After Years of Delays, Route 47 Super Wawa Creeps Closer to Construction

DENNISVILLE – A new Super Wawa planned for Route 47, across the street from the existing Wawa, by the fork in the road with Main Street, will seek final approvals at the local level next month.
A hearing is set for May 25 in front of the Dennis Township Consolidated Land Use Board, where it is expected final site plan approval will be granted for the application. This is the last step in what’s been a circuitous process to build a convenience store with five gas pumps on land that is in the town’s commercial district and is currently a nonconforming junkyard. 
The Land Use Board had previously denied the proposal in July 2021; however, the developer appealed, and this fall, a Superior Court judge overturned the local board’s ruling, authorizing the Wawa to move forward with development.
In September 2022, Superior Court Judge Michael J. Blee decided that the Dennis Township Consolidated Land Use Board’s decision to deny the application to build the new Wawa “was an arbitrary, capricious, unreasonable, and unlawful application of its land use powers.”
Blee reversed the decision and maintained jurisdiction over the application instead of remanding it to the Dennis Township Consolidated Land Use Board for reconsideration. The application required a use variance and other variances related to the construction of the fueling area and store. 
A new application, dated March 22, was submitted to the township, with the only notable change being they have reduced the number of gas pumps from eight to five, which will accommodate up to 10 cars filling up at the same time. No new variances are sought by the applicant. 
The May 25 hearing will likely be little more than a formality.
The nearly 12-acre parcel on which the Wawa will sit, on the west side of Route 47, is under contract to be sold to Dennis 47 Developers LLC by PHILTRICH LLC. The sale is pending site plan approval and the parcel is currently a junkyard visible from the busy road.
The Wawa will occupy 2.36 acres of the parcel, with the rest remaining a junkyard, though it would now be away from the road, shielded by the Wawa, according to the application. 
Dennis 47 Developers is controlled by Charles Saka and family, a corporate disclosure statement included with the application revealed. 
An attorney for the developer, Stephen R. Nehmad, who successfully convinced the court to overrule the Land Use Board and allow the Wawa, said he couldn’t comment on the development when reached by a reporter.  
The property is in the Village Commercial Zoning District and will be a visual improvement from the road over the existing junkyard and reduce local traffic congestion and promote the free flow of traffic, the applicant argued in favor of the relief requested.
The road is one of the main thoroughfares to Route 55, leading toward Philadelphia. The current Wawa does not have gas pumps. It’s unclear what the future of that site will be when the new Wawa opens or when construction on the new structure may begin.
To reach Shay Roddy with development stories or other news tips, email sroddy@cmcherald.com or call 609-886-8600, ext. 142.