a camp for homeless people. The County's approval was based on the usual "something is better than nothing" approach that fed on neighbors' desires to do something about the health and safety issues at the homeless encampment. Lost in the hubbub of approval was the grant of permission to let the Quick Quack building serve as a tall sign, complete with a brightly-lit duck, while also allowing tall parking lot lights. Glare from the new light fixtures and the duck sign are also causing problems for adjacent neighbors. Projects like this are reminders that the County has a duty to serve all constituents, not just those who happen to have purchased property for a commercial project.  The County's enthusiasm for whatever development project comes along needs to be moderated by respect for resident's reasonable expectations for their homes and their neighborhood. When the County does not stand up for the residents, the public trust gets damaged. As the Quick Quack project has shown, loss of the public trust can be a very big deal.

rubber duck with an x across it
The Facebook page, Boycott Quick Quack CarWash Arden/Watt, asks: "Are clean cars worth the noise pollution that is detrimental to the peace and property values of the homes around the business?"
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