Published 12 September 2026 · By Jatin Dua, Broker of Record, RE/MAX Quantum Realty
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Get My Free Estimate →In Toronto, the physical requirements for a car wash are conditions on the licence, not design suggestions. Municipal Code § 545-270 E opens by saying that no such public garage shall be used for the washing or cleaning of motor vehicles unless every applicable provision has been complied with. Those provisions carry exact numbers. The point at which cars leave the car wash building must be at least 12 metres from the street line of the street they will enter. Waiting spaces must be rectangular, six metres by three. A dry mechanical wash needs at least 24 of them in not more than two waiting lines. So before you value the business, measure the lot.
The site rules are licence conditions, and they carry real numbers
Most buyers treat a car wash lot as a given. It is built, it is operating, so the layout must be fine. That fails in two directions. A site can be operating on a licence that predates a change in the layout. And a site can be compliant for the sub-type it is licensed as, while the sub-type you intend to run needs more stacking or a ramp further from the intersection.
Section 545-270 A defines four sub-types, each with its own requirements: a dry mechanical car wash, where the car moves through a series of cleaning and drying processes; a wet mechanical car wash, cleaning only; a stationary mechanical car wash, where the vehicle remains stationary throughout; and a manual car wash, washing by means of a hand-held device. Section 545-270 B exempts a bay within a service station where the floor area is not primarily used for car washing. Establish the sub-type in writing with Municipal Licensing and Standards before you make the numbers work, because it determines everything below.
Zoning comes first, and the interactive map will not answer it
Toronto Zoning By-law 569-2013 is a comprehensive, city-wide by-law, but the City flags two traps. Some properties remain subject to former municipal by-laws, and are shaded grey on the interactive map. And some provisions of 569-2013 are under appeal to the Ontario Land Tribunal and are not in full force and effect.
Permissions are also layered: a permitted use table of uses allowed outright, then conditional permissions for uses allowed only if they comply with specific conditions, then use-specific conditions. Site-specific exceptions live in Chapter 900 and can override the base zone, and definitions live in Chapter 800, where the defined meaning of a use term controls rather than the ordinary meaning.
I am not going to tell you whether a car wash is permitted at a given Toronto address, and neither should anyone else without a City review. The City’s four-step method is: find the property and its zoning on the interactive map, review the permitted uses and conditions in the zone, check Chapter 900 for site-specific exceptions, then review city-wide and use-specific regulations. Then get it confirmed. A Zoning Use Review assesses whether specified uses are permitted at a location under the current applicable by-law, at $214.79 per registered lot, with no plans required. A Zoning Applicable Law Certificate is the more detailed pre-permit review; the former Zoning Certificate and Preliminary Project Review have been discontinued and replaced by it. That sequencing is the point of a properly drafted zoning condition.
Stacking and queuing: the by-law counts your waiting spaces for you
This is the part most likely to break a deal on a small urban lot. Under § 545-270 E(2), vehicle waiting spaces must be rectangular and six metres long by three metres wide, on lands forming part of and contiguous to the premises. Waiting lines must be clearly defined by approved markings or barriers, the minimum inside turning radius is seven metres, and the waiting line must be physically separated from all other traffic movements.
| Sub-type | Minimum waiting spaces, § 545-270 E(2) | Entrance ramp distance from a major intersection, E(3) |
|---|---|---|
| Dry mechanical car wash | At least 24 spaces, in not more than two waiting lines | Not less than 45 metres |
| Wet mechanical car wash | At least 14 spaces, in not more than two lines | Not less than 45 metres |
| Stationary mechanical car wash | At least seven spaces in tandem | Not less than 30 metres |
| Manual car wash | At least two spaces in tandem before each washing bay, or the total in up to two lines with at least nine metres’ clearance between the waiting line and the nearest wash bay | Not less than 30 metres |
Do the arithmetic on the actual lot before you accept the vendor’s throughput story. Twenty-four spaces at six metres each, in two lines, is a real dimension, and it must fit on land forming part of and contiguous to the premises. Customer and staff parking is a separate question, one I have written about in the context of what a parking clause should actually say.
Driveways, the exit setback, paving, screening and lighting
Driveways, under E(3): a one-way driveway shall not be over six metres or under three metres in width; a two-way driveway not over nine metres or under six metres; a one-way driveway serving more than one facility not more than seven metres. At the street line, driveways must be located not less than 1.5 metres from the property line of any land used in connection with the public garage, and one-way driveways must be clearly signed.
