MEDFORD, Ore. —A controversial new development in east Medford is now open for business. But neighbors who’ve been against the plan from the beginning, aren’t planning to stop fighting.
Two years in the making, after much debate, the project in east Medford is finally complete. It’s at the corner of McAndrews and Springbrook. We’re told some residents have even moved away because their frustration is so great.
“What a shame, they’re ruining a perfectly good residential area,” said resident Virginia Baker.
A communal feeling for many residents in this east Medford neighborhood. What was originally in the works to be a Circle K, is now a Chevron gas station.
The Pinnacle 365 mini-mart, gas station, and car wash opened late last week.
“I thought oh no, no, no, no we don’t need that here this is strictly a residential area,” said Baker.
The community has been incredibly vocal about its opposition, throughout the entire development process. The signs are everywhere.
They didn’t go away after the city approved the project in 2019.
“We did do a couple of the city of Medford planning committee meetings, I feel like from the beginning that was predetermined it was going to be there anyway, it didn’t really matter what we had to say, said Alison Thiede, another upset resident.
Thiede lives just down the road from the gas station. The only thing separating the properties is an 8-foot cinder block wall.
“Being as our main bedrooms are right in the back of the house that’s right at my bedroom window it opens at 6 and closed at 10 so from that time there’s constant traffic, said Thiede.
Residents believe the need isn’t there. There are 2 gas stations just down the street on Crater Lake Avenue.
“You put a 7/11 just down the street down off there why would you build that and put another gas station in I just don’t know,” said Thiede’s neighbor, Nick Roach.
Resident Gary Sumrak has led the boycott efforts. He says he and a group of neighbors will picket outside the gas station the rest of this week, in the mornings, to make sure their voices are heard.
“Our goal is to get the city to sit down with all the groups and codify this thing so that this doesn’t get replicated in any other east Medford neighborhood,” said Sumrak.
We reached out to GP Energy in Grants Pass, who owns the business, but didn’t hear back.
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