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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 3, 2015)
143rd YEAR, No. 90 TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2015 ONE DOLLAR Gearhart LOOK ALL YOU WANT, BUT stymied STAY OFF THE ROCK in eff ort to quash party barn Ambiguous language leads to court win for barn owner By R.J. MARX The Daily Astorian Dani Palmer/EO Media Group Haystack Rock is an iconic, protected area on the Oregon Coast. Some visitors just can’t stiÀ e the urge to climb Haystack Rock By DANI PALMER EO Media Group C ANNON BEACH — Haystack Rock is an iconic symbol of Cannon Beach that draws thousands to the small coastal town each year. But members of the Haystack Rock Awareness Program want the public to know the 235-foot-tall rock — protected as an Oregon Islands National Wildlife Refuge and Marine Garden — is more for looking than for touching. Haystack Rock is what drew Jason Phelps, 35, of Vancouver, British Columbia, and his girl- friend, Abbey, to Cannon Beach during a trip to Oregon. “We’ve seen tons of photos and had to stop by to see it for our- selves,” Phelps said. “She’s a big fan of ‘The Goonies,’ too, so that’s a plus.” Like Phelps, visitors come for that adventure; others are there for a wedding or senior pictures. But a few just can’t resist an urge to reach out and touch, or even climb. “Sometimes they get tunnel vision,” Program Coordinator Melissa Keyser said. “It’s just not an environment they’ve been in before — they want to check it out.” “A lot of times it’s an honest mistake,” she added, but she also believes people should know the rules of the places they visit. Even with the presence of pro- gram staff, signage and informa- tion, the number of people climb- See GEARHART, Page 7A ing the rock is high, she added. From February to September, Haystack Rock Awareness Pro- gram staff intercepted more than 1,200 people trying to climb the rock. That was just during beach shifts, each a few hours a day. Cannon Beach seeks new ¿ re leader Unintentional harm Haystack Rock was incorporat- ed as a national wildlife refuge in 1968 and became a marine garden in 1991, one of seven protected intertidal areas along the Oregon coast. Everything above the high tide line is apart of the protection, meaning it can’t be climbed or walked on, and animals should not be touched, Keyser said. Vis- itors may take shells, but HRAP staff encourage them not to. The shells can provide habitat for an- imals. The designations are meant to guard the animals and plants that call Haystack Rock home. Dani Palmer/EO Media Group See ROCK, Page 12A A visitor and her dog take a seat in front of Haystack Rock, where a sign permitting visitors from entering its protected areas stands. Still no details on Balzer’s departure By DANI PALMER EO Media Group New standards could give beachgoers pause Beach safety threshold to be cut by more than half By DANI PALMER EO Media Group T he Oregon Beach Moni- toring Program will likely issue more public health advisories for beach goers starting in 2017. Not because bacteria levels are expected to rise, but because the safety threshold for marine water is being lowered. The program’s safety thresh- old, or “beach action value,” is being lowered to 70 organisms GEARHART — Judge John Orr ruled Monday night that Gearhart’s zoning code lacked rules prohibiting commercial wedding facilities . With that decision, Neacoxie Barn owner Shannon Smith was found not guilty of charges she was conducting a commercial business in a residential zone. Smith was answering charges she held two events at the barn in June and August , resulting in two $500 ci- tations . In September, witnesses testi¿ ed Smith had been using her property to host weddings without a conditional use permit, which the city said was required . Witnesses said they had been asked to pay up to $2,600 for use of the barn, or were asked to barter for wedding services. In arguments presented to Orr Monday, Gearhart City Attorney Pe- ter Watts said Oregon Administrative Rules make it clear weddings are a “commercial activity.” “The nature of an event, as com- mercial, maintains that classi¿ cation regardless of zoning,” he wrote in a memorandum to the judge. Smith’s attorney Dan Kearns ar- gued the city’s municipal code failed to speci¿ cally prohibit renting out the barn for weddings. “The city is bound to fairly advise its citizens of what its code requires and prohibits,” Kearns said. per 100 milliliters of water. The current threshold is 158 organ- isms per 100 milliliters. The new standards reÀ ect recent studies that found people are getting sick at beach action values lower than the U.S. En- vironmental Protection Agency safety threshold for bacteria, Tara Chetock, the beach moni- toring program coordinator, said. Representatives from the beach monitoring program, the Oregon Department of En- vironmental Quality and the Oregon Health Authority made the last of its coastal stops, in- cluding Cannon Beach on Oct. 22, in a series of informational meetings . See STANDARDS, Page 7A Dani Palmer/EO Media Group Thomas Lossen, left, writes down data as Han- nah Moore runs tests on ocean water sampled in Cannon Beach this summer. Both are with the Oregon Beach Monitoring Program. CANNON BEACH — The Cannon Beach Rural Fire Protec- tion District Board and interim Fire Chief Frank Swedenborg agreed the district needs to ¿ nd a permanent leader sooner rather than later during a special meeting Mon- day night . On Mon- day, Sweden- borg asked the board for di- rection. “I just need to ¿ nd out what’s cru- Mike cial, what has Balzer to happen,” he said. “My biggest concern is the betterment of the ¿ re department and the ¿ re¿ ghters.” Former Chief Mike Balzer was relieved of his duties in mid-October because of ongoing personnel issues, according to board President Sharon Clyde at the time. Last week, the Cannon Beach Ga- zette ¿ led a p ublic r ecords r equest seeking further details. See FIRE CHIEF, Page 12A