Wawa Zoning Vote Postponed

Media Borough Council President Brian Hall clarified why a zoning amendment was not voted upon at council's meeting Thursday.

Council was expected to vote on a zoning change, which was recommended by the Media Planning Commission in March, regarding the former Media Inn vacant lot.

A small portion of the lot is currently zoned R3-Residential and would need to be changed to Business/Commercial in order for any business project to move forward there.

An application for a proposed Wawa at that location is also before the Planning Commission however the zoning change request is separate from the Wawa application.

Hall said Thursday that council was to hold a public hearing and then a vote regarding the zoning amendment however the applicant, Media Real Estate, contacted the borough late last week and asked to continue the hearing to another date.

"As is our usual practice, ...we agreed to it," Hall said. "There was no public hearing tonight and there will be no vote on that issue tonight. This might not ever come before the borough. We just don't know, it's entirely up to the applicant."

Councilman Paul Robinson asked why the applicant asked for a continuance if no further testimony is expected to come from the applicant.

He said during a workshop meeting council unanimously agreed to vote on this issue on Thursday.

"If there was no more information to be provided to council there was no reason to delay the hearing and vote," Robinson said.

Hall said Media Real Estate did not give a reason as to why they requested the delay and the borough gave them the courtesy as they routinely do for other applicants.

Hall said the overall Wawa application (not the zoning request) has not yet come before borough council for a vote either because it is going through the borough's normal review process with the planning commission, which will then offer a recommendation to borough council.

Wawa first came before the planning commission in October 2012, and then withdrew its application in December because the planning commission previously denied its zoning change request. The application came back to the planning commission in March with Media Real Estate now as the applicant for Wawa.

The earliest council could even vote on the Wawa project is June because of the review process, Hall said, the application will be presented at at least two planning commission meetings first.

He said traffic is a concern regarding the project as well as the impact on the residential community.