Thoughts on last night's (October 18th) City Commission meeting. . . and what's that about a Wawa on 10th Ave. North?

Use this link to see all the videos of last night's Commission meeting. At the top of the page is a red "Subscribe" button. Subscribers receive an email when new videos have been uploaded to YouTube.

Another benefit of these videos is you can see and hear for yourself what happened instead of being spoon-fed what somebody else thinks happened. For example, the self-described so-called experts on social media and other blogs.

Notable for its brevity the meeting adjourned well before 7 p.m. Those that attended heard widespread admiration and praise for how well the City staff and Electric Utility prepared for Hurricane Matthew. Crews were able to keep up even during the storm to the extent it was safe to do so. The City's emergency preparedness plan, we heard, developed during the past few years performed remarkably well.

This is a tangible example how the City has turned a corner, completing the transition to a more professionally-run organization. Something we all, or most of us, can be happy about.

Also notable about this Commission meeting was the absence of many regulars who always criticize and complain about everything ever since the majority of Mayor Pam Triolo, Vice Mayor Scott Maxwell, and Commissioner Andy Amoroso have been leading the way since 2012. Speculation is the critics' heads would explode if they had to sit there and listen to any more good news.

Public comment consisted of two residents concerned about the prospect of a Wawa gas station at the southeast corner of 10th Ave. North and 'A' Street. Here is that video:It seems there is property assembly going on related to some project. As yet the details are not available. Mixed Use East 10th and 6th is the current zoning designation. That is indicated by the red area on the zoning map, a section of which appears below:

Use this link for the City's Zoning Map. You can find out how your neighborhood is zoned.

A Wawa would be classified under "Automobile Filling Stations." Looking at the permitted use table from the land development regulations that use is not permitted in this zoning district:

A check mark would indicate what could be permitted in the Mixed Use East 10th and 6th zoning district.

Suffice to say there are regulatory hurdles that would have to be cleared in order for this use to go forward in this particular zoning district. Rezoning (unlikely) or a text change and/or other changes would need to approved through the Planning and Zoning Board and then the City Commission.

Only after that process could a site plan be considered. It is worth noting there sure is a lot of consternation about the prospect of a Wawa at that location. However, it's important to remember anyone can bring any project to the City for consideration. Whether it moves forward or not is an entirely different story.

There's no rule against the City and interested parties talking and it's way too early to jump to conclusions. But in my humble opinion, a Wawa at that particular location would face an uphill battle. There's also Dixie Hwy: lot's of great locations along that stretch and I know a lot of people would love to have our own Wawa here in the City of Lake Worth.