Mission repeals car wash moratorium following termination of federal lawsuit
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Mission city leaders voted on Tuesday to rescind an ordinance that put a six-month pause on new car washes in the area.
The motion was made the same day a federal judge terminated a lawsuit that called the ordinance “invalid and unenforceable,” court records show.
A spokesperson for the city of Mission confirmed to Channel 5 News the repeal was made over the dismissal of the lawsuit.
“The lawsuit was rescinded. Therefore we will not be commenting since there is no more lawsuit,” the spokesperson said.
The ordinance was initially approved unanimously during a March 24, 2026, city council meeting over concerns about water conservation and too many businesses in one area.
The lawsuit was filed on April 17 and names Ricardo Salinas as one of the plaintiffs.
Salinas is a candidate for mayor in the city’s upcoming election, and was also identified as the owner of Medusa Investments, LLC, a company that was attempting to sell property in the city to develop a car wash.
The property was eligible for car wash development under a city ordinance that restricts car washes from being built within one mile of each other, according to the original lawsuit.
The lawsuit alleges that when Mission Mayor Norie Gonzalez learned of the property falling outside the one-mile buffer, she led the effort to pass a six-month moratorium on new car washes.
Salinas alleged that Gonzalez’s actions were politically motivated and taken in retaliation for running against her in the mayoral election.
The restriction was “not a genuine planning measure but a targeted and retaliatory attempt to block the sale of Medusa’s property, prevent the car wash project, and strip plaintiffs of vested rights already in place,” the lawsuit stated.
However, a notice filed on Monday said that last week, the city of Mission informed property buyers that the property was “measured wrong” and Medusa’s property was “indeed within the one-mile radius and not outside the one-mile radius.”
"This negligent behavior on behalf of the city of Mission materially affected several people and cost them a lot of time and money," the filing said. "This material bungle by the city of Mission left no choice but for plaintiffs to reassess their claims, which resulted in avoidable expenditure of time and resources by many."
The case was terminated the following day.
Channel 5 News reached out to Salinas for comment on Wednesday afternoon. He said he was pleased with the outcome and still planned to develop the property — just not as a car wash.
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