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Winter Springs planning board delays Wawa proposal over traffic and town‑center design concerns
Summary
The Planning & Zoning Board continued the Wawa convenience store and associated additional‑parking proposal to Sept. 11 after staff recommended denial because of setback, design and incomplete traffic review; board and residents cited safety and pedestrian‑oriented town‑center goals.
The Winter Springs Planning & Zoning Board voted to continue a proposal for a Wawa convenience store and gas canopy at the Winter Springs Marketplace (SR 434 and Tuscilla Road) to Sept. 11 to allow staff and applicant time to complete traffic review and address design concerns.
Senior planner Janelli Garnett told the board staff recommended denying the conditional‑use/site‑plan package, saying the proposal "does not meet any of the goals found in goal two of the town center the comprehensive plan" because the convenience store building would sit roughly 182 feet from State Road 434, which undermines the continuous storefront and walkability intended for the Town Center, and because the traffic analysis had not yet been completed and approved.
Applicant and developer representatives said they had worked on many iterations to adapt Wawa's prototype to a tight, triangular 1.22‑acre parcel and argued the canopy and revised layout addressed operational and circulation challenges. "We have no intention of converting it to a school," said Rick Kerper on behalf of the applicant in response to board questions about future use conversions.
Board members repeatedly flagged traffic and pedestrian safety as core concerns. One board member, speaking from a traffic‑engineering perspective, said convenience stores are "not low trip generators. They are high trip generators," and urged that the transportation review be completed and approved before final action.
After public comment from nearby residents raising intersection congestion and requests for a facade that better matches the Winter Springs Marketplace, the board voted to postpone the Wawa application to September 11 with a date‑certain continuance so staff and the applicant could address the eight staff‑identified deficiencies and complete the transportation review. The board also postponed a linked application for additional parking and access improvements (Item 402) to the same date so the two items can be heard together.
Next steps: staff and the applicant will work to resolve transportation consultant comments and address the aesthetic and setback concerns; the board scheduled the continued hearing for Sept. 11 at 5:30 p.m. in City Commission Chambers.
