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2A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2015 Party barn? Court decision stalls as state ruling delays resolution in Gearhart spat ‘How do you feel DEouW À u VKoWV"¶ By R.J. MARX The Daily Astorian “I think people should get them, especially if they are over 50 or under 5. I know they don’t always work, Eut compared to the À u, they are much better.” Clay Robinson, Asheville, N.C. “I don’t take them. I never have. I don’t like shots, and everyone I’ve known who’s taken one has gotten sick. I am not going to do it.” Jacque Pressly, Astoria “I think they’re a necessary evil.” Marilyn Burnam, Cathlamet, Wash. GEARHART — The Nea- coxie Barn battle is still being waged. Marcia Harper of Seaside was called as a witness to Gear- hart Municipal Court Monday night. She described a meet- ing with Neacoxie Barn owner Shannon Smith in which she sought a location for her grand- son’s wedding. Drawn by its nearby local and wide range of services, she contacted Smith. Rental of the barn for the event would cost a donation of $2,400, she was told. As a North Coast resident, Harper could receive the “local rate” of $2,100. “Suppose I wanted to make a smaller donation, say, $50?’” Harp- er said she told Smith. “She said, ‘That would not be acceptable.’” The city presented Judge John Orr with evidence this and other recent events indicate the barn is being used illegally as a special event hall. But complexities of a Land Use Board of Appeals ruling in April muddied the 4 1/2-hour FRXUWVHVVLRQDQGOHIWD¿QDOGH cision weeks aways. ® ACCUWEATHER FORECAST FOR ASTORIA Astoria 5-Day Forecast Tonight Oregon Weather Shown is tomorrow’s weather. Temperatures are tonight’s lows and tomorrow’s highs Cloudy with showers 54° Thursday The Dalles 53/70 Astoria 54/66 Portland 57/69 Corvallis 51/68 Eugene 53/68 Pendleton 51/66 Salem 55/69 Albany 54/68 Friday Burns 36/59 Medford 48/71 Mostly cloudy with a passing shower 66° 52° Mostly cloudy with a couple of showers 69° Saturday 55° 52° Cloudy with a little rain in the afternoon 69° 54° City Baker City Bend Brookings Eugene Ilwaco Klamath Falls Medford Newport North Bend Hi 57 59 64 68 63 61 71 63 67 National Cities City Atlanta Boston Chicago Denver Des Moines Detroit El Paso Fairbanks Honolulu Indianapolis Kansas City Las Vegas Los Angeles Memphis Miami Nashville New Orleans New York Oklahoma City Philadelphia St. Louis Salt Lake City San Francisco Seattle Washington, DC Hi 79 81 82 88 87 83 95 49 88 83 88 88 77 89 87 84 86 87 92 87 86 62 69 67 85 Today Lo W 62 pc 64 s 63 s 52 pc 72 pc 57 s 72 s 39 sh 76 s 57 s 73 pc 65 pc 64 pc 68 pc 77 t 59 s 74 t 69 s 72 s 63 s 70 s 52 t 58 c 55 c 63 s The Daily Astorian Sun and Moon Astoria through Tuesday. Temperatures High ........................................... 61° Low ............................................ 48° Normal high ............................... 68° Normal low ................................. 50° Precipitation Yesterday ................................ 0.05" Month to date .......................... 1.60" Normal month to date ............. 0.91" Year to date ........................... 30.71" Normal year to date .............. 39.01" Sunset tonight .................. 7:26 p.m. Sunrise Thursday ............. 6:55 a.m. Moonrise today ............... 10:11 a.m. Moonset today ................. 9:05 p.m. First Full Last New Sep 21 Sep 27 Oct 4 Oct 12 City Olympia Pendleton Portland Roseburg Salem Seaside Spokane Vancouver Yakima Today Hi Lo W 67 52 sh 68 51 c 67 57 sh 65 54 r 65 55 sh 64 56 sh 62 44 c 65 56 sh 70 47 c Hi 66 66 69 69 69 64 57 69 70 Thu. Lo W 48 sh 47 c 55 sh 50 pc 51 sh 55 sh 44 sh 52 sh 42 c Tonight's Sky: Low in the west, the waxing crescent moon is above Spica. Source: Jim Todd, OMSI Tomorrow’s Tides Astoria / Port Docks Time High 4:26 a.m. 7.0 ft. 4:11 p.m. 8.0 ft. Time 10:14 a.m. 10:50 p.m. Low 1.3 ft. 0.3 ft. Tomorrow’s National Weather Hi 82 83 83 81 89 83 95 49 87 84 89 89 81 90 86 87 87 87 94 87 89 66 73 65 85 Thu. Lo W 63 pc 64 s 67 s 47 pc 64 t 61 s 72 pc 37 sh 77 c 62 s 70 pc 68 s 64 s 69 pc 77 t 61 s 73 pc 68 s 72 pc 64 s 74 s 46 t 56 s 53 sh 63 s by Smith. “She said, ‘It’s nor- mally $2,400, $2,100 for locals,’ and I was a local,” Harper said. When Harper offered to give Smith a check to book the facil- ity, Smith insisted funds be de- posited via PayPal. Because of this and health and safety concerns, Harper chose another venue for her grandson’s wedding, she said. Land use decision could have relevance