Opponents of OSU-Cascades’ new west side campus have appealed their case to the Oregon Supreme Court, according to the group’s leaders. A number of lower bodies have already sided with the university.

Truth in Site, an organization of neighbors who have long opposed the campus, argue the university should be required to submit a plan for any future expansion beyond the 10 acres it currently owns and on which construction is underway. The school hopes to open its 10-acre campus in a year, though it is also exploring the possibility of expanding onto two larger, adjacent properties.

The university has argued it shouldn’t be forced to account for any properties it might never buy, an argument backed by city staff, an independent hearings officer, the Bend City Council, a state land use board and the Oregon Court of Appeals.

The state Supreme Court has discretion over whether to accept the appeal, and according to Truth in Site, the court only accepts around 10 percent of cases. City of Bend Attorney Mary Winters has said it is unlikely the Supreme Court would hear the case, noting last month, “(it has) not historically done so in land use cases which are affirmed (by the Court of Appeals) without opinion,” as this case was last month.

Truth in Site says its opposition is motivated by a desire to preserve the character of the city’s west side and a fear that the campus is poorly planned.