Our Major Concerns

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  The proposed development will result in an exponential increase in automobile and truck traffic along the Ridge Road corridor—an area whose road network evolved from historic Lenni Lenape paths and was never designed to accommodate modern high-volume commercial traffic. 

Traffic studies associated with the proposal project an increase of approximately 8,443 additional vehicle trips per day, bringing total daily traffic volumes to well over 10,000 vehicles. Notably, traffic impacts to secondary roads maintained by the Township have not been adequately studied. 

Existing cut-through traffic in surrounding residential neighborhoods accessed via Smithbridge Road and Springhill Drive is already a significant concern for residents and can reasonably be expected to worsen as drivers seek to avoid congestion. 

Many residents already describe traffic conditions along Route 202 as congested and difficult during peak periods. The cumulative effect of this increased traffic will place an unreasonable and unsustainable burden on multiple residential roadways, creating significant safety, noise, and quality-of-life impacts during construction and on a permanent, daily basis for as long as the proposed strip mall remains in operation.

A review of the developer’s Environmental permit application found serious issues that must be addressed before the project can move forward. These corrections were due in December. The developer has since asked for 2 extensions with the deadline now 2/26/2026.  Key concerns include:

• Old permits used for new plans: The developer is relying on permits issued for earlier designs, even though the current proposal includes major layout and stormwater changes.
• Incomplete wetland review: Only part of the site was evaluated for wetlands. Some areas proposed for construction were never inspected.
• Outdated environmental studies: Wildlife and wetland studies are several years old and do not account for newly identified wetlands.
• Incomplete wildlife screening: The state review did not include the full site and flagged a potential protected species concern.
• Conflicting application details: The application contains contradictions about land use, impervious area, and where stormwater flows.
• Tree and habitat impacts understated: Plans show tree removal and potential habitat impacts that were denied in the application.
• Past violations not disclosed: A prior state environmental violation within the past five years was not accurately reported.

The developer has initiated an appeal of the determinations issued by the Concord Township Zoning Officer.  On 12/17, Save Ridge Road through our legal counsel along with additional 35 homeowners claimed and were granted PARTY STATUS, as well as Chadds Ford Township through its attorney.

The Zoning Officer denied the proposed fuel pumping operations for two independent and sufficient reasons:

• First, the Zoning Officer determined that Section 210-127(D)(7) of the Zoning Ordinance does not permit the retail sale of gasoline as an accessory use to the proposed 57,000-square-foot supermarket.
• Second, the Zoning Officer determined that the proposed fuel station fails to meet the Ordinance requirement that such use be located on a corner lot with frontage on two arterial highways.

The developer has also appealed the denial of its proposed 95,000-square-foot principal building, which exceeds the maximum permitted building size of 65,000 square feet under the Zoning Ordinance. 

The proposed widening of Ridge Road to six lanes—combined with an elevation increase of approximately six feet—followed by an abrupt reduction back to two lanes presents a serious and foreseeable traffic safety hazard.  As such, a revised scenario was submitted to PennDOT on 12/17. This new proposed plan:

• Relies on driver behavior assumptions: The plan assumes most drivers will use the new Route 202 access instead of Ridge Road. If drivers continue using Ridge Road, impacts could be worse than predicted.
• New signal on a busy highway: Adding another signal on Route 202 introduces new stopping points, which can increase congestion and crash risk.
• Unresolved property acquisition: The plan depends on acquiring land from a third-party property owner. 
• Little room for error: Intersections are designed to operate at the minimum acceptable level, leaving limited flexibility if traffic grows faster than expected.
• Limited focus on safety beyond cars: The analysis centers on vehicle delay and lane capacity, with less attention to pedestrian safety, emergency access, and long-term cumulative impacts.

   Neighboring residents rely exclusively on private wells drawing from the Piedmont fractured-bedrock aquifer—a groundwater system recognized in Pennsylvania to have limited natural filtration and complex flow paths that make it especially vulnerable to contamination. 

The proposed uses—including a car wash and a fuel dispensing facility—introduce a substantial and unreasonable risk of groundwater contamination from petroleum, solvents, detergents, and stormwater-borne pollutants. In fractured bedrock, contaminants can migrate rapidly through interconnected fractures, making even small releases capable of reaching private wells with minimal natural attenuation. 

Regulatory guidance under PA DEP’s Source Water Protection program emphasizes the complexity of delineating wellhead protection areas in fractured-bedrock settings precisely because of this rapid and unpredictable flow behavior, underscoring the heightened risk posed by nearby contaminant sources. 

This risk of contamination directly implicates the protection of public health, safety, and welfare, central obligations of municipal planning and the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code, and aligns with PA DEP’s overarching groundwater protection policy, which directs that land uses that threaten groundwater quality should be discouraged in sensitive hydrogeologic areas.

    The Route 202 has become severely congested and increasingly dysfunctional for local residents. On a routine basis, traffic volumes result in extended queues, stop-and-go conditions, and periods of complete standstill. The proposed development would exacerbate these existing conditions and further degrade traffic operations and roadway safety.

The surrounding market area is already well served by existing retail food stores. Within approximately four miles of the subject property, there are at least nine grocery options, including:

• Whole Foods (less than 1 mile)
• Wegmans (1 mile)
• Fresh Market (less than 2 miles) 
• Acme (less than 2 miles)
• Trader Joe’s (3 miles)
• Giant (3 miles)
• Sprouts (3 miles)
• ShopRite (3 miles)
• Aldi (4 miles)

Similarly, the area is already served by multiple fuel dispensing facilities, including Wawa, 

Sunoco, and Costco, with at least five operating gas stations within a three-to-five-mile radius. A sixth gas station at the intersection of Routes 202 and 1 remains vacant or abandoned. 

The corridor also contains at least three existing car wash facilities within approximately three miles of the site.