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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 28, 2015)
10A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2015 Signs: ‘Astoria really is different’ Continued from Page 1A INTERSECTIONS Engineers are propos- ing a new “Stop” sign that would direct down- hill drivers on Eighth to brake. The city would also place a “Traffic From Right Does Not Stop” sign to make it even clear- er for downhill drivers on Eighth, as well as advance warning signs for drivers coming from other direc- tions. The Eighth and Irving intersection is often cited as WKHZRUVWH[DPSOHRIWUDI¿F confusion, yet, according to crash data from the state Department of Transpor- tation, there was just one crash there between 2009 and 2014. The city may install new signs and improve roadway striping at several intersections that some drivers find confusing. The first eight intersections on the list have signs that read “Stop,” and, under- neath, “Right Turn Permit- ted Without Stopping.” • Niagara Avenue/Sev- enth Street • Niagara/Eighth Street • Niagara/15th Street • Jerome Avenue/14th Street • Jerome/15th • Irving Avenue/11th Street • Harrison Avenue/33rd Street • Highway 202/Seventh • Jerome/16th Street • Irving/Eighth Staying with WUDI¿FÀRZ ferent,” Commissioner Jan Mitchell said. “I used to be a planner and I would love WR WDNH WKH WUDI¿F HQJLQHHU I worked with around As- toria. “But it works. It works for the bulk of us.” Drivers have had more trouble navigating the dual signs up the hill at Eighth and Niagara Avenue and Seventh Street and Niaga- ra, where there were nine FUDVKHV RYHU ¿YH \HDUV D collision frequency still considered normal. The city would swap in the new “Except Right Turn” signs under the stop signs and add striping on Niagara be- tween Eighth and Seventh to help drivers stay with WUDI¿FÀRZ Other options, such as simply ditching the dual signs and making drivers VWRS ZRXOG FDXVH WUDI¿F delays or potential prob- lems on steep hills in icy conditions. “We thought this was the best combo of all the options,” said Chris Macie- jewski of DKS Associates, a Portland transportation consultant for the city. 6RPH RQ WKH 7UDI¿F Safety Advisory Commit- tee — which is made up of the Planning Commission — wondered why changes are necessary, given that the crash data suggests most drivers are not confused by the intersections. “Astoria really is dif- Joshua Bessex/The Daily Astorian *UHDWHUHQIRUFHPHQW The committee voted 6-1 to recommend the improve- ments to the City Council. Commissioner Sean Fitz- patrick voted against the recommendations, explain- ing that he would prefer H[LVWLQJ WUDI¿F UXOHV EH HQ- forced. Fitzpatrick disagreed with the sentiment on the &LW\ &RXQFLO WKDW WUDI¿F ¿QHV KDYH D GLVSURSRUWLRQ- ate impact on low-income residents. In May, the coun- cil rejected an idea by the Astoria Police Department to raise money for police training by having Munici- pal Court impose new fees RQ WUDI¿F YLRODWLRQV DQG misdemeanor crimes. “I would like to see more RI¿FHUVDQGPRUHWUDI¿FHQ- forcement and more tickets written,” Fitzpatrick said. “And there has been discus- sion from certain city coun- cilmembers that that would be unfair to people of lower income.” A car turns right at the intersection of Eighth Street and Niagara Ave- nue, where a sign permits drivers to turn right without stopping. Some drivers have reported the dual signs are confusing. Joshua Bessex The Daily Astorian A view of one of the storefronts in the M&N Building. See more photos of the building online at www.dailyastorian.com Properties: ‘Whoever sinks money into this building is going to be sinking a lot of money into this building.’ Continued from Page 1A “I’ve racked my brain to ¿JXUHRXWZKRLQWRZQZRXOG come take it, who would come use it. It’s just going to require so much money to do that,” Bensel said, admir- ing the old-growth 2-by-16 crossbeam structures holding WKH JURXQG ÀRRU XS EXW WDN- ing issue with a foundational post he said has probably sunk about a foot. Bensel said, con- VLGHULQJWKHFRVWRI¿[LQJWKH building up, it would probably take corporate money to get the job done. Buyer beware The condition of the building, and the lack of a willing seller in the Flavel family, have long kept inter- ested buyers at bay. During a walk-through in 2002, Goodenberger said the building would need new steel I-beams, pilings with a wider footing to buttress the sinking foundation and work to reattach the cracked brick facade. He estimated back then at least $75,000 was QHHGHGWRPDNHWKH¿[HV “Everything goes up in price,” Goodenberger said Tuesday of the ever-increas- ing costs of renovation, not hazarding a guess. The building is listed his- toric, making it eligible for tax credits and a freeze in the assessed value for up to 10 years. As a historic land- Joshua Bessex/The Daily Astorian An upstairs room in the former hardware store in the M&N Building. mark, the building can also avoid some modern building standards. 