An April decision by the state’s Land Use Board of Ap- peals added a layer of confusion to the citation hearing. The city presented arguments that Smith’s conditional use permit had lapsed after several extensions over a period of several years. Smith claimed that the condi- tional use permit is “what is called alive and valid upon remand.” Smith said a conditional use permit was still pending, and she could “trigger it” at any time by appearing before the city’s Plan- ning Commission. “LUBA has not put a time frame for me to do that,” she said. Smith said she declined further commission review be- cause the political climate in Gearhart was “not right” for such a hearing. “It’s my understanding that I can wait to determine the po- litical environment in my city, and LUBA could sit there and I could wait to trigger the actual hearing,” Smith said. Decision delayed More than four hours after the start of the court hearing, Orr postponed a decision, but not before laying out his thought process. “At the end of the day, I’m looking at a properly admitted document that discusses a pretty active commercial event build- ing and facility for weddings, vow renewals, corporate picnics, anniversaries, class reunions and family reunions,” Orr said. “Not exactly in my mind as having a temperament of a residential quality. I’m also persuaded this is an ongoing commercial rather than residential quality because in the contract there was an evi- dence of discussion and negotia- tion between Marcia Harper and the defendant.” He said the landscaping trade with Osterlund “sounded like barter.” “He had to pay his employ- ees, I assume they didn’t do it for free,” Orr said. “Just because money doesn’t change hands, there’s a trade. It does seem the defendant was running a busi- QHVVIRUSUR¿W´ Orr held the court record open for two weeks so legal arguments can be made regard- ing how the land use opinion ³KDV VLJQL¿FDQFH RU ODFNV VLJ QL¿FDQFHLQWKHFRXUW¶VDFFXUDWH ruling.” “If the city didn’t rule be- cause it was waiting for the LUBA opinion to come back, and that acted to slow down Ms. Smith’s permit or occupancy permit or request for a condi- tional use permit, I would need to know that,” Orr said. “I want to make the right decision legal- ly, as well as factually.” Fronts Cold Warm Stationary Showers T-Storms -10s -0s 0s 10s 20s 30s 40s 50s 60s 70s 80s 90s 100s 110s Rain Flurries Snow Ice Shown are noon positions of weather systems and precipitation. Temperature bands are highs for the day. Forecast high/low temperatures are given for selected cities. Weather (W): s-sunny, pc-partly cloudy, c-cloudy, sh-showers, t-thunderstorms, r-rain, sf-snow fl urries, sn-snow, i-ice. Need a Lift? Roby’s can help. Lift chairs starting at $599. Side pocket to keep remote control handy at all times Battery support ensures lift mechanism works for one cycle without electricity. Available in a wide selection of fabrics and special-order fabrics ZERO GRAVITY device that supports legs, back, and neck Astoria - (503) 325-1535 1555 Commercial • www.robysfurniture.com OLNEY — The Olney Grange is holding its 56th an- nual pit barbecued beef dinner fundraiser from 12:30 to 5 p.m. Sunday. The menu also includes all the trimmings: baked potato, green beans, coleslaw, tomatoes, roll, dessert and beverage. The cost is $12 for adults and $7 for children younger than 11. In ad- dition, meat is available from the pit for $8.50 a pound. The Grange is located at 89342 Oregon Highway 202. Proceeds from the barbecue fundraiser go to hall mainte- nance, donations to community needs, and special projects. The grange is also working towards DQHZNLWFKHQRQWKHPDLQÀRRU with plans for the kitchen to be available for community mem- bers to use for canning and other food preparation needs. WASHINGTON Tuesday’s Daily Game: 9-8-9 Tuesday’s Keno: 03-08- 14-24-25-26-28-33-37-38-39- 40-44-50-53-56-63-75-78-80 Tuesday’s Match 4: 03- 10-12-17 Tuesday’s Mega Millions: 07-20-35-49-56, Mega Ball: 9 Estimated jackpot: $15 million. Lotteries Under the Sky Thu. Lo W 33 c 37 pc 51 sh 48 sh 55 c 31 pc 46 pc 51 sh 51 sh EO Media Group/File Photo Gearhart resident Shannon Smith has been trying for several years to renovate her historic livery for use as an events center. Olney Grange barbecue this weekend Almanac Regional Cities Today Hi Lo W 62 39 c 59 44 c 61 53 r 65 53 sh 63 56 sh 52 36 r 63 48 r 61 54 r 64 54 r Klamath Falls 36/61 For years, Smith and the city have been at odds over what the city says is the nonpermitted com- mercial use