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THE DAILY ASTORIAN • WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 28, 2015
JOSHUA BESSEX — The Daily Astorian
JOSHUA BESSEX — The Daily Astorian
Jan Gregor, of Astoria, stands outside the Warrenton Community Center during a DEQ meeting about LNG Tuesday.
A schematic of the proposed LNG terminal is seen be-
hind Corps Regulatory Project Manager Richard Chong
as he speaks during the DEQ’s meeting about Oregon
LNG Tuesday.
Protest: LNG project would construct
a pipeline through multiple counties
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that went undetected since Au-
were not serious about taking gust.
your information and trying to
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answer questions.”
dismiss the lawsuit in Novem-
ber.
No easement update
Richard Chong, project
With the Army Corps in manager for the Corps, told the
attendance, the public hoped crowd the Corps cannot com-
to hear an update on a law- ment on any litigation. Later,
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LNG for access to an easement importance of real estate issues
over the proposed terminal when considering a permit. A
site, controlled by the Corps permit will not be issued with-
since 1957. The Corps uses out real estate considerations,
the land for disposing dredge they said.
spoils.
Along with possibly not
Last month, Columbia Riv- having rights to the federally
erkeepers discovered the court RZQHGODQG2UHJRQ/1*ZDV
Continued from Page 1A
recently denied a permit at the
county level.
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peals ruled last month in favor
of Clatsop County, upholding
its decision to deny a permit for
the pipeline to the terminal.
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2013, to deny the permit on the
grounds of bias, but the Court
of Appeals ultimately sided
with the county.
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push forward by seeking per-
mits from the agencies at the
meeting Tuesday under the
Clean Water Act and the Coast-
al Zone Management Act.
Its project would construct a
terminal on the Skipanon Pen-
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in Clatsop, Tillamook and Co-
lumbia counties. The project
started as import only in 2004,
but the scope changed in 2012
to an import/export project, re-
quiring more permitting.
At the meeting, the agencies
said they plan to review the re-
sults of FERC’s draft environ-
mental statement while work-
ing independently on their own
permitting processes.
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been set.
DEQ scheduled another
public meeting from 6 p.m. to
JOSHUA BESSEX — The Daily Astorian
More than 35 people gathered outside of the Warrenton
Community Center to protest the LNG process before the
DEQ’s public meeting about Oregon LNG Tuesday.
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where locals have concerns
about impacts of the pipeline.
All levels of permitting from
the county to the federal govern-
ment are important to the pro-
cess, Concini told the crowd.
“It’s more of a sequence
as opposed to one gets more
weight. Hopefully everything
will get the same amount of
weight,” Concini said.
Bridge Vista: Public feedback has called for ‘extremely limited development’
could be 35 feet up from the
riverbank.
Commission in March.
Building width would be
The city hopes to complete limited to 150 feet, and spac-
WKH%ULGJH9LVWDSKDVHZKLFK ing between buildings would
runs from the Port of Astoria be no closer than 40 feet to
to Second Street, by June.
preserve view corridors.
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Plan presumes there will be would be up to 35 feet, or 45
new development along and feet with stepbacks to help
over the Columbia River in protect views.
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Commissioners are also
but much of the public feed- supportive of a new pedes-
back so far has been strongly trian-friendly zone near the
against encouraging devel- bridge that could include re-
opment projects that might tail, hotels and commercial
obstruct views or spoil the re- projects but would exclude
gion’s distinct character.
auto-dependent uses, like gas
“I think we’ve found a stations, along with drive-
balanced compromise that through facilities and manu-
allows us to go forward and facturing.
the community to continue to
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develop,” said Dave Pearson, ments would likely be reduced
the deputy director of the Co- in the pedestrian-friendly
lumbia River Maritime Muse- zone.
um, who was chosen Tuesday
Commissioners are inter-
night as the new president of ested in an expanded com-
the Planning Commission, mercial zone along the river
replacing Zetty Nemlowill, with a broader range of retail,
who was elected to the City commercial and residential
Council.
options but restrictions on au-
“We’ve preserved the tomotive sales or services and
views. We keep what’s im- light manufacturing.
portant for the riverfront and
Development outcry
the pedestrians.”
While Matt Hastie, the
Getting closer
city’s planning consultant,
Commissioners have ap- and others have stressed that
proached consensus on lim- the land-use changes would
iting development over the impose development restric-
river near the bridge and west tions that do not exist today,
of Second Street near the the public reaction — like
Ship Inn and the old White it was during the Civic Gre-
Star Cannery boiler. Building enway phase of the four-leg
heights would be restricted 5LYHUIURQW9LVLRQ3ODQ²KDV
to the top of the riverbank in been mostly critical.
these areas. In other sections,
City Councilor Drew
building heights over the river Herzig questioned whether
Continued from Page 1A
the Planning Commission
had heard the public outcry
against development at a town
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ta in Uniontown earlier this
month.
He said the preponderance
of the public feedback has
called for “extremely limited
development.”
David Carter, who said he
and his wife bought a home
on Franklin Avenue last
spring, told the commission
he is concerned his spectacu-
lar views of the river might be
obstructed.
“My primary concern is
that I paid a premium and I
feel like I’m going to lose
that value of my property by
what’s occurring here,” he
said.
Commissioner McLaren
Innes said she was looking
for a middle ground between
“development versus no de-
velopment.”
“We are hearing from, so
often now, groups of people
who’d want no development,”
she said. “And yet I don’t
know how to reconcile that
with all the people that told
us vis-a-vis the Riverfront
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balanced.”
Commissioner Kent Ea-
som said views change at
different spots along the river
and the city.
“And buildings are part
of the view,” he said. “If you
don’t want any buildings to
look at, then go get an ocean
view. But along the river,
along a town, it may have
buildings.”
Commissioner Sean Fitz-
patrick said he hoped Bridge
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tentious as the debate over
the Civic Greenway, which
covered land use along the
river from 16th Street to 41st
Street.
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is currently allowed and make
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this document here,” he said
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“So we’re not a group up here
proposing something and try-
ing to ruin people’s views.
“And I hope that all of the
dialogue from the public from
here on, that they can under-
stand that everybody here
loves the riverfront. We all
love the views. We love this
town.
“And we appreciate the
character that it has and we
have no intention of trying to
destroy that.”
Join us!
FREE! Fun for the whole family!
Community Health Fair
February 14, 9am-2pm
Clatsop County Fairgrounds
92937 Walluski Loop, Astoria, OR
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Daily Astorian file
The Astoria Planning Commission is discussing proposals to change zoning in a thin
strip of Uniontown waterfront area north of Marine Drive, south of the Astoria Riverfront
Trolley line and between the Dunes Motel and the Holiday Inn. The land lies within the
Bridge Vista area, part of the Astoria Riverfront Vision Plan.
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