There are plans for a Wawa in Newtown Township but before you get excited for your cheap coffee and shorti hoagie, brace yourself. You'll likely be waiting a while.
The proposal for a Wawa with fuel pumps and a 5,585 square-foot convenience store off the Newtown Bypass at Lower Silver Lake Road was revealed earlier this month (read “Developer and Attorney Present Their Case for a WaWa Superstore on the Newtown Bypass”). It requires a zoning change, as the site is within the office research zoning district. The proposed use would be retail store with service station, which is not allowed in that zone.
In order for the project to move forward, a zoning amendment would have to be considered by the Jointure.
According to Newtown Township Supervisor John Mack, as of May 23, the township has not yet received a draft of such amendment.
"That would be the first step in the process before anything goes to the Jointure. The Newtown Supervisors would review the draft and it would come up for discussion at a public meeting of the Board of Supervisors BEFORE going to the Jointure, if at all. People should keep an eye on the agendas of upcoming meetings of the Newtown Board of Supervisors before attending Jointure meetings," Mack said on his personal blog (read “Residents Present Their Case For and Against a Super WaWa on the Bypass”).
The process may take several months, he noted.
If the ordinance is not amended, the developers would have to seek at least 10 “variances” from the Zoning Hearing Board, including: