A Wawa convenience store and gas station proposed for the Lightfoot area of York and James City counties is one step closer to coming to fruition.
On Jan. 9, the York County Planning Commission recommended approval of an application by Doswell Ventures LLC for a special use permit to build a Wawa at the corner of Lightfoot and Richmond roads, Deputy Planning Director Tim Cross said.
The Wawa would take the place of an Exxon gas station currently situated on the corner lot.
The application will now head to the York County Board of Supervisors for a vote on Feb. 19.
The land proposed for the new Wawa straddles the James City County-York County line, meaning the project requires special use permits in each locality.
The special use permit application for James City County is expected to go in front of the county Planning Commission Feb. 6, James City County Planning Director Paul Holt said. Those agenda documents will be available Jan. 30.
The parcels in each locality are zoned for general business, which is a similar zoning designation in each locality.
The developer is proposing to remove the existing 1,224-square-foot Exxon convenience store and four gas pumps and replace it with a 5,850-square-foot Wawa with six gas pumps.
Because the Richmond Road side of the property is part of the Tourist Corridor Management district standards, the project is subject to some visual restrictions.
The Wawa would have brick and stone veneers with a red-lettered wall sign. The zoning ordinance does not allow gas stations to have a logo, brand name, or sign that is legible from adjacent public roads on the gas pumps or pump islands, according to application documents.
The entry into the gas station will also be reconfigured.
A traffic impact analysis says the project will generate about 1,383 vehicle trips per day on weekdays. Of those trips, 63 percent in the morning peak-hour and 66 percent in the evening peak-hour are “pass-by” trips drawn from the existing traffic steam, according to the documents.
A land use narrative filed with the application says the Wawa construction alone will cost about $5 million. The convenience store will also employ 30 to 40 people.
