The yellow outline shows the two lots in Voorhees proposed for the Super Wawa and the orange outline the two lots in Berlin Township. The Super Wawa would be on the northbound side of Route 73.
A proposed Super Wawa on the Voorhees-Berlin border last week was formally rejected by the Voorhees Planning Board, which reported it was troubled that a Cooper Road exit from the property could be unsafe.
The board voted 5-0 at its December 10 meeting to adopt a resolution denying the application by NIKI J&JÂ Voorhees Cooper Partners LLC of Marlton to build a Wawa with fueling stations on property bounded by Cooper Road and Route 73 northbound. The board's public hearing and initial vote to deny was at the September meeting.
The resolution adopted at last week's meeting said the board found "that Wawa proposes a full movement secondary access drive on Cooper Road to maximize its potential customer business at the expense of traffic safety."
In the resolution, the board stated that Wawa did not design the Cooper Road driveway as right-turn-only for exiting traffic. "It merely proposes to seek a (traffic light) timing change at the Route 73/Cooper Road intersection, which is unlikely to be approved by the NJDOT, whose primary concern is traffic safety and efficiency on State Highway Route 73."
Another entrance/exit would have been on northbound Route 73, just south of the Cooper Road intersection.
Board members and neighbors — including those who live in the nearby Sturbridge development — expressed concerns about Cooper Road traffic at the September meeting.Â
"It's a disaster...the traffic backs up all the way to the entrance of Forrest Hills Drive," resident Harry Garabedian, who lives on Forrest Hills Drive, told the board at the September hearing. "There's nothing that Wawa is going to do that's going to alleviate that; it's only going to add to the burden."
Board member Jason Ravitz, also a member of Voorhees Township Committee and deputy mayor, said at the hearing: "This road already backs up during rush hour. ...This is going to be a real issue in the operation."
Ravitz also took issue with Wawa not showing up for the hearing. "It boggles my mind they wouldn't show up, even a district manager to talk to the residents. ...it does show some level of ignorance," he said.
The application was presented by developer NIKI J&J Voorhees Cooper Partners — owned by the father-son team of James Angeloni and Jeff Angeloni — and its hired professionals.Â
In the denial resolution, the board focused on the Cooper Road driveway.
"At best, this driveway egress would result in inefficient traffic circulation at peak hours and at worst it would result in unsafe traffic considerations," according to the resolution.
At the September meeting, the developer's lawyer hinted at the possibility of a lawsuit challenging the denial.
The lawyer, CherylLynn Walters of Nehmad Davis & Goldstein of Egg Harbor Township, acknowledged the matter could end up in court. "You don't have the legal authority to deny an application for a permitted use," she told the board.
The developer was before the board seeking preliminary and final major site plan approval with bulk variances, design waivers and submission waivers.Â
If approved, a 5,915-square-foot Wawa convenience store with six fueling stations and 55 parking spaces would have been built on the 5.044-acre property. A home on the property would have remained.
Wawa would have operated the facility 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Previous 70and73.com coverage:Â
- Super Wawa proposed for northbound Route 73 near Cooper Road intersection.
- Wawa at Route 73 and Cooper Road rejected by Voorhees; Cooper traffic big issue.
