Group Forms To Oppose Wilmington Car Wash

WILMINGTON, MA -- A group calling itself No New Car Wash In Wilmington is organizing opposition to a car wash being proposed for the vacant Sonic Burger restaurant on Main Street. The group's Website does not make clear who is behind the group and there is no contact information listed under the "Contact Us" portion of the page.

What the Web site does include is a list of Wilmington public officials and their contact information, dates for meetings when the proposed car wash will be discussed, and facts about the proposal, the environmental and traffic impacts of car washes and information on the company behind the proposal.

Nouria Energy Retail Inc. filed plans with the town of Wilmington to build a car wash at 220 Main Street, a site that has sat empty for 17 months since a Sonic Burger restaurant abruptly close. Wilmington Planning Director Valerie Gingrich told the Wilmington Apple news blog, which first reported this story, that the plan calls for just a car wash with no gas station.

In addition to running 25 car washes in New England, Nouria supplies gasoline to a portfolio of New England gas stations. The proposed car wash would be 1.2 miles from TritonWash -- another Wilmington car wash located on Main Street. The developer will meet with the Wilmington Planning Board on August 7.

Last year a similar group, Concerned Citizens of Wilmington, mustered opposition against a proposed, drug treatment facility on Middlesex Avenue. The group was successful in getting a town meeting article passed limiting where such facilities can be located, and has delayed the proposal.

For more on this story, see the No New Car Wash In Wilmington Web site. Subscribe to Wilmington Patch for more local news and real-time alerts.

File photo of vacant Sonic Burger in Wilmington by Dave Copeland/Patch.