The Flight Shop Inc. v. Deschutes County

Under Deschutes County Code 18.76, the Airport Master Plan, and the Airport Development Zone regulations, “Fuel Storage” is an outright permitted use without any approval criteria, and is not considered a “facility” under Chapter 5, Subchapter 5.6, Goal 16, Policy 16.2(h) of the county’s transportation system.

Leading Edge Aviation applied to Deschutes County (County) for a site plan approval of a proposed aviation fueling station at Bend Municipal Airport. The County approved the site plan, then The Flight Shop, Inc. (Flight Shop) appealed the decision to LUBA. The Board remanded the decision to the county hearings officer, who again approved the application. The board of commissioners affirmed, and Flight Shop appealed to LUBA.

First assignment of error: Flight Shop argued that the county incorrectly interpreted the Deschutes County Code (DCC) 18.76 and the transportation system plan by approving the site plan for the fueling station. Under Siporen, LUBA's standard of review of the county’s interpretations of the DCC must be highly deferential to the county commissioners unless their interpretations are implausible. LUBA found that the Airport Master Plan (AMP) is not a source of approval criteria for the proposed fueling station, and the Airport Development Zone regulations are consistent with the AMP and DCC 18.76. The Board also agreed with the county’s interpretation of the word “facility” as referring to airport infrastructure such as runways and rotating beacons, and not ancillary development such as the proposed fuel station. AFFIRMED.