Then: under E(1), the point at which cars leave the car wash building must be at least 12 metres from the street line of the street they will enter when leaving. Under E(5), all outside areas used for the parking, storage or operation of motor vehicles shall be paved. Under E(4), where the premises are adjacent to a residential area, the boundary must be screened in a manner approved by the Executive Director. Under E(7), during hours of business a minimum illumination of 8.61 lux must be provided at all parts of the premises used as a public garage. And under § 545-270 D, for premises not licensed in the previous year, Ministry of Labour-approved ventilation plans must be produced before a licence issues.
Drainage: everything to the sewer, and a sand trap in every wash line
Two separate by-laws hit the same drain, and buyers usually know about neither. The licensing side, § 545-270 E(6), is short and absolute: all external and internal drainage shall be connected directly to sewers, and a sand trap shall be installed in each drain line connecting a washing area to the sewers. Not one trap for the site. One in each drain line connecting a washing area.
The sewers side, Chapter 681 § 681-14 D(4), is the car-wash-specific interceptor rule: every owner or operator of an industrial vehicle or equipment wash operation, or of a premise where sand, grit or similar materials is discharged to a municipal sewer connection or a municipal sewer, shall install, operate and properly maintain an interceptor designed for the purpose of intercepting such discharges, in any piping system connecting directly or indirectly to a municipal sewer. It must be installed in compliance with the most current requirements of the Building Code. Two neighbouring rules matter too: under D(2), private-property catch basins collecting storm water for municipal storm sewers shall be equipped with goss traps or an equivalent, and under D(3), no combination of a maintenance access hole and catch basin shall be installed on private property.
A note on terminology, because it causes confusion. Consultants talk about an oil-grit separator. The by-law’s own language is interceptors, sand traps and goss traps, and where a site also handles vehicle fluids, § 681-14 C(1) requires an oil interceptor to prevent motor oil and lubricating grease from passing into the drainage piping, installed in compliance with the Building Code. I will not quote you a Building Code article number for any of these, because I have not verified one, and a wrong citation in a condition is worse than none.
What you may discharge, and the consent mechanism
Sanitary and combined sewer limits are in § 681-2 Table 1: oil and grease of mineral or synthetic origin at 15 mg/L, suspended solids at 350 mg/L, pH above 6.0 and below 11.5. Storm sewer limits sit in Table 2 under § 681-4.
The City’s guidance on commercial car wash discharge is direct: these facilities are required to follow practices determined by the City, including treating wastewater and discharging it into the sanitary sewer. On outdoor washing, no substances other than rain and melted snow can be poured or allowed to flow into an outdoor catch basin, because soaps and dislodged contaminants will violate storm sewer limits.
Where a discharge would otherwise be prohibited, § 681-6 is the consent mechanism: an industrial waste surcharge agreement, a sanitary discharge agreement or a hauled sewage discharge agreement, on terms set by the General Manager. Section 681-7 allows an approved compliance program while treatment works are installed. Find out whether the site is operating under one, and get the document.
The short version
The numbers in § 545-270 E are conditions on the licence, and a lot either satisfies them or does not: 12 metres from the exit point to the street line, six by three metre waiting spaces, 24 of them for a dry mechanical wash, ramps 45 metres from a major intersection for mechanical washes and 30 metres for the rest. All drainage goes directly to sewers with a sand trap in each wash drain line, plus an interceptor under Chapter 681. Nothing in Ontario law requires you to recycle the water. And no map answers the zoning question, so buy the City review.
Water consumption and recycling: what is required, and what is not
I could not locate any Ontario statute, regulation or Toronto by-law that mandates water recycling or recirculation at a commercial car wash. Toronto’s Best Management Practices for Automotive Service Facilities treats recirculation as a practice to consider rather than a requirement, and the Ministry’s material on water reclamation and reuse sits in a guidance manual.
I also cannot give you a consumption figure per vehicle, per bay or per tunnel, because no primary source I found publishes one. Get the site’s actual metered water and sewer billing for a full year, because the seasonal swing on a GTA wash is real and a single quarter tells you very little.
The permit side is simpler. The Ministry states that a Permit To Take Water is required if you plan to take 50,000 or more litres of water in a day from the environment, under the Ontario Water Resources Act and O. Reg. 387/04. Municipal supply is not a taking from the environment. A well is. And EASR registrations are specific to the holder and do not transfer on a sale, so a new owner registers in its own name.
