Wednesday
September 18, 2024 
In late October, Newtown Township denied the preliminary final land development plan for a Super Wawa gas station and convenience store proposed at the corner of Lower Silver Lake Road and the Newtown Bypass.
After hearing the board and public weigh in, Chairmain Dennis Fisher called the question and the application was denied by a 3-2 vote. Supervisors Mack, Snyder, and Kyle Davis voted to deny the proposal while Fisher and Philip Calabro voted in favor. The township is now looking at potential legal action from the developer for denying the plan.
It was the latest development in a process spanning over four years between the township and Provco Pinegood Newtown LLC (Wawa’s developer).
The plan proposed to construct a 5,585-square-foot convenience store with front and rear accessibility and six fuel dispensers. The plan also called for 60 parking spaces, two air pump stations, and one electric charging station.
Attorney John VanLuvanee on behalf of Provco gave the board a brief overview of how the plan got to this point, “This project started out essentially as a cooperative project with the township supervisors’ blessings four years ago.”
VanLuvanee described how his clients followed up with the township throughout the process, eventually culminating in a township ordinance being approved in September that created a special zoning exception for a combination gas station and convenience store use.
After having several variances challenged by the township in subsequent months, Provco went back and revised its plan. Newtown’s zoning hearing board then approved the plan but the township planning commission deadlocked on a vote to recommend approval to the board of supervisors this past spring.
VanLuvanee described the plan as “the only Wawa in America without signs” thanks to the township’ successfully challenging a waiver on signage earlier this year. He also added, “This is a very clean plan. It seems to me that there’s no basis to turn the plan down for a use that’s already been permitted and vetted by the zoning hearing board.”
Multiple supervisors brought up concerns regarding the plan, including John Mack, who stated that the township had the discretion to limit the hours of operation of the store (currently proposed as 24/7) as there is a residential use within 750 feet of the subject property line.
VanLuvanee said he consulted with members of Community Crossings Church, which owns the residential uses in question and they had no objection to the 24/7 operation.
Supervisor Elen Snyder brought up some concerns she had with the plan, mainly regarding environmental issues including the possible addition of solar panels and charging stations. She also brought up a concern about the effect the Wawa gas station may have on smaller family-owned gas stations.
Fisher indicated his intention to vote in favor. “I know there’s a lot of people in the community that would like a Wawa, I know there’s some that don’t ... I believe through the land development process, we as a board have more control rather than if this goes gets decided by the court.”
Following up, Mack said, “I believe that Wawa or Provco or whoever is in charge here is not making a good faith effort to follow our ordinance and in fact every step of the way has challenged the ordinance, even calling certain things in the ordinance silly and they have no respect for our laws and no respect for what our residents may or may not want.”
Snyder added, “I think you had a chance to make this Wawa way more environmentally friendly. ... Yes, you have plants and native trees. I appreciate that. Other than that, there’s not much to address climate change in the future.”
Members of the public then weighed in on the plan, with most being against. “Tonight you’re voting on changes not to a gas station and a convenience store but to a travel plaza,” said resident Bob Seeger. “This huge plaza that’s projected is as big as any on the turnpike here, in New Jersey, or on a New York State thruway, that’s what we’re adding to Newtown.”
Resident Jed Hollerbach added, “Many people have expressed concern of our greenway turning into Street Road or Roosevelt Boulevard, a heavily trafficked and dangerous highway surrounded by big box chains and parking lots blight and sprawl. Not only that, but if traffic gets worse in the bypass, more people will opt to drive on the back roads through Newtown.”
On the flip side, resident Cesar Primus said, “The thing that really bothers me is that piece of real estate is not going to remain empty forever. Somebody’s going to go in there.”
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