New Wawa plans do not mollify neighbors
RADNOR >> About 50 neighbors from the charming, historic, walkable and coveted South Wayne neighborhood came to a Board of Commissioners community development meeting Feb. 13, many objecting to a new super Wawa that is trying to elbow its way in.
Nicholas Caniglia, a lawyer representing the developer, presented three possible renderings for the site, which is on the corner of Lancaster and Aberdeen avenues. Two of those drawings change the location of the store and gas pumps in response to residents’ previous comments but those changes would require approval from the Zoning Hearing Board, Caniglia said.
Caniglia said that he did not want to go to the zoning board unless he had support from the residents and assurances that the Board of Commissioners would not send the township solicitor in opposition.
The board has not been shy about sending the lawyer to the zoners to oppose proposed developments. Last year a medical marijuana facility that would have been located in Rosemont quietly withdrew its application after a board vote to send the solicitor to the ZHB. But after nearly three hours of discussion, the committee did not agree to recommend the full board review the plans.
The first draw shows the location of the store on the east side of the lot facing St. Katharine of Siena Church and the gas pumps facing St. Katharine of Siena Church with one of the three entrances originally proposed removed. The second showed the store and gas pumps reversed; and the third has the store at the far back of the lot facing Lancaster Avenue with the pumps in front, on the Lancaster Avenue side.
The drawings also showed a brick and stone exterior, rather than stucco.
In prior meetings residents said they feared for children from St. Katharine of Siena School and Radnor Middle School who would cut through the gas pump area to get to store, hence the reconfiguration.
And, although two gas stations are already located the two lots that would be combined for the Wawa, residents continued to object to the convenience store, saying that it would bring more traffic to the area and that the building itself would be too tall and too large.
“I just want to make one thing clear, we don’t want your store,” said Brad Mortensen, a resident. “We don’t want your filling station. Take it someplace else because it’s not going to work here.”
Mortensen said there are already traffic congestion problems on Lancaster Avenue that send drivers into the residential neighborhood and adding a Wawa would make things worse when motorists seek to double back to go west on Lancaster Avenue after getting their Wawa coffee without having to wait at the light on Aberdeen Avenue.
“We all know that Lancaster Avenue is an extremely busy road,” he said. “It is jammed in the morning. It is jammed midday. It is jammed at lunchtime. It is jammed in the afternoon. We have the Blue Route (I476). It dumps out cars here. It is a major thoroughfare. It is crowded. It is crowded constantly.” Cars trying to turn left into the Wawa from Lancaster Avenue will cause traffic to back up for blocks and also “air pollution will become more significant from emissions.”
“You will see a flow of traffic that will inundate our neighborhood, which will be a danger to children at the middle school and St. Katharine’s. It is clear as a bell this is what will happen…The flow of traffic is already a problem on Lancaster Avenue. It is huge. It is spilling into our neighborhoods. It is putting our children at risk and now you’re going to plop this monstrosity down.”
Several other residents also cited traffic and safety concerns.
“I’m completely opposed to this Wawa,” said Caroline Giaglardi, who lives on Midland Avenue, said. “I live on a beautiful street…It is already a dangerous street. We have so much traffic on this street. We have people who fly down there at 30 mph, 40 mph, as it is. I’m constantly out walking my dog. Flagging people down, ‘Please slow down, please slow down,’ “she said. “I just don’t think this is the right place,” she said. “This is the gateway to our community, beautiful historic Wayne. We always tout our historic Wayne…We should not allow this because there is going to be a fatality. I just think it’s appalling.”
Susan Stern, who is president of the Radnor Township School Board and also served eight years on the Planning Commission, weighed in.
She asked the commissioners to get advice from their solicitor about the plan, a nonconforming use, which Stern said would need to be
re-approved by the zoners, despite an opinion from the township zoning officer to the contrary. She also questioned whether the board should opine on the plans before the township staff had thoroughly vetted them.
Commissioner Luke Clark also had strong reservations.
“I’ll tell you this store is way too big in my opinion,” said Clark. “That’s a big store. So for me to be comfortable with it, it’s going to have to be smaller and shorter.” Clark also told Caniglia that he had promised to comply with all the recommendations from the township solicitor but Caniglia responded that he did not say that. Clark suggested that Caniglia take the plan with the gas pumps to the east to the Zoning Hearing Board. Caniglia said that if it’s denied, he will be back with the plan that situates the pumps to the west, which he said complies with all the township’s requirements. Township Engineer Steve Norcini said that staff would need to confirm that it did.
“Again my issue is with the building, the traffic and the 24-7 operations,” said Clark. “You can make the building smaller.”
“This plan for me is a nonstarter,” said Clark, who noted that he is one of seven people on the board. “If you flip it, I’ll think about it.” The store on the south side of the lot might also be “a viable option,” as well, because the neighbor directly behind it is not bothered, he said.
Clark, and along with some residents, also noted that St. Katharine’s is busy all week long, not just on Sundays, with religious school classes and activities for kids, and also weddings and funerals.
Responding to neighbors’ questions, Clark said the board is not in a hurry to decide on the Wawa application and that it will go through the process like any other application.
Commissioner Richard Booker, who chaired the committee, tried fruitlessly to get a consensus from the residents about whether they favor the new drawing with the pumps on the east side of the property.
“It’s basically, pick your poison,” said Commissioner Sean Farhy. “Do you try to go, ‘We’re better off with Plan 2’…or do we say, ‘We don’t want anything and just say scrap it’ and then the down side is they may get it where you have the pumps that face Aberdeen.”
Toward the end of the evening, Booker said there was not the “sentiment” on the committee to bring the new drawings to the full board for a discussion.
Caniglia argued that the ball was in the township’s court on whether the applicants appear before the zoners for Plan 2 or file the revised first plan and go on from there.
“If you were going to offer alternatives, that is going to sit a lot better with the neighbors,” said Clark. “Plan number 1— I’m not going to get any support on it.” If Wawa officials believe the lease for the site will be profitable, they should go through all the steps needed to get a plan approved, he said.
Later, Farhy said, “A Wawa is often a good thing for a community. I do however share many of the neighbors’ concerns. Safety being paramount, but I am also worried that Wawa’s typical cookie cutter building template will detract from Wayne’s charm and its Norman Rockwelllike feel. These types of intangibles are hard to restore once they’re gone.”