Project plans will be presented for city council consideration in August, according to Interim City Planner Aaron Sorrell.
The proposed store will sit on 5.41 acres of land, approximately half of which is currently developed as a single-family home in a densely wooded and landscaped lot, with the other half being wooded and undeveloped, documents show.
Plans include construction of a 5,915-square-foot building on approximately 2.4 acres of the site to house a convenience store, a fueling station equipped with eight gas pumps, and 53 parking spaces.
During a presentation to the planning commission this month, the developer highlighted plans to leave a section of forested area to the west and north undeveloped to allow for a “natural buffer” between the business and homes in the surrounding area.
Resident Jason Waite lives to the west of the site. He expressed concerns to the commission about the likely increase in traffic on Chambersburg Road as a result of the project.
“I would just like to say that I oppose it at this point because the road is just not set up for that at this point,” Waite said.
Several planning commission members shared this concern. Sorrell said the city has plans to widen Chambersburg Road in this area in the next few years, adding that the road project could potentially be expedited.
In the past two years, multiple gas station/convenience store chains have made plans to expand in the Dayton area, with Sheetz and Wawa newly launching, UDF opening an expanded style of store, and Casey’s expanding the Ohio footprint they started about five years ago.
Pennsylvania-based company Wawa, a gas station chain known for its food and beverage offerings like custom-made hoagies and specialty drinks, announced in December 2022 plans to expand to Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana.
The company has about 1,000 stores located in the eastern states of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Florida, and Washington D.C.
In February, Liberty Twp.’s board of trustees approved plans for a Wawa to be built in Butler County, the first proposed Ohio location.
Two new Sheetz locations have been proposed for busy areas of Huber Heights, one on Old Troy Pike at Taylorsville Road and the other on Brandt Pike at Executive Boulevard.
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