Planning commission backs rezoning for Wawa convenience store at 524 South College Road, with tree-relocation condition

The City of Wilmington Planning Commission on July 8 recommended approval of a conditional-district rezoning for 1.76 acres at 524 South College Road to allow a Wawa convenience store with fuel pumps, voting unanimously 6–0.

Planner Miss Hopkins told the commission the site—near the UNCW campus and currently zoned ONI (office/institutional)—would be rezoned to a Community Business conditional district to permit a convenience store with fuel, provide 43 parking spaces and include conditions intended to preserve the street character and provide pedestrian connections. Hopkins said staff found “modest support” for the application under the Wilmington comprehensive plan but noted policy criteria both for and against the specific proposal and that two written public comments opposing the project had been received.

Applicant representative Sam Frank said the developer owns the access parcel that would link the site to University Drive and that, while the public right of way currently stops short, the rezoning application includes that access parcel for transparency. Frank told the commission the traffic-impact analysis (TIA) vetted by the MPO and traffic engineers applies a 75% pass-by factor for this use and estimated the proposed project would represent only about a 1% increase in daily traffic on the corridor compared with existing volumes. “If we are, for whatever reason, unable to achieve access over that section of private land, we would not comply with the conditions of this proposed zoning and therefore would not be able to build the proposed store,” Frank said.

Commissioners questioned ownership of the easement to University Drive, the driveway configuration (right-in/right-out), trip-generation assumptions and whether the TIA recommended any improvements to University Drive. Staff and the applicant said the TIA was completed and that recommended improvements included modifications to the existing curb cut; they also said the 60/40 split in the analysis assumed roughly 40% of trips would use University Drive and 60% would use the College Road access.

Trees and buffering were a central point of discussion. The application required variances approved in May 2026 for a specimen tree removal and for setback reduction to allow a drive-through-style pickup window. The three crepe myrtles along College Road could conflict with the required driveway alignment, and the commissioners and applicant discussed whether those trees could be relocated. Staff proposed revised condition language (condition 5) requiring that any existing trees removed from the right of way be relocated on-site unless (1) existing utilities prevent relocation, (2) moving the trees would cause irreparable damage to the trees, or (3) the current owner of that right-of-way/tree does not agree. City staff noted the trees are in the DOT right of way and that DOT permission would be required to relocate them.

During deliberations Commissioner Pollock moved to recommend approval of case CDD-6-226, adding the three caveats to condition 5 about utilities, tree viability and owner permission; the motion was seconded and passed on a unanimous roll-call vote. The commission’s recommendation will be forwarded to Wilmington City Council; written public comments in opposition will be included in the record if the council hears the item.