A new application will be submitted in connection with Splash Car Wash's proposed business in Bedford Hills. Mark Curtis, the company's CEO, disclosed the intent for a new application.
The application is slated to be given to the Town of Bedford later this month. It will be for a tweaked car wash plan, which will not have an oil change component. By excluding the oil change part, a use variance will not be included, Curtis explained.
A use variance related to Splash's earlier proposal was granted by the town's zoning board of appeals. However, a state supreme court judge vacated it in a November ruling that came from a lawsuit from a man, Dino DeFeo, who lives near the site and expressed concern about Splash's proposal. In her decision, Judge Barbara Zambelli stated that the defense had not did not meet two burdens for getting it: that a self-created hardship was not made and that what is called a "reasonable return" could not be made for the site.
The site, located at 562-570 North Bedford Road, has commercial zoning in one section and residential zoning in another, according to information provided in the lawsuit. The mixed zoning situation is why the use variance was included.
Zambelli also vacated an area variance, a special permit and site plan approval for the project because they were connected to the use variance. Bedford's planning board granted the latter two items while the zoning board granted the area variance.
DeFeo's lawsuit was subsequently appealed, which Splash is still pursuing. An oil change component could be added to the new business if Splash is successful in the lawsuit, Curtis explained.
Splash previously operated near by at 527 North Bedford Road. Its then-landlord, Shullman Family Limited Partnership, has been owned by the same family as Russell Speeders, which is another car wash company that now occupies the site. Splash is suing both its former landlord and Russell Speeders.
It is alleged, as part of the lawsuit, that defense told employees and customers that Splash would be out of business, that the position as landlord was abused. Additionally, it is alleged that land-use attorney David Squirrell, who represents DeFeo, was backed by the defense. Subpoeas were sought to get testimony from DeFeo and Squirrell but they were quashed by Judge Joan Lefkowitz at a Jan. 6 court appearance.
Splash was ordered, by Bedford Town Justice Erik Jacobsen, to leave its previous site. Its lease
Meanwhile, Splash still has a local presence, which according to Curtis is meant to be temporary. It announced that it has a place for detailing, which is located at 114 Green Lane in Bedford Hills, which is the site of North State Custom. Curtis is satisfied with how business has been at the site, which does
Additionally, Splash is slated to open at a second temporary location, which will include detail and car wash components. Curtis declined, for now, to say where the other place is.
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