A group of Holland Road neighbors will have to wait until April 22 to see if Northampton's zoning hearing board will overturn a zoning officer's opinion about a proposed Wawa with gas pumps.
Eight neighbors appealed an initial determination by zoning officer Mike Soloman that the 5,585-square-foot Wawa with eight fuel stations was a by right use in the township's C-2 Commercial zoning district.
The parcel is across from an existing Wawa, on the site of an existing Shell gas station.
The neighbors say Provco Pinegood Northampton LLC's plans should have been deemed a gasoline service station, requiring a conditional use hearing by the Northampton supervisors.
Conditional uses and special exceptions in municipal zoning laws allow towns to curb development, as long as they don't outright ban legal land uses.
Attorney Christopher Papa argued Monday the opinion could set a precedent allowing developers a way to tack on primary uses as accessory uses to circumvent local zoning laws.
"We feel that this is sort of a rubber stamp to this big use that is going to impact this community," Papa told the board at the start of the two-hour hearing Monday night.
The appeal also argues that a lack of a conditional-use hearing denied the public an opportunity to voice concerns to the township.
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