A request to locate an automotive tire change and oil service business on the northeast corner of South 51st Street and Bentley Drive in West Des Moines met with an adamant “no” from two City Council members this week.

Express Oil Change and Tire Engineers has been looking for a place along Mills Civic Parkway to open a retail store for several months, Andy Golden, a senior project manager with the Birmingham, Ala.-based company this week told members of the West Des Moines Development and Planning Committee, a council subcommittee.

The parcel is the only one available in the area that meets the company’s criteria, Golden said.

The property, however, is part of a planned unit development, and zoning within the area doesn’t allow for automotive service businesses. In addition, the parcel would share a driveway with Grand Living at Tower Place, a senior citizen residence.

Council members Matt McKinney and Doug Loots both did not like the idea of a shared driveway and neither wanted to make changes in the zoning to allow for the proposed development. City staff told the council members that if the zoning was changed to accommodate Express Oil’s request, it would set a precedent for similar requests in other planned unit developments.

“We’d love to accommodate your business here but I’m just skeptical of making changes to the PUD and then doing it everywhere else,” Loots said. “I would love to have you here but I don’t know that this is the right spot, for a variety of reasons.”