Board set to vote on Wawa plans Monday

UPPER GWYNEDD » Upper Gwynedd’s board of commissioners will have a decision to make next Monday night that could shape the future of a busy intersection.

That night marks the deadline for the board to take action on plans for a proposed Wawa fuel station and convenience store on the corner of Sumneytown Pike and West Point Pike, according to township Manager Len Perrone.

“I can’t presume what the board is going to do. All I can tell you is that the board will take an action,” Perrone said.

Plans have been discussed last summer for the new station and store to be built on the southwest corner of Sumneytown and West Point, across the street from a currently existing Sunoco fuel station and on the corner opposite from a vacant Giant grocery store where a Royal Farms fuel station and store have been proposed.

The buildings housing two businesses currently located on the southwest corner would be demolished and replaced with a roughly 5,000-square-foot Wawa store, surrounded by parking and with eight fuel stations totalling 16 fuel pumps nearby.

The latest version of those plans was presented at length to the township’s planning commission earlier this month, with several hours of testimony that largely focused on the traffic impact the new store would have, and safety concerns related to the proposed driveway entrances that would be created along both roads. After a lengthy discussion that night, the planning commission ultimately voted against granting its approval for the project, leaving the final decision up to the commissioners.

“It’s either going to be an approval or a denial,” Perrone said.“We’ll see what the board does next Monday night, but the plan has to be acted on by that night, because the expiration of the review period is the next day. So an action has to occur.”

During the commissioners’ workshop meeting Tuesday, Perrone and Planning and Zoning Officer E. Van Rieker gave an update on the Wawa plans, as well as the plans for the Royal Farms station and convenience store proposed for the opposite corner.

According to Rieker, the township has determined that the Royal Farms project must seek an additional variance for the canopy that would cover the fueling stations in their proposed design. The township’s zoning hearing board would hear that request for the Royal Farms project when that body next meets on July 25, according to Rieker.

Plans have been discussed last summer for the new station and store on the southwest corner of Sumneytown and West Point.

Upper Gwynedd’s commissioners next meet at 7:30 p.m. on July 24, and the zoning hearing board next meets at 7 p.m. on July 25, both at the township administration building, 1 Parkside Place. For more information or meeting agendas and materials visit www. UpperGwynedd.org.