Action Needed – Appeal City Council’s Approval for Gas Station at Murphy & Brosterhous

ACTION NEEDED BY FEBRUARY 1st!

PLEASE WRITE TO EACH CITY COUNCILOR AND ASK THEM TO ACCEPT THE APPEALS OF BEND
CITIZENS FROM THE HEARINGS OFFICER’S DECISION APPROVING A GAS STATION AND DRIVE-
THRU COFFEE SHOP AT THE MURPHY/BROSTERHOUS INTERSECTION.

A hearings officer has approved the conditional use permits for the gas station and drive-thru at the Murphy/Brosterhous intersection. We have filed appeals to the City Council. The City Council will decide on February 1 whether to hear our appeals or affirm the hearings officer’s decision. Council has the discretion to hear, or not hear, the case de novo (from the beginning), which would allow us to present evidence the hearings officer dismissed. These auto-oriented businesses will be 100% surrounded by residential neighborhoods, with Jewell Elementary School 300 yards to the north, Caldera High School (and a pending middle school) one-half mile to the south, and the 37-acre Alpenglow Park 400 yards to the east. We have spent $15,000 to fight these conditional use permits, and just paid an additional $6,630 to the city to be allowed to appeal. If the City Council does not agree to hear them, it will be very difficult to continue fighting. The hearings officer adopted an interpretation of the Bend code which minimizes the approval standards for conditional use permits and makes them easier to obtain. It affects every neighborhood in Bend. The hearings officer dismissed many comments from Bend citizens
because they didn’t follow the right rules or their concerns were irrelevant because they didn’t fit the narrow set of criteria he believed applied to these applications. We are not asking the City Council to reverse the Hearings Officer’s decision. We are just asking for a fair hearing, for them to review all the evidence and arguments which were submitted. The Council has the time to do it: a final decision is not due until March 2. Please write NOW, to each individual city councilor, asking them to hear our appeal. This is all that’s needed (though your personal opinion and reason for wanting this is good also):

“Please accept the appeals from the Hearings Officer’s decision in PLCUP20220284 and PLCUP20220285.”

mkebler@bendoregon.gov
mperkins@bendoregon.gov
abroadman@bendoregon.gov
bcampbell@bendoregon.gov
amendez@bendoregon.gov
mriley@bendoregon.gov

Email Karon Johnson at karonjguam@gmail.com for more information.