Residents of Allan Street raised concerns about noise from Super Star Car Wash during the Sept. 8 Lake Elsinore City Council meeting, saying the car wash’s blowers and drying systems have disrupted their ability to enjoy their homes and property.
The City Council voted to continue the item to its Oct. 13 meeting, allowing city staff and Super Star more time to work on ways to reduce the noise and for the city to evaluate whether the car wash is meeting its noise standards.
The car wash, located at 29150 Central Ave., is part of the Evergreen Commercial development, which was approved by the City Council in April 2023.
Super Star received a Notice of Violation from the city on June 30 after city staff investigated a noise complaint from a resident of Allan Street. The resident also submitted a petition signed by other neighborhood residents, who described the car wash’s blower and drying systems noise as “constant and disruptive.”
City Code Enforcement conducted a site visit June 30 and took noise measurements near the end of the car wash tunnel and from residences on Allan Street. According to the city’s staff report, the noise measured more than 85 decibels near the end of the tunnel and about 65 decibels along Allan Street.
The report said both measurements exceeded the maximum levels allowed under Lake Elsinore’s Noise Ordinance. The maximum allowed noise level is 56 decibels at a boundary between two different zones and 50 decibels within a single-family residential land use.
David McLean, an Allan Street resident who said he has lived in Lake Elsinore for 21 years, told the council the noise has affected his ability to use his property, including for activities involving his horses, which he said are scared of the noise.
“There are tons of opportunities for me and my family to make income in the future with the horses, and I can’t safely do it until we can get this noise fixed,” McLean said. “I can’t use two of the acres, costing me money.”
McLean also said he had been told the car wash would receive quieter blowers, and questioned why they had not yet been installed.
“We’ve been told that and the city’s been told that since July 9,” McLean said. “Nothing has happened with these quiet blowers.”
The staff report states that Super Star had ordered a new blower system, but that the company had not yet provided staff with a definitive timeline for its installation because the equipment was on backorder.
David McLean’s wife, Maria McLean, also spoke during the public comment. She said the noise has made it difficult for her family to enjoy their property.
“There is no place on our property where we can escape the noise,” she said. “It operates seven days a week, rain or shine, from approximately 7 a.m. to 8.30 p.m. … We are asking the city to make sure that the business is operating in a way that does not take away from our enjoyment or our property.”
Since the Notice of Violation was issued, Super Star has taken steps to reduce the noise, according to the staff report. The company adjusted and relocated the blowers so they face more inward toward the tunnel and lowered the bay doors to reduce noise leaving the car wash.
“Those changes alone reduced noise levels at the neighboring properties by approximately 3 to 5 dB,” Daniel Freedman, an attorney representing Super Star, wrote in a letter to the City Council.
However, city staff said the noise was still audible in the neighborhood after those changes.
“While these actions may have resulted in, you know, lowering the noise level, it does continue to remain audible in the rest of the neighborhood,” Planning Manager Nancy Huynh of the city’s Community Development Department said.
Freedman said the company’s acoustical consultant, MD Acoustics, had conducted three field surveys in July, including measurements in residents’ backyards. He said, based on their measurements, the car wash is in compliance with the city’s noise standards. Huynh said city staff had not independently confirmed compliance and considered the property to still be in violation.
Freedman said MD Acoustics identified a particular low-frequency sound that appears to be contributing to the noise concerns.
“Super Star Car Wash cares about the quality of its relationship with its community and its neighbors and Super Star Car Wash wants to do more,” Freedman said. “We understand what the key issue is, it’s not the actual decibel level, it’s the frequency of the noise.”
Freedman said that as a solution to that frequency, Super Star ordered Acoustiblok All Weather Panels that will be installed at the tunnel exit this week.
“We’re hoping we’re not only going to achieve compliance but substantial reduction in a particular frequency of noise that seems to be the most upsetting,” Freedman said.
Freedman said MD Acoustics will conduct additional measurements after the panels are installed.
The council acknowledged the steps taken by Super Star while also expressing concern that noise could still be heard from Allan Street. Mayor Magee said he had visited the car wash and Allan Street.
“The sound has been reduced from the first time I was there,” Magee said. “It’s clear it’s reduced, then I go over to Allan Street and I can still hear it. And if that was my house, that would aggravate me. So, we do have standards for a reason, and Super Star said that they want to exceed those standards. I think we need to give them the opportunity to prove that.”
Councilmembers also thanked residents for bringing the issue forward.
“I just want to thank everybody that’s here tonight,” Councilmember Brian Tisdale said. “I know we’re trying to work to a solution. We will get a solution. So you can trust us. We will get a solution to this one way or the other.”
