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About Seaside signal. (Seaside, Or.) 1905-current | View Entire Issue (March 17, 2017)
6A • March 17, 2017 • Seaside Signal • seasidesignal.com Seaside, developers squabble over sidewalks Requirement could undermine affordable housing By Jack Heffernan EO Media Group The Seaside Planning Commission and local devel- opers are still at odds over a sidewalk requirement for a proposed affordable housing project. Owners of a 15-acre plot of land on the corner of South Wahanna Road and Avenue S called Blue Heron Pointe plan to build 45 homes priced under $300,000. But the de- velopers — Ritchie Develop- ment Corp. — have said the city’s request to have a section of sidewalk built along Ave- SUBMITTED PHOTO Aerial view of the proposed Blue Heron Pointe development. nue S in the first phase of the project would not be feasible. Commissioners discussed the issue at a meeting Tuesday, March 7. Concerns voiced by the commissioners and mem- bers of the public included a 2009 street system plan that calls for sidewalks, bike lanes and foot travel lanes along Avenue S. Drainage concerns from culverts on the property and traffic caused by the lot’s proximity to Seaside Heights Elementary School and a fu- ture construction site were also mentioned. Developers presented an adjusted version of phase one of the three-phase plan Tues- day. The plan would call for a wider passageway inside Blue Heron Pointe that would al- low more access from Avenue S to Wahanna Road until the exterior sidewalks eventually would be built in phase three. Meeting attendees ex- pressed concern, though, that developers may delay build- ing the sidewalks if they don’t collect the necessary funds af- ter selling lots built in the first two phases of the project. Pearl public hearing to be continued A number of commis- sioners proposed including a deadline to have the side- walks built as part of any fu- ture approval. Commissioner Richard Ridout suggested the deadline could parallel the opening of a new high school in the city’s East Hills in fall 2020. “We’ve got no timeline here for how soon anything is going to happen, so I’d like them to put the sidewalk next to the property,” Ridout said. But Max Ritchie, one of the owners of the property, said the earliest his compa- ny could afford to build the sidewalks would be in phase three. While he doesn’t know exactly when that phase would begin, it almost cer- tainly will not be within four years, he said. Should developers miss the proposed deadline, the city could halt other construc- tion on the property until the sidewalks are built, Commis- sion Chairman Ray Romine said. Sandra K. Gee, who lives on Cooper Street east of the property, expressed her sup- port for the sidewalk require- ment Tuesday night. “This is a multimillion dol- lar project,” she said. “I don’t think the cost of that sidewalk on that curve will make or break it, but it gives the own- ers an out not to build it if they don’t sell all of their houses.” Commissioners will dis- cuss the issue further before voting on it at a public meet- ing on March 21. Ritchie said he is not sure yet how the proposed require- ment will affect the future of the project. DINING on the NORTH COAST Great Restaurants in: GEARHART SEASIDE CANNON BEACH R.J. MARX/SEASIDE SIGNAL Owner Antoine Simmons points to the site of the proposed Pearl Oceanfront Resort. Pearl from Page 1A change, but also the varianc- es that have been granted to the adjacent property,” Pearl architect David Vonada said Monday night. Dan Calef told councilors the proposed building would cast a “permanent afternoon shadow” on his house. “We would be perfectly willing to accept a slight- ly smaller unit that doesn’t completely overpower our house,” Calef said. “We just don’t want this huge thing that would shade and block our house.” “Once again we ask you R.J. MARX/SEASIDE SIGNAL The height variance was essential due to the uneven drive- way grade, owner Simmons said. to vote ‘no’ for the height,” Susan Calef said. “It’s very distressing. I’m not opposed to the building. We just ask that it be built to the specifi- cations.” Without a height variance, the building would lose two floors and be limited to 30 rooms, owner Antoine Sim- mons said after the meeting. “That wouldn’t work,” he said. A continuance of the pub- lic hearing was granted at the recommendation of the city’s legal counsel Dan Thiele. The hearing will resume at the city’s April 10 council meeting. Cannon Beach charter school gets a boost Academy wins $100,000 grant By R.J. Marx Seaside Signal The Cannon Beach Acade- my received good news. The charter school, set to open its doors in September, re- ceived a recommendation for a $100,000 award through the Oregon Charter School Pro- gram. Funds will be allocated to curriculum costs, teacher training, classroom equipment and marketing costs, Phil Simmons, director of startup operations for the academy, said