An environmental document is being circulated now for a proposal to build a Sonic Burger franchise on a former gas station site at Main Street and Hwy 41 in Morro Bay.

Scott McMillan of Consumer Science, Inc., is the listed applicant in legal notices for the project, advertising the release of a “mitigated negative declaration” or MND for a 30-day public comment period that runs March 21-April 19.

The former Shell Service Station is owned by Scott and Tani McMillan of Wasco, Calif., who also have Sonic Burger franchises in the Central Valley.

The two bought the property from Thomas Pierce of Cayucos, who had moved a pair of old train cars onto the site several years ago intending to make them into a railcar restaurant. But that idea never left the station and numerous citizens complained about them, leading the City to order their removal.

The property has been vacant since the early 2000s, after the Shell Station was discovered to be the source of a MTBe contamination of the surrounding groundwater that was first detected at the sewer plant on Atascadero Road.

The discovery led the City to push a nuisance complaint against Shell, and force a settlement that included paying millions of dollars to the City and installing a clean-up system of wells and a small treatment plant.

The station was razed and the clean-up went on for years before being declared clean and the equipment removed.

The Sonic Burger is described as a 1,400 square foot restaurant with outdoor seating, a canopied drive-up service area and a drive thru lane.

Copies of the MND are available at the Community Development Department on Shasta Avenue and on the City’s website. A public hearing on the document is set for Tuesday, May 3 before the planning commission.