Township responds to new website asking to ‘Bring Wawa to Upper Gwynedd’
Site pushes plan voted down by board in November
A new website has been created to help push a project that was discussed — and rejected — by local officials last year, and township officials have responded to accusations made on that site.
On Monday, residents and township officials began receiving fliers directing them toward the new website “Bring Wawa to Upper Gwynedd Township” and pushing plans for the convenience store to be built at Sumneytown Pike and West Point Pike.
“A team of developers wants to bring America’s favorite convenience store, Wawa, to Upper Gwynedd Township,” reads the website.
“The 5,000-plus-square-foot convenience store and fuel station would bring the iconic brand’s features closer to home,” the site says, before listing features of the proposal.
Developer Bruce Goodman, operating under the company name Provco Pinegood LLC, and a team of consultants spent much of 2016 and 2017 presenting, discussing and refining plans for the project, which would be built on the southwest corner of Sumneytown Pike and West Point Pike. The website says its material is copyright Goodman Properties, and Goodman has not yet responded to a request for comment on the site and its allegations.
Upper Gwynedd responded to several of the charges made on the website and the accompany-
ing flier, in a lengthy statement posted on the township’s website and social media channels.
“The (Wawa) website suggests that the township commissioners and Merck illegally conspired against Wawa and largely ignores the serious traffic safety problems caused by the location of the chosen site, on the inside of a blind curve immediately after a railroad overpass,” reads a statement signed by commissioners President Ken Kroberger.
“Although Wawa’s appeals will be decided in the normal fashion by the Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas, some response is necessary to ensure that the Upper Gwynedd Township citizens are not unfairly misled,” the statement said.
Links on the “Bring Wawa to Upper Gwynedd” site provide local news coverage of the development process, and the site provides contact info for the township offices and a submission form for site visitors to “support having a Wawa in Upper Gwynedd Township, and stay informed about how you can make a difference.”
The website charges that the township and Merck “have worked behind closed doors ... to block the Wawa proposal.” Included on the site is an image alleged to be an email between then-Township Manager Len Perrone, who has since retired, to several township consultants, asking that the consultants meet to prepare for a township planning commission meeting.
“Merck’s executives have tried to prevent the proposed Wawa by attempting to interfere with the developer’s contract to purchase the property from current owners,” the website states.
“Merck has spent many tens of thousands of dollars to hire its longtime traffic consulting firm which presented a grossly exaggerated ‘doomsday’ traffic report to the commissioners,” the site says.
In response to the charge that the township worked behind closed doors with Merck, the township statement says any entity doing a development in the township must comply with local ordinances, and the Wawa proposal “contained numerous violations of the township ordinances and other applicable laws, especially related to traffic congestion, safety and vehicle circulation.”
“Like many of our other constituents, Merck took the opportunity to review Provco’s proposal when the township published notice of it in the newspaper and on our website. Upon review, Merck had serious concerns, especially related to traffic, and requested a meeting with the township to discuss them. We obliged and the township had a single meeting with Merck at which a variety of their concerns, including traffic concerns, were discussed. The township’s goal was not to oppose the Super Wawa plan, only to ensure that it was designed in compliance with the township and state laws in order to maximize the protections provided in those laws for the health, safety and general welfare of the community,” the statement reads.
“Our board commonly meets with our constituents to discuss issues which concern them, and this example is no different. Provco wants you to believe that something illegal happened in this meeting, but that is simply not the case.”
In response to a statement that Merck has tried to interfere with Provco’s plans for the property, the township states that “we do not have any information either way” on any Merck activities.
When asked for comment on the website and flier, Merck spokeswoman Colleen Lange said Merck is aware of both, and the company “has used the appropriate public forums to express our concern with the addition of a Wawa at the intersection of Sumneytown and West Point pikes due to the traffic issues the development would create.”
“As a resident of Upper Gwynedd and the adjacent property owner, we will continue to share our view as part of the judicial process and at Upper Gwynedd Township and planning commission meetings on this issue,” she said.
