Valiants take
down Lady Fish
What should Heritage
Square become?
SPORTS • 4A
PAGE 2A
143rd YEAR,
No. 81
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2015
ONE DOLLAR
Astoria
may get
a Marriott
Hotelier gets Port
lease to examine
the possibilities
By EDWARD STRATTON
The Daily Astorian
When competing to operate the
Astoria Riverwalk Inn, Bellingham,
Washington, hotelier Mark Holland-
er said he would also like to bring a
Marriott hotel to Astoria. Now is his
chance.
The Port of Astoria Commission
on Tuesday approved a lease for
nearly 1.5 acres near the Maritime
Memorial in Uniontown to Holland-
er to study the feasibility of building
a Marriott hotel.
The leased land includes two
parcels running along the north and
south side of the Astoria Riverfront
Trolley tracks between the Red
Building and Ocean Beauty Sea-
foods on one side, and the Maritime
Memorial and Astoria Bridge on the
other.
Talking Tombstones
brings dead back to
life for 12th year
C
By ERICK BENGEL
The Daily Astorian
See MARRIOTT, Page 10A
emeteries didn’t always creep people out.
Before the 20th century, the presence of
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disquiet, according to McAndrew Burns,
executive director of the Clatsop County Historical
Society.
“We’ve seen too many scary
thriller movies,” he said. “Once
upon a time, cemeteries were
parks — they’re outdoors — and
it was a place where families
would go to picnic and reminisce
and reconnect with a lost loved
one.”
The Historical Society hopes
to resurrect that old feeling of
fondness with Talking Tomb-
stones, an annual living -history
event where volunteers bring the
dearly departed back to life in a
non creepy way: by portraying
Housing
crunch
the people buried underfoot.
“Talking Tombstones XII:
A Serious Undertaking” will be
held 1 p.m. to dusk Sunday at the
Clatsop Plains Pioneer Cemetery.
Viewers move from gravesite to
gravesite and watch as approxi-
mately 10 re-enactors, dressed
in period clothing and aided by
props, “become” the deceased
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formation borne of serious re-
search and a playful imagination.
Private, public
partners discuss
affordable housing
shortfall in county
By KATHERINE LACAZE
EO Media Group
See TALES, Page 7A
Hugh McKenna/For The Daily Astorian
Steve Nurding put in extra creativity to portray Thaddeus Trullinger, an
electrician who replaced the hand-pulled lever with electric switches
on gallows used in hangings in Astoria in 1894, during the 10th-annual
Talking Tombstones.
Hugh McKenna/For The Daily Astorian
ShawnAnn Hope portrays Dr. Bethania Owens Adair, the first
woman doctor in the Pacific Northwest, during the 10th -annual
Talking Tombstones .
‘We’ve seen too many scary
thriller movies. Once upon a time,
cemeteries were parks — they’re
outdoors — and it was a place
where families would go to picnic
and reminisce and reconnect with
a lost loved one.’
McAndrew Burns
executive director of the Clatsop County Historical Society
Most people agree there is a lack
of affordable, family and workforce
housing in Clatsop County. Finding
solutions to the nuanced problem
must start with a collective effort,
according to many who attended
a “housing huddle” organized by
Clatsop Economic Development Re-
sources on Tuesday.
This collective effort kicked off
with a two-hour conversation at
Clatsop Community College that in-
volved about 50 people representing
various private and public entities,
including Providence Seaside Hospi-
tal and the college; state, county and
local government s; businesses; build-
ing and contracting companies; banks
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ous other organizations and agencies.
While the problem is mutual, and
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barrier along the North Coast, each
city has its own set of obstacles that
has stunted new affordable housing .
See HOUSING, Page 10A
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Is Neacoxie Barn
an event center or a
short-term rental?
By R.J. MARX
The Daily Astorian
GEARHART — The lack of a
short-term rental ordinance may
haunt the city of Gearhart.
With 82 rental properties in Gear-
hart, Neacoxie Barn owner Shan-
non Smith’s attorney said Monday
night she is “renting” her property
to guests, an activity unregulated by
the city.
This and other arguments were
presented to Judge John Orr as Smith
responded to charges she was oper-
ating a barn leased for commercial
events. The charges brought two
$500 tickets from events held this
summer .
Since Gearhart doesn’t have a
short-term rental ordinance, there
are no rules preventing Smith from
renting her space out to clients, her
attorney, Dan Kearns, said.
“Part of the evidence you took at
trial was short-term rentals,” Kearns
said. “The city doesn’t view that as
something they’re required to per-
mit. It’s accessory use of residential
property, which is expressly allowed
under city code. She’s renting her
property for short-term use for peo-
ple who want to have their wedding
there, they’re gathering there.”
Gearhart City Attorney Peter
Watts said the barn is nothing like
the types of short-term vacation
rentals now being considered by the
city for regulation.
“There’s a substantial difference
between a family renting a home and
a couple renting this barn to host 99
of their friends, ” Watts said.
“Aren’t you cherry-picking?” Orr
asked. “We have testimony that we
have local short-term rentals that are
advertising themselves as available
for weddings.”
“A transient vacation rental is
exempted from license requirement
and she is not,” Watts said.
In a previous court date, witness-
es stated Smith had been marketing
and renting her barn for up to $2,600
a night, payable via PayPal only.
The Daily Astorian/File Photo
See GEARHART, Page 10A
Shannon Smith after September’s
court hearing.