Tuesday, October 29, 2019

ANOTHER Wawa? Abutting A Legendary Neighborhood?

I oppose the plan to build another Wawa with gas station in the Barclay Farm Shopping center. This shopping center is in the Barclay neighborhood — with some 30 homes right next to it along the back and sides. 
We missed an opportunity last year with the Master Plan revision. I am running for Mayor and if I am elected, my first priority will be to do a review of our zoning code with an eye towards updating it to reflect our values of care for the environment, human health, and safety. 
We don’t need new gas stations in our town and a 30 foot buffer from homes is not adequate, not by a long shot. We know the impacts on the environment, human health, quality of life, and property values, and we must not allow more residents and neighborhoods to be adversely impacted by our outdated zoning code and the permissive interpretations of the code frequently made by our zoning and planning boards in granting variance after variance. If elected Mayor, I will appoint qualified residents to these boards — not the politically connected. 
Homeowners who live next to the Wawas with gas stations on Haddonfield Road are already experiencing diminished quality of life. And when they want to sell their homes, they will see diminished property value, which hurts not just them but their neighborhood.

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