Warren County Wawa OK’d as Ohio business expansion continues

The approval also follows Centerville and Kettering placing temporary bans of a year or more on such businesses, and comes three weeks before Wawa plans to start building a Huber Heights store, its first Dayton-area site.

“We are excited to continue to spread our wings and expand in Ohio,” Wawa Spokeswoman Lori Bruce told this news organization.

Bruce declined to comment specifically on the Warren County plan approved last week. In 2022, the business said it plans to open 60 stores in Ohio in the next 10 years.

Plans for one just south of the Otterbein campus involve a 2-acre site that would include a 6,372 square foot convenience store with 10 fuel stations, according to county records.

The land is part of a 20-acre Union Village development district, the remainder of which would be designated as a conservation area, county officials said.

The proposal calls for three access points to the business, two from Ohio 63 and the other from Ohio 741, county records show.

Wawa’s approval came despite concern from residents of a neighborhood off Ohio 741 south of the site. Barbara Murphy said traffic is already an issue in her subdivision as vehicles often use it as a turnaround area.

“This entrance is constantly being run over by (trucks) and every other kind of car that comes through there,” Murphy said.

Commissioners suggested the county install a large sign to caution wayward motorists against entering the neighborhood.

Elsewhere, Wawa plans Sept. 10 to start construction of a Huber Heights store at Ohio 202 and Chambersburg Road.

More than 10 Sheetz and Wawa locations have been proposed in the region in the past two years. Eight Sheetz sites have opened, including ones in Beavercreek, Fairborn, Franklin, Huber Heights, Springboro, Springfield and Vandalia.

Similar businesses – like Buc-ee’s, Casey’s and GetGo – have also expanded in Ohio.

Centerville and Kettering have both rejected proposals by the Pennsylvania-based Sheetz.

Centerville voted last month to put a yearlong freeze on permits for such businesses. Kettering on Aug. 13 approved a 16-month temporary ban. Kettering officials said city codes do not adequately address those businesses and need updated.