7KLV LVQ¶W WKH ¿UVW WLPH one of the Flavel buildings has been auctioned off. Local logger, trucker and property magnate Jim Neikes bought both of the downtown Flavel properties at auction in 2004 with a winning bid of $50,000. But siblings Mary Louise and Harry Flavel ex- ercised their buyback rights in the eleventh hour, pay- ing off Neikes and back-due property taxes and taking the Pot: Warrenton voters approved drug in November Continued from Page 1A Developments, a proposed medical marijuana dispensa- ry, a license to operate a busi- ness out of an old house on the west side. “They’re grandfathered in at this point because they’re a legal entity,” City Manager Kurt Fritsch said. However, CBDB — which hasn’t yet moved into its loca- tion — cannot convert its op- eration into a marijuana retail outlet; a city ordinance passed last summer prohibits dispen- saries from selling retail prod- uct in the same storefront. Warrenton voters ap- proved the recreational sale of the drug in November 2014, and the City Commis- sion is working to respect the will of the people and “doing our best to deal with an ac- tivity that we don’t support,” Commissioner Rick Newton said. On Nov. 10, the commis- sion will hold the second and ¿QDOUHDGLQJRIWKHQHZRUGL- nance, which would go into effect 30 days later. Under state law, dispensa- ries became legally allowed to sell recreational marijuana Oct. 1. The Oregon Liquor Control Commission will start accepting applications for growers, wholesalers, processors and retail outlets in January. ‘Gateway’ drug Paul Mitchell, a planning commissioner who helped brainstorm the ordinance, chided the City Commission for not passing it sooner, buildings back. Harry Flavel has sinc- edied, and Goodenberger said Mary Louise Flavel sup- ports selling the building so she can invest in her building across the street. Goodenberger said the M&N Building is in a great location and could work well as a workspace, with more artists being priced out of ur- ban centers like Portland and moving to Astoria. But whatever it becomes, he said, it would need to be mixed-use and create enough revenue to justify any reno- vation. “Whoever sinks mon- ey into this building is going to be sinking a lot of money into this building.” IN SU P P O RT O F B reast C ance m r onth A w areness Fo r every a d w ith a p in k b a ckg ro u n d , The Da ily Asto ria n w ill d o n a te a ll o f the ea rn ed p ro ceed s a n d w ill b e sha red b etw een o u r lo ca l ho sp ita ls, Co lu m b ia M em o ria l a n d Pro vid en ce S ea sid e. Henry Balensifer Tom Dyer WKHUHE\JLYLQJ&%'%D¿YH month window — after the city’s one-year moratorium on dispensaries expired in May — to get permitted west of the highway. “In that time frame, a business was allowed to FRPH IRUZDUG DQG VRUW RI ¿W itself into an area that really is a gateway for our commu- nity,” said Mitchell, who said he supports the ordinance. Fritsch acknowledged that the earliest discussions of siting marijuana businesses east of the highway occurred before CBDB applied for a business license. However, the owner had inquired for some time about setting up a dispensary and “wasn’t someone who snuck in and tried to beat the ordinance,” he said. “I’d like to apologize that we didn’t catch this sooner,” Commissioner Tom Dyer said, adding that he, too, doesn’t like the idea of a west-side dispensary. “I think we kind of dropped the ball on it.” Commissioner Henry Balensifer said some of his constituents are concerned that future marijuana busi- Kurt Fritsch Paul Mitchell nesses will erect extravagant signage along the highway, broadcasting the drug’s pres- ence in the community. “I think we’re kind of hamstrung, because they do have the right to do their ad- vertising,” Dyer responded. But such businesses, he add- ed, will have an incentive to blend into the city’s environ- ment to maintain goodwill among consumers: “They’re going to get less criticism if they don’t have it right in your face, but you can’t make them not do it.” “I think most of them just want to make money,” he continued, “and they’re go- ing to make money no matter where it’s sold because that’s just the nature of that particu- lar business.” %DOHQVLIHUÀRDWHGWKHLGHD of expanding marijuana busi- nesses’ setbacks from the highway. Mayor Mark Ku- jala, however, was leery of adding more regulations. “We’ve tried to designate a certain area in town for these type of businesses. I think we’ve done that,” Ku- jala said. “I don’t know how far I want to go trying to limit that even further.” Rick Newton DailyAstorian.com The proceeds w ill be a pplied to their brea st-hea lth progra m s. O ur goa l is to ea rn $1,000 during the m onth of O ctober. 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