3A
THE DAILY ASTORIAN • TUESDAY, DECEMBER 15, 2015
State lawmakers want
talks to begin for 2017
transportation bill
By HILLARY BORRUD
Capital Bureau
PORTLAND — State
lawmakers said on Monday
that they need to begin ne-
gotiations now if they are
going to pass legislation to
fund transportation in 2017.
The lawmakers —
state Sen. Betsy Johnson,
D-Scappoose; Rep. John
Davis, R-Wilsonville; Rep
Cliff Bentz, R-Ontario; and
Rep. Caddy McKeown,
D-Coos Bay — were on a
panel at the Oregon Busi-
ness Plan Leadership Sum-
mit in Portland.
The four lawmakers were
all part of a bipartisan group
dubbed the “Gang of Eight”
who met with Gov. Kate
Brown during the legisla-
tive session to hammer out a
transportation funding pro-
posal. Lawmakers and the
governor scrapped the pro-
posal in June after Oregon
Department of Transporta-
tion director Matthew Gar-
rett revealed during a pub-
lic hearing on the plan that
it would result in a smaller
carbon emissions reduction
than originally projected.
Brown also said on Mon-
day that she based her de-
cision to defer action on a
transportation package in
part on the plan by the pe-
troleum and trucking indus-
tries to seek a 2016 ballot
measure to repeal the state’s
low-carbon fuel standard.
On Monday, the lawmak-
ers said the short timeline
this year made it dif¿cult
to negotiate a proposal with
broad support, and one of
the lessons was to set aside
more time to develop the
next plan.
Davis said he was dis-
couraged to hear people
suggest the Legislature wait
until 2017 to negotiate a
transportation funding pack-
age. “I think the ¿rst thing
is, we start,” Davis said.
Davis, whose suburban
constituents deal with traf-
¿c congestion during their
commutes,
said law-
makers
need
to
start put-
ting for-
ward straw
proposals,
State Sen.
so
that
v a r i o u s Betsy Johnson
interests
have time to debate the pros
and cons.
McKeown also said the
Legislature needs to in-
vest time in negotiating a
transportation package. “I
think we’re going to need
that year to be able to bring
something together that
would be palatable to our
constituents,”
McKeown
said.
Johnson said that in or-
der to produce successful
transportation funding bills,
the state must continue to
include representatives from
around the state.
“It was in that spir-
it of collaboration that we
worked pretty diligently,”
Johnson said. “Time was not
our friend and we eventual-
ly ran out of time ... It was
collegial, it was cooperative.
We were there as Orego-
nians.”
“I think it’s time for all of
us to get back in the room”
and start negotiating, said
Johnson, whose constituents
are currently dealing with
storm damage to the trans-
portation system.
Bentz said a key goal for
lawmakers is to craft a pro-
posal that has broad support
and a minimal chance of
being referred to the ballot.
“That takes time,” Bentz
said.
Bentz is trying to line up
funding to repair the route to
a diatomaceous earth mine
in his district that, together
with the processing plant,
employees more than 100
people.
The Capital Bureau is a
collaboration between EO
Media Group and Pamplin
Media Group.
City of Cannon Beach still
mulling dispensary decision
It could be
months before
a marijuana
dispensary vote
‘It seems to me that would be a waste of
time and money and is kind of like saying,
‘You made a bad decision, now we’ll give
you a chance to correct it.’ ‘
George Vetter
By DANI PALMER
EO Media Group
CANNON BEACH —
City councilors indicated
they are likely to draft time,
place and manner restrictions
for marijuana sales, but they
are not ready for a decision
yet.
Despite the success of
Measure 91 allowing recre-
ational sale and possession
of small amounts of marijua-
na — approved by 63 per-
cent of Cannon Beach voters
in November 2014 — the
city only licenses businesses
which abide by local, state
and federal law, which ex-
cludes cannabis.
Failure to enact licensing
rules could put the city at
risk of litigation, City Attor-
ney Tammy Herdener said.
Other municipalities have
been sued over similar inac-
tion, she said.
