Hatboro Wawa Proposal Discussed At Contentious Meeting

HATBORO, PA — A hearing on the controversial proposed Wawa in Hatboro is being held before the Zoning Board on Wednesday night.

The popular and widely growing convenience store, sandwich shop, and gas station has been eyeing up the property on the corner of York Road and Horsham Road for years.

The borough said that the proposed Wawa would be a "typical" 5,500 square feet, in addition to six gas pumps under a canopy on the York Road side of the property. It will be open 24 hours a day.

The discussion in the early portion of the meeting on Wednesday focused on matters of borough code and various zoning provisions which could prevent the Wawa from being built. The argument quickly grew heated as matters of fine print were debated.

Detractors of the Wawa have created a petition urging the borough and Zoning Board to reject the Wawa, citing various issues including increased traffic, noise and light disturbances, and decreased home value.

"Please move on Wawa," the petition, started by Christina Giovinazzo, reads. "This rich historical area doesn't need more pavement and gas pumps. We're a modest 1.1 square mile town and everyone loves to stop at a Wawa: No one invites one to live next door."

The petition drew 563 signatures.

In a separate case, Wawa previously attempted to build at this intersection, and there was staunch local opposition. The Hatboro Residents Association collected nearly a thousand signatures in protest from residents concerned about issues like increased traffic and preserving threatened buildings in the area, the latter of which is not an issue this time around.

The borough of Hatboro provided a Facebook Live video feed of the meeting, which can be viewed below.

Image via Google Maps