The public has until Jan. 11, 2026, to send in comments regarding a proposal for a zoning variance that would allow a local Cruz Bay business to construct a car wash.
The Department of Planning and Natural Resources held an online meeting Tuesday morning to hear testimony from Greg and Josephine Edward, owners of Courtesy Car Wash, LLC. The Edwards secured a lease from the Property and Procurement Department in 2022 for the .07-acre site, which is located across the road from their car rental business, Courtesy Car & Jeep Rental.
The property — Plot No. 300-B Revised Cruz Bay Town — is owned by the government of the Virgin Islands and is zoned as Public, but the Edwards must obtain a variance to operate a car wash business.
The site, comprising less than 3,000 square feet, has no structures on it now other than a concrete slab, the remnants of a restaurant once known as Etta’s that closed years ago.
If the variance is granted, the Edwards plan to demolish the concrete slab and construct a two-story building with a basement. The first story will include three stations for power washing cars, plus an additional station for hand washing.
The second story will include three offices, a waiting area, a small kitchen, and a balcony. Josephine Edward said the offices would be used solely by the business. Parking for staff would be available across the road at the car rental site.
Plans call for installation of a video surveillance system, solar lighting, a standby generator, water drainage system, fencing and landscaping.
Once the permits are in place, Edward said she expects construction to take about a year and a half. The 30-year lease specifies a monthly rent of $2,000 with options to extend up to 20 additional years. The rent can be reassessed every five years.
Edward said she hopes to provide a service that is not currently available on St. John. She said rates for interior and exterior cleaning will be competitive with prices on St. Thomas.
The property is located adjacent to the northeast corner of the BMV parking lot, but access to it is from the road that leads to the parking area for St. Ursula’s Episcopal Church.
The previously developed site allows the owners to connect to municipal water, electric and sewage systems. When questioned by DPNR officials, Josephine Edward stated she expects the hours of operation to be 6 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. for power washing and as late as 10 p.m. for handwashing.
At the online meeting, Alecia Wells, representing St. Ursula’s Church, said she had concerns that noise from the car wash could disturb worshippers at the church’s Sunday services.
“I’m a big Sunday person myself,” said Edward. “We will try to get top-of-the-line machines that operate quietly. We will be respectful,” she said.
Anyone who wishes to comment on the proposed zoning variance CCZP0104-25 may send comments by Jan. 11 to leia.laplace@dpnr.vi.gov.
Once the comment period ends, DPNR staff have 30 days to make a recommendation to approve, deny or amend the zoning request. The final recommendation is signed by the DPNR commissioner and sent to the Senate’s Committee of the Whole for a hearing. It is then scheduled for a vote by the Senate.
