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Firm appeals paving edict Mail Tribune / Roy Musitelli Steve Plunk of Plunk Transportation says city conditions requiring him to pave his lot and design a storm drain system negate the financial benefit of selling part of his land to improve cash flow. By MELISSA MARTIN Mail Tribune A family trucking business that provides 30 local jobs and supports a $1 million annual payroll is fighting City Hall. Steve Plunk of Plunk Transportation wants to partition his 5-acre parcel, dividing and selling off two 1-acre lots. The Medford Planning Commission approved the plan, but with conditions that call for paving three acres and designing a storm drain system, which would cost the business about $150,000, Plunk said. "It means any money we would get from the sale of the property would have to go to paving and storm drainage," said Plunk, whose father, Gene, started the business in 1983. "We're selling the land because we need a cash infusion. Our reserves have been tapped over the last two years with high fuel prices." Plunk will appeal the Planning Commission's conditions to the Medford City Council at 7 p.m. Thursday at City Hall, 411 W. Eighth St. Plunk Transportation has 28 trucks and drivers that load and deliver wood products and building materials from Seattle to San Diego, Plunk said. The Medford business, located on Table Rock Road north of the airport, is a midway point where trucks are parked on weekends, he said. Paving the parking lot and building a storm drain system would negate the financial benefit of selling off part of his land to improve the business cash flow, he said. Because Plunk Transportation is now located in the city limits, it must meet Medford codes, said Rob Scott, Medford planning director. Two years ago, when the trucking company and several of its neighbors hooked up to city water at a shared cost of about $70,000, Medford annexed them into the city. "This is a standard that applies across the board to everyone," Scott said. "Part of the issue is this is a property developed in the county to something other than city standards. Had this been developed in the city, the requirement would have been to pave it." Plunk has spent about $5,000 for an attorney and a planning consultant to help him navigate the city's land-use process. The process is complicated, even for someone who has been involved in city government, said Plunk, who served on the city's Citizens Advisory Committee and parks commission. When he speaks to the City Council Thursday, his trump card may be citing a 1994 U.S. Supreme Court case called Dolan vs. The City of Tigard. It involved a hardware store that wanted to expand and a city requirement that the business give land near a creek for a greenway. "The court ruled there's no connection between expansion and the city taking the land for a bike path," Plunk said. "It created a test. There has to be a nexus between the proposed development and the exaction. It has to be proportionate. "It's a landmark decision in land use," Plunk said. "It will eventually bring cities back in compliance with a sense of fairness." The city requires parking lots to be paved to seal the dust and keep it from becoming airborne and contributing to poor air quality, said Anna Kemmerer, environmental specialist with the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality. The state monitors particulate matter, including dust, in Medford's air. "Historically, the Department of Environmental Quality has received complaints about trucking companies and parking lots - trucks pulling in and out and creating a lot of dust," Kemmerer said. The state has not received any complaints about Plunk Transportation, she said. Reach reporter Melissa Martin at 776-4497, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.