Proposed car wash at Snyder Square moves toward approval in Hatfield Township
Developers say Cowpath Road facility can queue more than 30 vehicles without impacting shopping center traffic
A proposed automated car wash at Snyder Square Shopping Center moved another step closer to approval Wednesday night as developers presented updated land development plans to the Hatfield Township Board of Commissioners.
The project, proposed for 1510 Cowpath Road within the Snyder Square Shopping Center, would construct a 5,561-square-foot car wash on the final undeveloped pad site along Cowpath Road near the existing Giant gas station, according to plans submitted to the township.
Attorney Joe Bagley, representing the applicant, outlined the proposal during the township’s Planning and Zoning Committee report discussion led by Commissioner Karla D’Alessio.
“This is the last pad site that has frontage on Cowpath Road in Snyder Square Shopping Center,” Bagley told commissioners.
The proposal calls for a single-tunnel automated car wash with a queuing lane, payment kiosks, vacuum stations and angled parking spaces. Vehicles would enter from Snyder Square Drive, proceed through designated stacking lanes toward payment kiosks and then continue through the wash tunnel before exiting toward vacuum stalls and eventually back into the shopping center circulation pattern.
Bagley emphasized the site was specifically designed to avoid vehicle backups spilling into the rest of the shopping center.
“It’s a really good layout for stacking of cars for queuing,” Bagley said. “You can stack 32 cars in the spaces there.”
According to township traffic review documents prepared by Bowman Consulting Group, revised circulation patterns addressed earlier concerns regarding internal traffic flow and potential congestion. The updated layout separates ingress and egress traffic near the Giant gas station and keeps queued vehicles fully within the lease area.
Township engineer Bryan McAdam confirmed the revised plans satisfied engineering concerns raised during earlier reviews.
“There was quite a bit of discussion about the circulation patterns,” McAdam said. “They did provide a revised layout to show different circulation pattern to address the town traffic engineer’s concerns about queuing in general.”
McAdam added that an exhibit presented to the planning commission demonstrated that approximately 32 to 34 vehicles could queue within the property boundaries “that will not get outside and spill over into the rest of the shopping center.”
The proposed facility would include 16 vacuum stalls and parking for employees, with one to three staff members working during operating hours. Developers said the car wash would operate from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sundays.
Traffic studies submitted to the township compared the proposed Hatfield location to larger car wash operations in Maryland and Virginia, which developers said averaged roughly 20 vehicles during peak-hour operations at substantially larger facilities.
“If somebody pulls up and sees that there’s a line of cars, a car wash is generally optional,” Bagley said. “You can move off until you find the line palatable that you want to get into.”
Township review letters show the development previously received special exception approval from the Hatfield Township Zoning Hearing Board in October 2025.
Engineering review documents additionally noted the project would slightly reduce impervious surface coverage at the site compared to previous approved retail plans, while continuing to utilize the shopping center’s existing underground stormwater management system.
The township planning commission previously recommended approval of both the land development application and associated waiver requests, according to Bagley.
Township officials indicated a formal resolution for approval is expected to come before commissioners at their next meeting.
