Regular meeting of the City Council, City of Santa Maria
Tuesday, April 6, 2021
For tonight’s Agenda, please go to:
https://cityofsantamaria.civicweb.net/Portal/MeetingInformation.aspx?Org=Cal&Id=619
The Santa Maria City Council will meet at 5:30 p.m. tonight at Santa Maria City Hall, where they are expected to vote on a final adoption of a controversial mobile car wash ordinance.
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the council chambers will be closed to the public, however you can watch the meeting live on the city of Santa Maria’s YouTube page.
Staff Writer Laura Place will be tweeting about the council meeting and protest planned outside City Hall in opposition to the proposed ordinance.
The council passed the first reading of the mobile car wash ordinance on March 16 in hopes of curbing the amount of dirty water entering storm drains, as well as preventing mobile washers from operating out of a fixed location, an issue that has become especially prevalent on Boone Street.
“The city is not trying to put anybody out of business. The goal is to have mobile commercial washers return to being mobile, not stationary on a street, which is what drives many of the complaints we receive,” city spokesman Mark van de Kamp said in response to a late March demonstration.
One of the main issues with the ordinance, washers said, is the section prohibiting washers from operating on city streets, meaning they can only operate at people’s homes or on private property with owner permission.
The cost of new equipment to meet the regulations also could be prohibitive to washers. A 100-gallon tank system and mat needed to collect and transport dirty water can cost up to $1,200 for a simple system and $2,000 for one that is more advanced, said Chris Barajas, owner of California Detail Center and longtime member of the local mobile wash community.
Photos: Santa Maria’s mobile car washers push back against proposed regulations
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Around 60 Santa Maria mobile car wash owners and auto detailers rallied and marched to City Hall on March 23 to protest a new ordinance regulating their businesses.
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Manuel and Roxana Estrada, who operate Estrada Auto Detailing, participate in a protest on March 23 against a new Santa Maria ordinance that would place restrictions on mobile car washers and auto detailers.
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A young girl, whose family operates a mobile car wash business, marches along Broadway to Santa Maria City Hall on March 23 in protest of a new ordinance that would place strict regulations on the sector.
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An auto detail trailer passes by marchers protesting a new mobile car wash regulation ordinance outside Santa Maria City Hall on March 23.
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Mobile car wash owners and community members protest a new ordinance regulating the sector outside Santa Maria City Hall on March 23, holding signs that read “No on 4-21,” referencing the new section that will be added to the city’s municipal code if the ordinance is passed.
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A young child sits in front of Santa Maria City Hall on March 23 with his family during a protest against a new ordinance regulating mobile car washers in the city.
Photos: Mobile car washes in Santa Maria
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An SUV pulling a mobile car wash trailer drives through North Benwiley Avenue in Santa Maria on Monday.
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A mobile car wash employee sprays soap on a sports car on West Boone Street in Santa Maria on Monday. Under a new ordinance being considered by the Santa Maria City Council, mobile car washers will have to follow regulations for containing and disposing of water runoff, and will not be permitted to operate on city streets.
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Several mobile car washers line West Boone Street in Santa Maria, where chemicals in water runoff have begun to impact the quality of the road and the soil of nearby trees.
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Mobile car washers work on an SUV on West Church St in Santa Maria on Monday.
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A mobile car washer sprays down a car on North Thornburg Street in Santa Maria on Monday.
kevin chambers: 
Myron T. Moore: