Chester Heights Borough has approved a reassessment cutting Wawa corporation’s real estate tax rate in half. Through negotiation, a value for five years, 2021 through 2025, was set and Wawa agreed to forgo filing an appeal in 2027, stabilizing the assessment for 2026 and 2027. The settlement provides stability and avoids financial risk and legal costs. During public comment, Greg Chestnut, a Garnet Valley School Board member, spoke, though he made it clear he did not speak on behalf of the school district. Chestnut outlined the two Wawa parcels as being valued at slightly more than $75 million for the tax year of 2021, which is when Wawa appealed the assessment. Chestnut detailed that when a property assessment is appealed, the law requires the use of statewide measure called the common level ratio (CLR), which assesses values compared to actual market values and is set annually by the State Tax Equalization Board. He said neither the school district nor the county control the CLR and once an appeal is made, the parties attempt to agree to a market value and then apply the CLR to the market value to obtain the assessment. Chestnut said Wawa initially proposed a much lower market value and the district pushed back with a substantially higher value. He blamed Delaware County for what he called a faulty 2020 reassessment. “The proof of a problematic reassessment is that the CLR has moved from 100% in 2021 to 57.4% now,” Chestnut said. Chestnut said from the district’s perspective, the settlement was a “good deal,” as Wawa agreed to the district’s value for five of the six years and will not appeal through 2027. He noted Delaware County concurs and agrees that fighting the appeal would be a waste of time and taxpayer money. Chester Heights Borough Council also censured a council member for speaking out about the settlement before it was voted upon.
Source: Daily Times; 3/3/2026