Surrey city council told city staff to scrub plans for a car wash at 8407 King George Blvd. after 199 locals formally opposed the idea.

Many residents made their presence known at Monday's council meeting while several residents of the area brought forward their concerns about the proposed facility, noting the land could be better used for something else.

Coun. Tom Gill addressed the concerns and introduced the idea of sending the proposal back to staff.

"That site is a very tough site in terms of being able to develop," said Gill before issuing a motion of referral. "I think this is an interesting opportunity for us to improve the network on King George in terms of not only beautification, but really look at what kind of businesses are offering services to our community along that stretch."

Coun. Barinder Rasode sided with Gill and also noted the public opposition for the proposal.

"I do believe the applicant has not done their due diligence in terms of consultation with the community," she said. "This is a significant number of people who came opposed to an application, probably higher than I've seen for some time.

"It's very important and critical that we be insightful of how we're going to be developing transit-oriented neighbourhoods."

Coun. Linda Hepner said she would be in support of a better development at the site other than a car wash.

Council also approved the development of a commercial building with a drive-thru restaurant - rumoured to be a Tim Hortons - in the area of 132nd Street and 58A Avenue just north of Highway 10. jacobzinn@gmail.com

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