Residents concerned about new car wash

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (Dakota News Now) -

Another Silverstar Car Wash location is coming to Sioux Falls, but it’s not without some contention.

The new Silverstar will take over the old Verne Eide building, located on Minnesota Avenue, between 23rd and 25th Street, but residents in the nearby area are not happy to see the business coming into the neighborhood.

The residents of Sioux Falls’ historic Hayes District pride themselves in their quaint neighborhood. Now with a Silverstar Car Wash entering the area, some residents are voicing their concerns about increased noise levels, higher traffic volume, and maintaining property value.

“With more traffic comes more risk of kids getting hurt, injured, even killed,” Resident of the Hayes Historic District, Joel Wallner, said.

Sioux Falls City Council made the final decision at Tuesday’s city council meeting, voting 6-2 in favor of the conditional use permit for the car wash. However, that decision did not come without opposition, as many residents from the area showed up to speak during the meeting’s public input portion.

“I’m not overly concerned that a car wash is going into that location, because it is already zoned commercial, so they can’t change that back to anything else,” Sioux Falls City Councilor Curt Soehl said. “If they were trying expand into the Hayes Historic District that would be a whole different discussion at that point.”

Silverstar says they have taken the proper measure to ensure that the facility fits within all of the area’s ordinances, and won’t have a negative impact on the nearby homes.

”We’ve done a sound study, we know what we’re capable of doing, we know the mitigation that needs to be put in place to make this a successful project, for us to live harmoniously with that neighborhood,” Wade Behm, Vice President of Hegg Construction, said.

City officials say that if Silverstar doesn’t comply with the efforts they plan to put in place they will have to adjust accordingly before opening for business.