Environmental exposure on a site that has handled vehicle fluids
Here is a distinction worth getting right, because it cuts both ways. A car wash is not one of the uses that mandates a Phase Two environmental site assessment. O. Reg. 153/04 s. 32(1)(b)(ii) names only a garage, a bulk liquid dispensing facility including a gasoline outlet, and the operation of dry cleaning equipment. For a car wash, a Phase Two is required for RSC purposes only under s. 32(1)(a), where the Phase One identifies a potentially contaminating activity on, in or under the property.
That is thinner comfort than it sounds. Plenty of GTA wash sites sit on or beside former service stations, and the phase one study area extends to any other property located wholly or partly within 250 metres of a boundary. If a prior garage or gasoline outlet use turns up on the property itself, the mandatory limb bites after all.
Meanwhile the liability rule does not care what the site is called. Environmental Protection Act s. 18(1) lets the Director order a person who owns or owned or who has or had management or control of an undertaking or property to monitor, study, report and develop plans, with no requirement of fault, and s. 19(1) binds any successor or assignee to an existing order, approval or certificate of property use. That is why the environmental clause has to be drafted around the qualified person’s actual schedule.
Change of use, and when the Building Code gets involved
If you intend to change what the building is used for, two rules engage. Under the Building Code Act, 1992 s. 10(1), even though no construction is proposed, no person shall change the use of a building or part of a building if the change would result in an increase in hazard as determined in accordance with the building code, unless a permit has been issued by the chief building official. Under s. 10(2) the chief building official must issue the permit unless the building as proposed would contravene the Act, the building code or any other applicable law, the application is incomplete, or fees are unpaid. That phrase, any other applicable law, is the hook that makes zoning compliance a permit condition.
The City of Toronto states the requirement without the hazard qualifier: even if no construction is proposed, if a change of use is proposed a building permit is required, and even if a building permit is not required, compliance with the Zoning By-law is required. Treat that as the operating rule inside Toronto and confirm with the chief building official. The current Code is O. Reg. 163/24, adopting the National Building Code of Canada 2020 as amended by the Ontario amendments document, which has been re-dated several times in 2025 and 2026, so cite the current version. If this is on your path, the permit belongs in a building permit condition.
A separate point, and a relief: O. Reg. 153/04 s. 11(2) provides that a reference to a change in the use of a property does not include a reference to a change in the zoning of the property under a municipal by-law. Rezoning alone does not trigger a Record of Site Condition. Changing to a residential, parkland or institutional use does.
What I verify before the offer goes firm
Measured drawings of the lot against § 545-270 E, not a sketch. The licence sub-type and status from Municipal Licensing and Standards. The zoning position from a City review, not a map. The distance to the nearest land zoned to permit residential uses, because it drives screening under E(4) and, for a manual coin-operated wash, the overnight hours restriction under § 545-270 F. The drainage: sand traps in each wash drain line, the Chapter 681 interceptor, goss traps on private catch basins, and any § 681-6 agreement or § 681-7 compliance program on file.
Then the pollution prevention filing, because car washes are a named subject sector under NAICS 811192 in Appendix 1 to Chapter 681. Then a full year of metered water and sewer billing, and the environmental file. None of this is exotic, and none of it gets done properly in a ten-day condition period. Build the calendar first, then write the offer around it.
How many waiting spaces does a car wash lot need in Toronto?
It depends on the sub-type, under Municipal Code § 545-270 E(2). A dry mechanical car wash needs at least 24 spaces in not more than two waiting lines. A wet mechanical car wash needs at least 14 in not more than two lines. A stationary mechanical car wash needs at least seven in tandem. A manual car wash needs at least two in tandem before each washing bay, or the total spaces in up to two lines with at least nine metres’ clearance between the waiting line and the nearest wash bay. Each space must be rectangular and six metres long by three metres wide.
How far must the entrance ramp be from an intersection?
Under § 545-270 E(3), entrance ramps to a dry or wet mechanical car wash shall be not less than 45 metres from any major intersection, and ramps to a stationary mechanical or manual car wash not less than 30 metres. The same subsection sets driveway widths: one-way not over six metres or under three metres, two-way not over nine metres or under six metres, and a one-way driveway serving more than one facility not more than seven metres.
Can you tell me whether a car wash is permitted at a specific Toronto address?
