Shell station expansion proposed
by Virginia Bruce

NOTE: The public comment period for this proposal has passed, but planners say they will still read comments, they just won't be incorporated into the staff report. See below for details on how to comment.

This design was agreed upon by Shell, Bales, and Washington County planners before Shell discontinued negotiations in October 2005

The owners of the Shell gas station on Cornell and Barnes Road have submitted a development application to Washington County to construct a *new 1,875 square foot building to replace the existing 1,568 s.f. building. Pacwest Energy,LLC dba Jacksons Food Stores, headquartered in Idaho, is the applicant.

They are claiming that since they are merely expanding the existing “convenience store,” they will not generate over 25% more traffic to the site. More than that would trigger the Public Facilities segment of the county development code, and might require street improvements and other conditions to development.

The Public Comment period for this development began on December 12 and was open through December 26. Past this time, the county will accept comments from citizens regarding this application but they won't be incorporated into the staff report. It’s unfortunate that it will happen in the midst of the holiday season. If this process concerns you, stay vigilant.

To submit a letter (they don't accept emails) please include this information:

Re: Casefile Number 11-299-D(C)
include your full mailing address, and your street address if it is different, printed legibly.
Send this to:

Attention Wayne Hayson
Washington County Dept. of Land Use & Transportation
Current Planning Services
155 N. 1st Avenue, #350-13
Hillsboro, OR 97124

When Cornell Road was widened in 2005, an exception was made to the 12-foot sidewalks that are required in a pedestrian-oriented Town Center area to accommodate the Shell station service bays. This is a “non-conforming” situation that might need to be addressed if the 25% traffic increase was triggered.**

As Ryan Egge, Bales Findley Property Management says, “Washington County will have to take into consideration the increase in average daily trip generation that will result from the proposed building expansion and change of use of the Shell site. If it meets a certain threshold, I would suspect that Shell will be required to modify site access and the existing non-conforming half-street improvement.  As well, the North-South connection from Cornell to Dogwood, outlined in the Town Center Ordinance, needs to be addressed, and the Shell site is the gateway to that connection. 

This is the proposed plan for the new convenience store. The building will either be re-built or expanded—unclear in the development application.

Anyone visiting the existing shop would be hard-pressed to describe the facility as a convenience store. The building was previously used as a repair facility, and it has not been improved. The only “convenience store” aspects are a cooler for pop, a cigarette vending case, and a few boxes of candy bars in the tiny office area where the cash register resides. The adjacent room holds used uniforms hanging on an unfinished plywood wall, and perhaps some oil containers.

The traffic study submitted as part of the application compares similar stations in other parts of the region. One study notes that “convenience-market-only” trips constituted between 26.7-29.8% of the trips to the site. It is hard to understand their contention, then, that less than a 25% increase in traffic would occur when the empty building is converted to a convenience store.

We are not contending that there is anything wrong with Jackson improving their property. We just want to make sure that the public interest is served by proper application of the development code based on facts.

* In some parts of the application, it is referred to as a remodel of the existing building so it’s unclear whether the existing building will be torn down or just remodeled.

**Section 501 of the Washington County Development Code says: Approval of an alteration, expansion or change in occupancy of a Type II use which currently does not conform with the requirements of Section 501-8.5 (Access to County and Public Roads) shall require that the use be brought into compliance with these standards when such changes create a twenty-five (25) percent increase in the existing Average Daily Trips (ADT). Compliance must be assured prior to the issuance of final approval or building permits for the expansion, addition or alteration.

The Type II Public Notice document is available here for download.

A brief look back at our coverage of the Shell station/Barnes Road extension:

The Cedar Mill News - April 2008 - Traffic light at Dogwood and Saltzman?
It also represents a possible new configuration for the Shell station which would allow Barnes to extend northward to Dogwood. (click map to enlarge) ...
www.cedarmill.org/news/archive/408/Dogwood-light.html

The Cedar Mill News - March 2005 - Proposed traffic light
Shell has expressed interest in the proposed redevelopment of their property, ... The map doesn't show the redesigned Shell station because no agreement has ...
www.cedarmill.org/news/archive/0305/dogwood.htm

The Cedar Mill News - October 2005 - Shell ends negotiations
As part of the solution to this problem, Bales-Findley Property Management proposed a realignment of the Shell station on Cornell that would allow Barnes Road ...
www.cedarmill.org/news/archive/1005/shell.html

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