The back-and-forth over a proposed Wawa in Martin County is now settled.
On Tuesday, the Martin County Board of County Commissioners voted in favor of a new Wawa gas station at the corner of SW Locks Road and SW Kanner Highway.
The board voted 4-1 to approve the site plan, which will bring a 5,500 square-foot Wawa with 12 gas pumps to a 2-acre corner west of I-95.
At last week's Local Planning Agency meeting, the board voted 2-2 to recommend the development to the county commissioners. Many residents attended that meeting to voice opposition to the proposed gas station.
Region Martin County
'WE DON'T WANT A WAWA HERE': Martin County locals against gas station proposal
WPTV's Tyler Hatfield spoke with concerned residents this week, who fear the development will bring more traffic and congestion to the area.
“This corner is going to cause tremendous congestion in the morning and at night,” said John Turner, who lives across from the proposed site. “You're going to have people getting on and off I-95, the Turnpike, and they're unfamiliar with the area. We're going to have accidents.”
Before Tuesday's vote to approve the plan, neighbors filled the chambers and more than a dozen of them spoke out against the project.
Many cited health and safety concerns, but one consistent issue they brought up was potential gridlock on an already busy intersection.
“There shouldn’t be a business there that stacks up any further the traffic that is there at this point in time,” said Michael Pinelli, a neighbor.
However, some people, like neighbor Tammy Harrell, spoke in favor of the project.
“Do we have a lot of gas stations right in our area? We absolutely do. Do we have a lot that we actually want to walk into? No, we don’t,” said Harrell.
The property has been zoned for commercial use for nearly 60 years.
Commissioner Sarah Heard voted to approve the plan but does not like the idea of the project. But because of zoning, she said it was challenging to disapprove.
“It was the legally defensible decision to make,” said Heard.
Christine Truitt, who lives across the street from the future site, said she was disappointed at the commissioners for refusing to stand up to take on those legal challenges.
“I think sometimes you have to poke the bear and you do have to go legal and you have to go and fight for what is right,” said Truitt.
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Region Martin County