No, and I would be careful of anyone who says they can from a map. Zoning By-law 569-2013 is city-wide, but some properties remain subject to former municipal by-laws and some provisions are under appeal to the Ontario Land Tribunal and are not in full force and effect. Permissions are layered across permitted use tables, conditional permissions and use-specific conditions, with site-specific exceptions in Chapter 900 and controlling definitions in Chapter 800. Get a Zoning Use Review or a Zoning Applicable Law Certificate from the City.
Am I required to install an oil-grit separator?
The by-law does not use that term. What it requires is interception. Section 545-270 E(6)(b) requires a sand trap in each drain line connecting a washing area to the sewers. Chapter 681 § 681-14 D(4) requires an interceptor designed to intercept sand, grit or similar materials, installed in compliance with the most current requirements of the Building Code. Where the site also handles vehicle fluids, § 681-14 C(1) requires an oil interceptor to prevent motor oil and lubricating grease from passing into the drainage piping. Your engineer specifies the unit that satisfies those requirements.
Do I have to recycle the wash water?
Not under any Ontario statute, regulation or Toronto by-law I could locate. Toronto’s Best Management Practices for Automotive Service Facilities treats recirculation as a pollution-prevention practice to consider, not a requirement, and the Ministry’s water reclamation and reuse material is guidance in a manual. What is mandatory is connecting all drainage directly to sewers, the sand traps, the Chapter 681 interceptor, and compliance with the discharge limits in § 681-2 Table 1 and § 681-4 Table 2.
How much water does a car wash use?
I do not know, and no primary source I located publishes a per-vehicle, per-bay or per-tunnel figure for Ontario. That is exactly why I would not quote one. Get the property’s metered water and sewer billing for a full twelve months, and the hydro alongside it. A GTA wash has a pronounced seasonal pattern, so a single quarter or a vendor’s annual average is not enough to build an operating model on.
Does a car wash need a Phase Two environmental site assessment?
Not automatically. O. Reg. 153/04 s. 32(1)(b)(ii) names a garage, a bulk liquid dispensing facility including a gasoline outlet, and the operation of dry cleaning equipment. A car wash is not on that list, so for RSC purposes a Phase Two is required only under s. 32(1)(a), where the Phase One identifies a potentially contaminating activity on, in or under the property. But the phase one study area reaches 250 metres, and a former garage or gas bar in the property’s own history brings the mandatory limb back into play.
If I change the use of the building, what do I need?
Under the Building Code Act, 1992 s. 10(1), a permit is required for a change of use even where no construction is proposed, if the change would result in an increase in hazard as determined in accordance with the building code. Section 10(2) requires the chief building official to issue it unless the proposed use would contravene the Act, the code or any other applicable law, the application is incomplete, or fees are unpaid. Toronto states the requirement unconditionally and adds that compliance with the Zoning By-law is required whether or not a permit is. Confirm with the chief building official.
Sources
- City of Toronto — Municipal Code Chapter 545, Licensing
- City of Toronto — Municipal Code Chapter 681, Sewers
- City of Toronto — Washing cars and outdoor surfaces
- City of Toronto — Zoning By-law 569-2013
- Ontario e-Laws — O. Reg. 153/04, Records of Site Condition
- Ontario e-Laws — Building Code Act, 1992
- Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks — Permits to Take Water
- City of Toronto — Best Management Practices for Automotive Service Facilities
MEASURE THE LOT BEFORE YOU PRICE THE BUSINESS
On a car wash, the licence conditions attach to dimensions you cannot change after closing. If you are looking at a site in Toronto, Etobicoke, Mississauga or the wider GTA, I can help you work out what the City needs to confirm, in what order, and how much calendar the offer needs to allow for it.
Book a 15-minute call or call or text 833-330-1925.
Every municipal citation in this post is City of Toronto. If your site is in Mississauga, Brampton, Vaughan or Markham, the by-law numbers and the distances will be different, and I would rather say so than let you assume otherwise.
More in this series
Jatin Dua is Broker of Record and co-founder of RE/MAX Quantum Realty, Brokerage, Unit 101, 799 The Queensway, Etobicoke. Four-plus years in the GTA and more than $100M in sales volume. He works on commercial and business purchases across Toronto and the west GTA.
This is general professional commentary from a Broker of Record on commercial and business acquisitions in Ontario. It is not legal, tax or accounting advice, and it does not create any professional relationship. Whether a licence transfers, how a purchase should be structured, what tax applies and what a regulator will require on your particular file are questions for your lawyer, your accountant and the regulator itself. Rules, fees and published requirements change — verify anything you intend to rely on against the primary source on the day you rely on it.