On the northeast corner of the intersection opposite from the proposed Wawa site, plans were approved in May 2017 for a Royal Farms convenience store and fuel station, and the developers behind that team presented an updated version of those plans with the larger property split into three smaller parcels late last October.
In the most recent version of the Wawa proposal, two current lots where the Sumney Tavern and Country Bride and Gent bridal store are now located would be combined into one larger lot for a Wawa convenience store and fuel station. Driveways would enter onto the property from both streets, and the owners of both businesses indicated during the public discussions that they have sale agreements contingent on the project being approved.
In July, the township’s commissioners voted down one version of plans for that site, citing concerns about the traffic that it would create and possible safety risks created by the driveways, saying drivers would cross Sumneytown Pike to enter or traffic could stack from the driveways into the through roadway lanes where a rail bridge and a curve in the road reduce visibility.
During the discussions, officials from nearby Merck and a traffic engineer hired by that company made the case that the new Wawa would create hazards by drivers cutting across Sumneytown Pike and entering and exiting onto and off of the high traffic roadway. They also argued that drivers who turn onto Church Road would likely use nearby Merck driveways to turn around and the project would overwhelm upgrades made under a road improvement and bridge widening plan for which Merck has donated roughly $7 million since 1992.
After several months of discussion, the commissioners voted down a revised version of those plans in November and said changes made to the configuration of the driveways were not enough to address the concerns raised by residents and township consultants.
In response to the website’s statement that the township has spent thousands to oppose the Wawa, the township’s response is that they are not opposed to having another Wawa; “We simply want Wawa to take the safety of our community into consideration, to comply with our laws, and to develop in a way that is beneficial, rather than harmful to our community.”
“We believe that the citizens of Upper Gwynedd expect us to use their tax dollars to protect them from ill-advised projects that seek to circumvent our laws. The cost to alleviate the traffic congestion and safety issues caused by a Super Wawa in the chosen location is money and effort well spent for our residents.”
The township statement says the planning commission did approve the second proposal but did not consider the traffic impact, and the township’s traffic engineer “identified numerous failures of the Super Wawa plan to comply with the township and state laws, and we simply could not permit the impact that these violations would have had on our community.”
The website charges that the township “attempted to enter into a ‘sweetheart’ settlement agreement” with the Royal Farms proposed for across the street, and the township responds to that charge in the statement also.
“Royal Farms received certain zoning approvals from the township zoning hearing board with a number of conditions. The entity proposing to build the Royal Farms didn’t agree that all of the conditions were necessary, and appealed to the Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas,” said the statement.
The two parties then entered negotiations to avoid the potential litigation, but “we never reached a point where all parties agreed and never came to a final settlement, before the Royal Farms withdrew their appeal,” said the statement.
Also sounding off already are area residents on the “Citizens for the Revitalization of Lansdale” Facebook page: a post on Monday showing the flier and website drew comments from residents on both sides, for and against.
“Got this in the mail today. Ridiculous in my opinion to drag a commercial zoning issue to the entire population of Upper Gwynedd,” wrote Wendy Cusick. “Seems like Wawa is playing politics ... isn’t that what our commissioners are for?”
Bruce Thomsen posted on the Facebook group, “I have been wanting a Wawa or a Royal Farms in that location for a long time. Getting anything on that corner has been dragging out way too long.”
Cindy Grawe O’Neill wrote, “So that would be five Wawas within a few miles of each other ... do we really need another one?”
Torey Felton wrote, “I really love Wawa, but I’d hate to see the Sumney go,” and Linda Heller wrote, “Don’t need another Wawa, Merck will win, Upper Gwynedd needs them.”
Upper Gwynedd’s commissioners next meet at 7 p.m. on Feb. 20 at the township administration building, 1 Parkside Place. For more information or meeting agendas and materials, visit www.UpperGwyneddTwp.org.