Since late 2019, residents of Lower Southampton Township have adamantly protested the building of a 5,051-square-foot Wawa convenience store and 16-pump gas station, proposed by Provco Pineville Acquisition LLC, at the intersection of Bristol and Brownsville roads.
Concerns voiced during a handful of public Zoning Hearing Board meetings centered around increased traffic patterns in the residential area, and dangers to local Tawanka Elementary School students.
While the Lower Southampton proposal is still being considered by the board, Provco Pinegood Northampton LLC recently submitted a development proposal in Holland to construct a new 5,585-square-foot Wawa. The space would include a convenience store, gasoline sales and 50 parking spaces at the property located at the intersection of Holland, Rocksville and Buck roads.
The use is permitted under the Northampton Township Zoning Ordinance.
According to Mike Solomon, Director of Planning and Zoning, the township wants to be as proactive and transparent as possible with the community throughout the process.
“The property that it’s proposed for is a permitted use zone for that use,” he said. “So, at this point, the plan is being reviewed by our staff and consultants. It will first go to the Planning Commission and then the board of supervisors.”
Solomon said the proposal will be reviewed over the next month or so, with the township set to host public sessions afterward.
“As of right now, no meetings are scheduled,” he said. “As soon as we have information as far as meetings, we’ll post that on our website.”
When The Times asked Solomon his thoughts on whether the Holland community may respond in a similar fashion to Lower Southampton, he stressed that he wasn’t familiar with details of the other project.
Only time will tell whether Northampton residents will share the same objections – traffic, commercialism in a residential area, and the fact that there’s already a Wawa at 236 Holland Road – or welcome the chain with open arms.
All of these factors, said Solomon, are being evaluated as part of the review process.
“Once we have more information, we’ll make that available,” he said.
A copy of the plan is available at northamptontownship.com. Additionally, the township cable channel (Comcast Channel 22 and Verizon Channel 24) will be updated with meeting schedules.
For those with questions, Solomon is available at 215-357-6800, Ext. 214. He is happy to discuss the plan approval process.
Samantha Bambino can be reached at sbambino@newspapermediagroup.com
