Planning commission backs redevelopment of McLaughlin service station; recommends development agreement with variances and water‑resource exemption

The Oregon City Planning Commission voted 4‑0 to recommend that the City Commission approve a development agreement and associated land‑use requests for the redevelopment of an existing service station at 1002 McLaughlin Boulevard (SP0605; variances VR0608; water resource exemption WR0608). The applicant proposes to demolish the existing structure and construct a new approximately 2,670‑square‑foot building, a canopy and two fuel islands on a roughly 13,500‑square‑foot parcel.

Staff presented the application as a development agreement because the property holds a Measure 37 claim permitting the gas‑station use under the prior zoning. Staff said the site has substantial constraints—existing underground double‑wall fiberglass fuel tanks remain in place and limit where the building and pumps can be located, and the parcel is small, which drives parking and landscaping tradeoffs. The applicant proposed to…