Indio Planning Commission delays Madison Pointe project over car wash dispute

The Indio Planning Commission voted unanimously Wednesday to delay action on the Madison Pointe Phase 1 project, directing the developer to remove a proposed Quick Quack car wash from the plan and return with a revised design before the application moves forward to the City Council.

The decision came after commissioners raised concerns that a drive-through car wash was inconsistent with the pedestrian-friendly vision established for the Highway 111 corridor, where auto-centric uses have long been a point of contention. The commission voted to continue the item to its March 25 meeting.

The project, proposed by Schmid Desert Investments LLC at the southwest corner of Highway 111 and Madison Street next to the existing Walgreens, calls for four buildings on 4.8 acres as the first phase of a larger 20.2-acre mixed-use development.

The phase one plan includes a 2,400-square-foot Starbucks with a drive-through, the Quick Quack car wash, an ultra-fast EV charging station with a convenience store, and a 5,500-square-foot multi-tenant retail building.

Paul DePalatis, identified as the senior planning advisor for the applicant, told commissioners the project’s commercial uses were designed to serve future residents of the larger development. “If you’re living in one of these medium density housing units next to it, you probably like to have a place to wash your car,” DePalatis said. “Having a car wash convenient to your car charger will be a plus.”

The project last came before the commission in October 2025, when then-Vice Chair Gloria Franz warned the developer that the city had consistently rejected auto-related uses along Highway 111. “I’m not on council,” Franz said at that meeting. “But I wanted to give you a heads up that [Quick Quack has] come here before, multiple times, and it has not worked out for them.”

Despite that warning, the applicant returned Wednesday with the car wash still included in the plan. Commissioners again expressed concern that the use would undermine the corridor’s long-term planning goals.

A staff report noted drive-throughs and car washes require City Council approval through a conditional use permit. Staff presented commissioners with two options: recommend approval or recommend denial based on findings that the project did not meet the corridor’s place-making vision.

“We want to make sure that [the corridor] has a strong visual identity and a strong focus on pedestrians and not drive-throughs, and that it creates a unique sense of place,” a staff member said.

Franz said at Wednesday’s meeting, “The car wash is not something that has ever been the vision for Highway 111 and they’ve come before us multiple times from different developers over the years. And the answer has always been the same: not on Highway 111.”

Commissioner Michael Slater echoed that concern, noting the proximity of other developments taking shape nearby. “I’m just unsure — I understand the need for a car wash and that it’ll be utilized, but I’m not sure how, in the grand scheme of things, how that’s a benefit to the overall residents of Indio,” the commissioner said. “It does place a limit as to what developments can take place there down the line.”

Though Parker Bodily, representing Quick Quack, suggested reorienting the car wash, commissioners went forward with the decision to remove the car wash from the plans.

Staff advised that because removing the car wash would require redesigning site access, parking, and circulation, the full revised package should return to the commission before going to the City Council.

The applicant’s representative agreed to return with a revised plan, telling the commission the changes could be completed quickly if the car wash pad was left vacant as a placeholder.

The Madison Pointe project has undergone significant changes since it was first conceived. The developer originally received Planning Commission approval in November 2022 for a master planned development that included up to 400 senior housing units, a plan that was scrapped after the developer determined it was not financially viable.

The revised residential component calls for approximately 300 market-rate apartments in two- and three-story buildings and a hotel.

The commission’s March 25 meeting will be the next opportunity for the revised project to be heard.

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