of the barn. Monday’s hearing was only the latest in a round of court dates and council meetings roiling the city. &LW\RI¿FLDOVVD\6PLWKFRQ tinues to host special events and gatherings despite a lack of an active conditional use permit allowing commercial activities. After Smith was ticketed for using her barn for two weddings held this summer, she contested the $500 citations — pleading not guilty to the charges — and brought the case to municipal court for hearing. City M anager Chad Sweet WHVWL¿HG WKH ZHEVLWH ZZZQHD coxiebarn.org listed the barn as “a place for your events,” in- cluding corporate events, cater- ing, and more , advertising about six events per month, with a photo gallery of past events. Police Chief Jeff Bowman DQG 2I¿FHU ,DQ %URZQ VKDUHG observations before the court on the nights in question, June 20 and Aug. 7. Brown estimat- ed he saw at least 50 people at the Neacoxie Barn, although a beach use permit from the same wedding party indicated the number of guests could have been as high as 150. Bowman said he had received similar reports of violations or activities at the barn at least six times within the past year. Steve Osterlund, owner of Coastal Landscape in Gearhart and Seaside, described a wed- ding-for-landscape services barter deal at Neacoxie Barn. There was no cash fee, he said, but he provided several days of work and at least “one or two” employees at $60 per hour in ex- change for the wedding fee. Seaside’s Harper described her encounter with Smith when making preparations for her grandson’s wedding. “I did an ,QWHUQHWVHDUFKWR¿QGDEXVLQHVV that had wedding venues in the area,” Harper said. Harper submitted a copy of an unsigned contract provided Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2015 Sunday Intervals of clouds and sunshine 70° Ontario 47/64 Bend 44/59 Internet site, barter deals OBITUARY POLICY The Daily Astorian pub- lishes paid obituaries. The obituary can include a small photo and, for veterans, a flag symbol at no charge. The deadline for all obituaries is 10 a.m. the business day prior. Obituaries may be edited for spelling, proper punctua- tion and style. Death notices and upcoming services will be published at no charge. Notices must be submitted by 9 a.m. the day of publication. Obituaries and notices may be submitted online at www.dailyastorian.com/obitu- aryform, by email at ewilson@ dailyastorian.com, placed via the funeral home or in person at The Daily Astorian office, 949 Exchange St. in Astoria. For more information, call 503-325-3211, ext. 257. OREGON Tuesday’s Pick 4: 1 p.m.: 5-5-8-5 4 p.m.: 4-1-5-6 7 p.m.: 3-2-7-7 10 p.m.: 3-6-5-7 Public meetings WEDNESDAY Seaside Tourist Advisory Committee, 3 p.m., City Hall, 989 Broadway, Seaside. Sunset Empire Park & Recreation Dis- trict Board, 5:15 p.m., Bob Chisholm Com- munity Center, 1225 Ave. A, Seaside. Astoria Planning Commission, 6:30 p.m., City Hall, 1095 Duane St. THURSDAY Seaside City Tree Board, 4 p.m., City Hall, 989 Broadway, Seaside. Cannon Beach Design Review Board, 6 p.m., City Hall, 163 E. Gower St., Cannon Beach. Birth Sept. 1, 2015 TRUCKE, Elaine and Richard, of Sea- side, a boy, Franklin Wolfgang Trucke, born at Columbia Memorial Hospital in Astoria. Grandmother is Jean Jardin of San Diego. Death Sept. 10, 2015 VAN BEEK, Thomas Jef- frey “Tom,” 58, of Seaside, died in Seaside. Hughes-Ran- som Mortuary in Seaside is in charge of the arrangements. CLARIFICATION Zoning reference — An editorial Monday on the As- toria City Council’s review of the potential rezoning of the Josie Peper Build- ing improperly referred to a bed and breakfast. Bed The Daily Astorian Established July 1, 1873 (USPS 035-000) Published daily, except Saturday and Sunday, by EO Media Group, 949 Exchange St., PO Box 210, Astoria, OR 97103 Telephone 503- 325-3211, 800-781-3211 or Fax 503-325-6573. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The Daily Astorian, PO Box 210, Astoria, OR 97103- 0210 www.dailyastorian.com MEMBER OF THE ASSOCIATED PRESS The Associated Press is entitled exclusively to the use for republication of all the local news printed in this newspaper. and breakfasts are condi- tional uses in high-density residential zones, which the building is now classified. Clatsop Community Col- lege had sought to change the zoning of the building to general commercial, which would have allowed a pro- spective buyer to use the property as a second home and vacation rental. The City Council rejected the request. 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