Conshohocken Zoning Hearing Board Invalidates Wawa Ordinance by Vote of 3-2

Tonight the Zoning Hearing Board voted 3-2 to invalidate the ordinance passed by Conshohocken’s Borough Council, by a vote of 4-3, that created zoning that would allow a Wawa with gas pumps on the 1100 block of Fayette Street. That means no Wawa (at least for now).

The above video includes the closing arguments of attorneys Kate Harper, representing the neighbors opposing the Wawa, Ross Weiss, representing the developer Provco-Pineville, and David Nasatir, representing Conshohocken’s Borough Council.

The argument by Harper on behalf of the neighbors is that the ordinance passed by Borough Council is invalid because it is spot zoning. Weiss disputes that on behalf of the developer, and Nasatir also disputes that on behalf of Borough Council.

After the three closing arguments, the Zoning Hearing Board first took up a motion to deny the claim by the neighbor. That failed by a vote of 2-3. Mark Danek and Richard Barton voted in support of that motion. Gregory Scharff, Russ Cardamone, and Janis Vacca voted against this motion. After that motion failed there was a break.

When the Zoning Hearing Board returned from break a second motion was made to rule the ordinance that would allow a Wawa as invalid.
Scharff, Cardamone, and Vacca voted in support of this motion. Danek and Barton voted against it. That means the decision went against Wawa.

We will have a follow-up article on where this issue goes from here. There are already two court cases involving previous decisions (one by Borough Council and one by the Zoning Hearing Board) rendered against the Wawa and tonight’s decision resulted from an appeal from the neighbors after Borough Council voted to amend the zoning code to allow it.

More to come.