Senoia business owner Greg Crook will be able to open his car wash after all.

After months of discussion with residents, the Planning Commission and the City Council, Crook left Monday night’s City Council meeting with a variance that will allow him to start moving dirt on the site.

Splash Car Wash will be located next to Crook’s Tire Center on Ga. Highway 16. But because of stricter standards, the Department of Transportation rejected Crook’s plan to access the car wash from the state highway.

Instead, Crook has to create an entrance on Bridge Street, which made some of the neighbors nervous.

On Monday night, he sought a variance that would allow the entrance on Bridge Street, without widening the road to 28 feet, which is required for commercial businesses.

“I really don’t think anybody wants to see the street widened,” he said.

The other alternative offered by city administrator Richard Ferry would be to create a driveway to the car wash by building a road from the convenience store, behind the tire center and to the new business.

“That would destroy a lot of my convenience store business,” he said.

Crook also presented the City Council with research that indicated just over two cars an hour would be accessing the carwash from Bridge Street.

“I think that’s a lot less traffic than when the bridge was open and people used it more,” he said.

The City Council agreed with Crook and unanimously granted his variance.