The rezoning request and site plans will now go before Englewood City Council, which will have the final say. The next council meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, Sept. 26 in the Englewood Government Center council chambers.
The 4-acre North Main Street property in question, situated north of Garber Road, just west of Good Samaritan Boulevard and the Miami Valley Hospital North Campus, is currently occupied by the Mt. Calvary Lutheran Church.
Leaders at the church did not return calls from this newspaper seeking comment about their plans. A representative for the project said the church’s pastor was unable to attend Thursday’s planning commission meeting due to injury, later noting that it is their belief the congregation itself is still active but that the church will relocate pending sale of the property.
The proposed 6,000-square-foot gas station, if approved, would include 16 fueling stations and a total of 65 parking spaces.
Singer said city staff opposed the prospective project for multiple reasons, including that the city’s traffic engineer advised a development of this size would need access to a traffic light in order to accommodate the estimated average of 430 customer trips in the morning peak hours alone.
Visitors to the Mt. Calvary Lutheran Church currently have access to a traffic light at Good Samaritan Boulevard. via an access easement. Good Samaritan Boulevard is owned by Miami Valley Hospital North and serves as the main entranceway to the medical facility. Hospital officials have stated no such access would be granted to Wawa.
“We (allowed) that access as a courtesy to the church,” said John Brownrigg, facility planner for MVHN, during the Thursday meeting.
Brownrigg also formally entered a letter of opposition to the commission on behalf of the hospital, further detailing concerns about the project proposal.
“Patient safety and access are essential components for all healthcare services provided at this location,” the letter reads. " ... Since this intersection is the main entrance to the hospital, protecting traffic flow and patient safety cannot be compromised by adjacent non-compatible uses.”
Patrick Warnement, a representative for Wawa, said these concerns would be addressed in greater detail further down the development pipeline with completion of a traffic study.
Though the project site is city of Englewood property, North Main Street itself is located within the city of Clayton, adding a unique hurdle for implementation of changes to traffic flow.
The city of Clayton submitted a letter of opposition to the proposal highlighting these same concerns.
“Increased traffic on Main Street at this location presents serious safety concerns, especially when the intersection of Main and Garber and the intersection to the north near Meijer are already congested,” the letter reads. “The additional traffic will also result in additional damage to Main Street, which will be the responsibility of Clayton to repair and maintain, resulting in increased costs to Clayton.”
Multiple residents spoke in opposition Thursday, with some noting that they are opposed to the location, not to the business itself.
“I’m not opposed to a Wawa; I’ve been to them on the east coast and I’d probably shop there,” said resident Krista Gorsuch, who lives on Elru Drive. “But somehow you’ve got to solve this traffic problem. We can’t turn left (onto Main Street) as it is, so there’s no way this is going to function for the neighborhood.”
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