Under mounting public pressure, the Planning Department is moving the application for an expansion of Sisters’ Space Age Fuel service station from a Type II to Type III procedure.

Pliska Investments of Clackamas, Oregon is the owner of Space Age Fuel at 411 W. Cascade Ave., and it is their desire to dismantle the existing gas station and convenience store and rebuild it from the ground up.

Under a Type II review of the application, the City’s planning team has authority to grant or deny approval to such applications. By moving it to a Type III review the seven-member Planning Commission will have to rule on the application after a public hearing, which has been tentatively scheduled for May 18.

Type III procedures are considered quasi-judicial, with any appeals heard by the City Council. Type III decisions generally use discretionary approval criteria.

Type IV procedures are deemed legislative, with a minimum of two hearings, one before the Planning Commission and one before the City Council.

The City issued a public notice last December indicating receipt of the application, and asking for public comment by January 27, 2023, as an aid to arriving at a decision.

The notice stated: “Failure to raise an issue in person, or by letter before or during the issuance of the decision, or failure to provide statements or evidence sufficient to afford the decision-maker an opportunity to respond to the issue, may preclude an appeal based on that issue with the State Land Use Board of Appeals.

“After the comment period closes, the Community Development Director or designee shall issue a Type II Administrative Decision. The decision shall be mailed to the applicant and to anyone else who submitted written comments or who is otherwise legally entitled to notice.”

Numerous citizens have gone before City Council to protest the granting of the application, and letters to the editor of The Nugget and social media have been filled with opposition to the application. The application has been “called up” for planning commission review.