Neighbors from the Lakeside/Grama Street area told the Wheat Ridge City Council on Dec. 8 that noise from Auto Wash operations has disturbed homes and businesses and urged enforcement of the city's noise and special-use permit rules.

Gretchen Josten, who said she lives near the site, urged the council to cite the business for violating Wheat Ridge City Code section 16-103 and to consider operational restrictions: “We as long standing neighbors... have given and given and been patient throughout the year of Auto Wash's noncompliant operations,” she said. Janice Fasinelli, a veterinary-practice owner on Grama Street, said interior decibel measurements sometimes reached about "65‑66" and told council that the dryers in particular were the problem.

City staff and the city attorney advised the council that, to their knowledge, no formal notice of violation had been issued yet. Staff said the community development department is working to engage independent sound engineers to conduct additional testing at several properties to develop a disciplined, post-mitigation data baseline before pursuing summons or municipal-court action. Staff also said they are checking whether the business’ hours-of-operation software changes are functioning as intended and have asked police to increase patrols in the area during hours the operator agreed to limit operations.

Councilors asked whether voluntary curfews the operator offered (7 a.m.–10 p.m.) are enforceable. Police and licensing staff explained that enforcement of business hours is typically handled through business licensing and code compliance rather than immediate police action; police can support by providing presence and decibel readings for enforcement cases. Councilors asked staff to follow up with the operator, confirm the current operating protocols (software and door-closing behavior), and proceed with independent testing.

Neighbors requested citations and operational restrictions; staff said they prefer to gather more comprehensive data post-mitigation to determine whether violations persist and whether municipal-court action is warranted. Councilors from affected districts requested a study session to review special‑use permit rules for noise-prone unattended businesses and to consider limits on unattended 24/7 operations.

Next steps recorded in the meeting transcript: city staff to locate independent sound engineers for additional testing, coordinate with police and code compliance on enforcement options, and report back to council on findings and recommended next steps.