Councilor Mike Bene-
field said he leaned toward
giving residents the chance
to opt out of marijuana sales
through a ballot measure
next November. He said
the result might differ from
2014.
“Maybe the reason the
vote was so high wasn’t that
they wanted to have a dis-
pensary or a store or a crop,”
Benefield said. Proponents
“just wanted to be able to go
to Seaside and get a joint and
not get arrested for it.”
Councilor George Vetter
said it doesn’t “make sense
to go back to the voters.”
“It seems to me that
would be a waste of time
and money and is kind of
like saying, ‘You made a bad
decision, now we’ll give you
a chance to correct it,’” Vet-
ter said.
Cannon Beach city councilor, on opt-out vote
He noted a marijuana
business would not survive
in Cannon Beach without
demand.
Opposition to licensing
Marlene Laws, a resident,
voiced her opposition to li-
censing dispensaries.
Cannon Beach is a beau-
tiful area known for being
family and dog friendly,
Laws said, and secondhand
marijuana smoke causes ill-
ness in children and pets.
She cited risks to children
and studies indicating in-
creased accident rates asso-
ciated with marijuana use.
She also expressed concern
over the security of marijua-
na shops.
“We need to preserve the
image of Cannon Beach,”
Laws said, adding Seaside,
with two dispensaries, is a
short drive away.
Steve Hudgik, a retired
marketing specialist and
pastor of the Cannon Beach
Bible Church, said numbers
in Colorado and other states
indicating an uptick in tour-
ism following marijuana le-
galization were misleading.
Hudgik questioned if
marijuana would enhance
“the Cannon Beach experi-
ence” and noted it is import-
ant not to rush a decision be-
cause “once it’s here, you’re
not going to get rid of it.”
Support for marijuana
Sam Chapman, founding
partner of New Economy
Consulting, said he wants to
open a marijuana shop with
family members as employ-
ees. He said he chose Can-
Clatsop Community College
changed this Warrenton
woman’s life
non Beach because of its at-
mosphere.
Chapman said he wants to
address the stigma of mari-
juana and believes a dispen-
sary could bring in addition-
al tourism with an “emerging
cannabis industry.”
He said he is looking at
potential dispensary loca-
tions and one business owner
has already given approval.
Now, Chapman said, it is
up to the city to make a de-
cision.
Resident
Jan
Sie-
bert-Wahrmund said mari-
juana is actually not that dif-
ferent from alcohol. “I don’t
use it myself, I don’t drink
alcohol, but I think people
have the right to do so,” Sie-
bert-Wahrmund added, point-
ing to Cannon Beach’s voter
approval of Measure 91.
person in public, but may not
consume it in public places
such as hotels, the beach or
on the street, Herdener said.
Herdener said the city
could impose its own “rea-
sonable restrictions,” like
dispensary hours, distance
from parks and more in
drafting a licensing ordi-
nance.
Mayor Sam Steidel ques-
tioned whether the school
run by the Christian Con-
ference Center would be
included in that 1,000-foot
buffer area around dispensa-
ries. If it is, he added, there
would be few lots available
meeting those criteria.
Herdener said the buffer
requirement does not ap-
ply to preschools and Bible
schools. She said staff are
seeking guidance because it
will take work to prepare a
ballot measure.
Even if the council de-
cides to go with the No-
vember 2016 vote, Herden-
er added, staff will have to
draft regulations in case res-
idents don’t opt out.
City
Planner
Mark
Barnes said it would take
four months to go through
the adoption process, so the
city would need to come to a
decision next spring.
An opt-out of marijuana
sales would prevent Cannon
Beach from receiving state
taxes on sales, he added.
The rules
The Oregon Liquor Con-
trol Commission is in the
process of adopting rules
for recreational cannabis use
due in January.
“This is really a moving
animal,” Herdener said.
There are already limita-
tions in place. Dispensaries
must be located more than
1,000 feet from schools. Or-
egon residents are allowed
to grow up to four plants
for personal use without a
license and may carry an
ounce of marijuana on their
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