HAMILTON: Residents call for Super Wawa denial

A 5,585-square-foot Super Wawa, including 16 gas pumps and a 7,915-square-foot retail/office building expected to include up to four tenants, is proposed for the former Patterson Chrysler auto dealership site

by James McEvoy, Managing Editor
HAMILTON — For the second meeting in a row residents living next to the site of a proposed Super Wawa called for the Zoning Board of Adjustment to deny the application.
   A 5,585-square-foot Super Wawa, including 16 gas pumps and a 7,915-square-foot retail/office building expected to include up to four tenants, is proposed for the former Patterson Chrysler auto dealership site at the intersection of Route 33 and Whitehorse-Hamilton Square Road.
   The applicant is seeking a variance due to the proposed use’s proximity to a church.
   The hearing Tuesday night included additional testimony relating to stormwater management at the site. At least one more hearing will be held April 22 where a final objector witness is expected to testify.
   Residents, who primarily live adjacent to the former car dealership on Herbert Avenue, say they expect to be impacted by the proposal.
   ”These intense uses are recognized to have detrimental offside impacts,” resident Lois Susan Tierney, who said she believes the application is contrary to local zoning code and the township’s Master Plan.
   ”I believe the board has enough information to deny the proposed variances based on non-compliance,” she said.
   John Patterson, of Nottingham Way, agreed.
   ”I’m not opposed to development. The site calls out for redevelopment, however such development needs to be done in compliance with the zoning regulations and the Master Plan,” Mr. Patterson said, noting that the Township Council established separation ordinances after a similar proposal failed in 2005.
   ”It was pretty clear at that time the town felt that it was better not to have those intense uses so close to residential properties,” he said.
   Karen Chaffee, of Herbert Avenue, reiterated previous statements she made insisting the area should be protected from certain development due to the neighborhood having significant historical significance to Hamilton Square and the township.
   She additionally noted that by permitting the Wawa, nearby gas stations could fail leading to blight, as new developers would face liability issues to develop on sites previously housing gas stations with underground tank storage.
   ”There are four gas stations within two blocks that are sitting above underground tanks,” she said. “If they go out of business the underground tanks remain, and the sites will likely become urban blight and petroleum brown field sites.”
   Residents voiced similar concerns at a previous hearing on Feb. 12.
   However, one resident, Charles Whalen, of Jarvie Drive, said he was in favor of the application.
   ”I think that competition is good. I think this is a good application.” Mr. Whalen said. “From the looks of (other Wawas) they’re well maintained, they’re well managed, they’re clean facilities.
   ”I think it will help renew that area that’s kind of blighted,” he added. “I think it will be a great improvement.”
   In addition to the residents, Walt Steele, owner of a BP gas station approximately a third of a mile away from the proposed Wawa, has formally opposed the application.
   In April, the Hamilton Township Council approved an ordinance removing separation requirements between gas stations by a 4-1 margin. Previously, the township’s ordinance prohibited gas stations from being built within 1,500 feet of each other.
   Mr. Steele opposed the repeal, which the council approved after Lindsay Burbage, township attorney, and Gary Forshner, an attorney who represents a developer that sought a Wawa gas station on Route 130, said the ordinance as is would not stand up in court.
   At a previous hearing, Mr. Steele stated he previously lost a gas station due to competition from a Wawa elsewhere in the state and told the board he believed his and potentially other nearby stations in Hamilton would be similarly impacted.
   Some members of the board, including board member Vince Savelli suggested such competition is free enterprise.