Wawa set for approval
BY KATHY BARATTA
Staff Writer

MANALAPAN - The zoning board has directed that a resolution approving a Wawa convenience store and gas station on Woodward Road near Route 33 be prepared for its March 1 meeting.

Representatives of Wawa proposed a 4,464-square-foot store and a four-pump gas station on 7 acres of a 27-acre parcel on Woodward Road near the corner of Route 33 west.

The only access to the convenience store and gas station will be from Wood-ward Road.

As part of the application, WaWa is offering the township 2.5 acres as a dedicated easement to be used for a future use such as an access road.

Attorney Gerald Sonnenblick, representing the applicant, recently presented an updated site plan to the board. The board then directed its attorney, James Gorman, to draft a resolution of approval for the project.

During hearings in 2006 the Wawa application appeared headed for approval until several board members asked the applicant to make changes in the plan. Some board members indicated that a convenience store is needed in this area of Manalapan.

Board member Steve Johnson said he had owned a recreational vehicle and was concerned that the design of the Wawa entrance was not wide enough to accommodate oversized vehicles such as RVs.

The matter appears to have been resolved following Sonnenblick's presentation of a new design that provides for a wider turning radius at the entrance of the site.

Sonnenblick also told board members that in addition to widening the entrance, Wawa will construct about 150 feet of an access road at the back of the project on the 2.5 acres that is being deeded to Manalapan.

The state Department of Transpor-tation denied a request from the applicant to construct an access to the Wawa from Route 33 west. The only access to the convenience store and gas station will be from Woodward Road.

The project required several variances from the zoning board; part of the 7 acres to be developed is in a Special Economic Development zone where a retail use is prohibited. The Manalapan land use ordinance prohibits two distinct or separate uses on one lot (i.e. the convenience store and the gas station), so a variance was needed for that reason, as well as for some proposed side-lot parking.

Variances are also being sought for signs on the property and for a 27-foot tall canopy that would extend over the gas pumps in an area where only a 15-foot height is allowed. The remainder of the 27-acre parcel is in a C-3 zone, which permits commercial uses on a minimum lot size of 3 acres.

Sonnenblick has also said that in addition to providing retail and gasoline services that are needed in the area, the applicant would pick up the cost of facilitating hookups for residents by providing public water lines to local homes after boring under Route 33 to extend the public water lines from one side of the highway to the other.