Planning for a Wawa convenience store and gas station in Ferguson Township is moving forward after the township’s zoning hearing board voted to grant a variance request on Tuesday night.
The board voted 2-1 to grant a variance allowing 110 square feet of a fuel station canopy to encroach into the rear setback on the property at the corner of West Aaron Drive and North Atherton Street.
Township zoning prohibits structures from being located in the setback, but the variance was granted as de minimis, meaning it is a minor variation from the ordinance.
During the hourlong hearing, the board heard testimony from Tony Fruchtl of PennTerra Engineering and Wawa real estate project engineer Michael Spiegel. Four residents of the nearby Overlook Heights community also spoke, three of whom reiterated larger concerns about the neighborhood traffic impacts associated with the store.
Wawa is looking to build a 5,330-square-foot store with 60 parking spaces and six fuel pumps providing 12 fueling positions.
Fruchtl explained that several configurations were evaluated to fit the site, zoning requirements and Wawa standards. The plan determined to be “best under the circumstances” required a 110-square-feet corner of the fuel canopy to encroach into the setback.
Zoning board member Robert Strouse asked why Wawa doesn’t reduce the fuel pumps to five, eliminating the encroachment.
Spiegel explained that the fueling area is “a little bit on the smaller side,” and that the typical Wawa store has eight pumps, with some having as many as 12. Eliminating a pump, he said, raised worries that customers could potentially be waiting in line for gas during busy periods, causing traffic backups.
“When we look at these sites we try to do an analysis of what would be an optimum situation here so we can avoid having people backed up outside the fueling positions,” Spiegel said. “This site, just because of how tight it is, could cause even more significant challenges… It would make for a very challenging site and an unsafe condition.”
The property at 169 W. Aaron Dr. was previously home to a car dealership with a showroom and service garage that encroaches 1,625 square feet into the setback. That building will be removed, and the only encroachment from the Wawa development will be the 110 square feet of canopy.
Attorney Terry Williams, who represented Wawa on the variance request, noted that the canopy encroachment represents .001% of the total 2.466-acre site. Fruchtl added that no other variance requests are expected.
Overlook Heights residents previously voiced concerns that the store would bring an influx of traffic and speeding through the adjacent residential neighborhood, as well as exacerbate existing problems at the already-busy intersection of Aaron Drive and North Atherton Street.
Resident Joy Vincent Killian said on Tuesday night that the store, which is expected to operate 24 hours a day, would bring a larger volume of vehicles “within the middle of the most challenged dangerous traffic areas within Ferguson and Patton townships.”
The three residents who raised the the traffic issues on Tuesday asked for the board to postpone a decision until Wawa submits a land development plan and accompanying traffic study that analyzes effects on the neighborhood.
The board, however, “is constrained,” solicitor Jeff Stover said, because it is required to make a decision within 45 days of the hearing. If no decision were made, the variance would be granted automatically by law.
Overlook Heights resident Galen Dreibelbis, the longtime developer and former state representative, was the lone resident to speak in favor of granting the variance, noting that it only addresses the encroachment and not the larger plans for the site. Dreibelbis, who said he has no connection to the Wawa development, owns a commercial property and a residential property near the site and said he sees no problems presented by the variance.
“That encroachment just doesn’t affect any of the properties around it,” Dreibelbis said. “It’s a long way from the first residence. … It wouldn’t obstruct any of the properties around it, including either one of mine.”
After a 20-minute executive session, the board voted to grant the variance, with Vice-Chair Stevie Rocco and Strouse voting yes and Chair Lisa Buda voting no.
Rocco stressed the narrow scope of what the board was asked to consider.
“We want to make sure that everyone here knows that our scope is extremely narrow in that the variance that we are ruling on is not on the traffic and not on the building or the business,” she said. “It is on that corner of the canopy that encroaches into the setback.”
Buda voted no because she said she favored postponing the decision.
Wawa still must submit a land development plan to the township, which will require planning commission review and approval by the board of supervisors before the project can move forward.
Buda thanked residents for their input and encouraged them to remain involved in the process.
“Your comments have been heard and they are legitimate concerns that we encourage you to bring up with the board of supervisors as this progresses, and the planning commission,” she said.
Wawa representatives have said the company plans to build multiple stores in Centre County. The Ferguson Township location is the second proposed Wawa in the county, with another planned for Benner Pike near Bellefonte.