Tuesday, March 7. “The planning grant is ad- ministered by the Oregon De- partment of Education and the funds came from the federal government,” Simmons said. “The purpose is to help defer the startup costs for charter schools. We applied for the maximum grant amount of $100,000, and they awarded the grant.” The Seaside School Dis- trict participated in the grant process by verifying that the academy had been granted a charter to operate in the dis- trict and supported their re- ceiving the grant to provide startup funds, Superintendent Sheila Roley said. “The members of the Can- non Beach Academy board have worked very hard to make this a reality and we were happy that they received some resources to help them in the process,” Roley said. Charter schools The state was awarded $8.7 million for charter school planning, implementation and dissemination grants in Octo- ber 2015, charter school grant specialist Jennifer Donovan said. “We will award up to 15, $100,000 planning grants over the three-year term of our fed- eral charter schools program grant,” Donovan said. So far, four planning grants have been awarded, she add- ed. Simmons said the grant ap- plication detailed the school’s five-year planning efforts, provided budget details and indicated where funds would be allocated. All costs in the application were approved. “It’s just a matter of us ex- ecuting the plan and getting reimbursed,” Simmons said. “They were quite impressed with our grant, so much so they’re making our applica- tion a model for future appli- cations.” Where the money will be allocated The largest portion of the grant funds are slated to be used for training educators in the school’s curriculum. An- other $10,000 will go to three months of salaries for the di- rector and English as a Sec- ond Language teacher. “This will really allow those two individuals to really iron out any issues with our program and prepare our program for implementation,” Simmons said. As much as $30,000 will go to classroom equipment and curriculum expenses. The academy applied for the grant with the assistance of the Seaside School District, a cooperation “which is not always common,” Simmons said. “Oftentimes there can be friction between a charter school and a district, because the district sees the char- ter school as taking away a source of revenue. My expe- rience is the district, particu- larly within the past year, has been incredibly supportive. They’re really trying to help us pull this off.” Something ‘unique’ Enrollment at Cannon Beach Academy is limited to 22 students. “It’s offering something a bit unique,” Sim- mons said. Families not only in Can- non Beach but in Seaside, Gearhart and other portions of Clatsop County in the Seaside School District will benefit from the school’s Spanish lan- guage component and direct instruction curriculum design, he said. “If they want this cur- riculum, it’s open to them,” Simmons said. “It’s great for the district. It will encourage folks to move here because of this choice, I believe.” With enrollment under- way, the academy’s lease agreement at 171 Sunset Bou- levard is nearly complete. Renovations include “moving a few walls and putting some paint in there,” Simmons said, as well as meeting compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. Improvements will begin after the lease is complete. “We’ve got a budget for it and we don’t anticipate any significant problems,” Sim- mons said. ROBERT CAIN LD, WANNA KNOW WHERE THE LOCALS GO? • Breakfast • Lunch • Dinner • Lighter appetite menu • Junior Something for Everyone menu Fish ‘n Chips • Burgers • Seafood & Steak Friday & Saturday - Prime Rib Lounge Open Daily 9-Midnight All Oregon Lottery products available BEST BREAKFAST IN TOWN! 1104 S Holladay • 503-738-9701 • Open Daily at 8am MAZATLAN M E X I C A N R E S TA U R A N T Phone 503-738-9678 1445 S. Roosevelt Drive • Seaside NATIONALLY FAMOUS CLAM CHOWDER • FRESH OREGON SEAFOOD R E STAU R A N T S CANNON BEACH 503-436-1111 Ocean Front at Tolovana Park www.moschowder.com Discover Patty’s Wicker Cafe on the Beautiful Necanicum River BREAKFAST & LUNCH MONDAY thru FRIDAY 6AM to 2PM 45 Years of Experience Great Atmosphere • Great Food • Great Prices TWO LOCATIONS SEASIDE & HILLSBORO 600 Broadway Suite 7 & 8 • 503.717.1272 740 Ave H • Ste 2 • Seaside 232 NE Lincoln • Ste B • Hillsboro FREE CONSULTATION • Dentures for all ages, New, Partials and Custom Dentures • Dentures for implants • Relines & Repairs • Denture repairs done same day! • Personal service and attention to detail Open Wednesday and Friday • 9-4:30 • 503-738-7710 Excellence in family dining found from a family that has been serving the North Coast for the past 52 years Great Great Great Homemade Breakfast, lunch and pasta, Clam but that’s dinner steaks & Chowder, not all... menu,too! seafood! Salads! Seaside • 323 Broadway • 738-7234 (Open 7 Days) Cannon Beach • 223 S. Hemlock 436-2851 (7am-3pm Daily) Astoria • 146 W. Bond • 325-3144