Residents to get say on Wawa proposal

By:Al Wicklund
   MONROE — Objectors to a proposed Wawa store and gas station will have their time at bat before the township’s zoning board later this month.
   Wawa is planning to build a convenience store and 10-pump gas station on 7 acres at the intersection of Route 522 and Cranbury-South River Road (Route 535).
   The Pennsylvania-based convenience-store chain began its presentation for a variance to build a commercial facility in an area zoned for residential use at the board’s April 24 meeting.
   The meeting ran into the board’s 11 p.m. cutoff hour before it could get to public comment.
   Members of the public who weren’t heard last month are expected to return to voice their objections at the board’s next meeting, May 29, when the hearing will be continued.
   Stuart Hagerty of Crestwood Circle said he and possibly 20 other residents of the circle, which is off Route 522 near Cranbury-South River Road, will be at the meeting.
   Borough Engineer Ernie Feist said Tuesday he expects there could be 35 to 40 attending that zoning board meeting.
   Mr. Feist said he has taken part in two technical review meetings with Wawa officials.
   "I strongly urged they eliminate the gas station and eliminate a driveway off Route 522. They didn’t respond," he said.
   Mr. Feist said a major concern is the gas station’s underground storage tanks for gasoline in an aquifer recharge area.
   The Wawa plan calls for a 4,676-square-foot store and a canopied gas station. The facility would offer 24-hour-a-day service.
   Wawa previously has had its application denied by the zoning board. It also made an unsuccessful challenge in court. It sought approval by default contending the zoning board had not acted within a time set in state law. The store’s suit was denied by state Superior Court Judge Douglas H. Wolfson.
   In denying the suit, Judge Wolfson sent the matter back to the township zoning board for a complete hearing.