Despite assurances by Plumstead supervisors that they are still opposed to a proposed Wawa gas station, residents are still reminding officials to keep fighting the developer’s appeal.
The developer, a Verrichia Co. partnership, was denied its application for a 4,700-square-foot convenience store with 10 gas pumps at the intersection of state Route 313 (Swamp Road) and Ferry Road almost a year ago.
Doylestown II-Rt 313 TVC-ARC LP challenged Plumstead’s zoning ordinance as a “de facto” ban on modern retail stores with gas stations in early 2017, and the developer filed an appeal of the zoning board’s denial to the Bucks County Court of Common Pleas in November.
[A June 29, 2018, township brief] counters the developer’s claim that township zoning rules prohibiting gasoline sales in that zoning district are outdated and create an illegal ban on contemporary gas stations — a model where gas sales are secondary to sales from the products inside the stores.
Despite past opposition, however, the residents at recent meetings and those contacting this news organization are skeptical of the supervisors’ official position.
Residents fear a possible settlement between the township and the developer and behind-closed door meetings between the two.
The settlement rumor could be due to a supervisors meeting item in January.
Meeting minutes from Jan. 23 state that Reiss was contacted by the developer’s attorney, Julie Von Sprekelsen, of Eastburn & Gray, P.C., stating “her client was told the (supervisors were) open to settling the land use appeal.”
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Meanwhile, the Provco Group has taken a different path in Newtown Twp in its bid to open a Wawa convenience store and gas station on the Newtown Bypass. The developer has decided to bypass the township’s Zoning Hearing Board and appeal directly to Newtown Supervisors to change the zoning ordinance in order to allow a Wawa Superstore in the OR district. For more on that, read “Developer and Attorney Present Their Case for a Wawa Superstore on the Newtown Bypass” and “Proposed Newtown Wawa Requires Zoning Change or at Least 10 Zoning Variances".