143RD YEAR, NO. 185 | DailyAstorian.com | WEDNESDAY, MARCH 23, 2016
ONE DOLLAR
SEASIDE FIRE CAUSES
MAJOR DAMAGE
SEASIDE, ASTORIA
TEAMS TAKE WINS
PAGE 3A
SPORTS 9A
Oregon LNG, Columbia
Riverkeeper appeal ruling
Warrenton Commission hearings set for early May
By ERICK BENGEL
The Daily Astorian
WARRENTON — Oregon LNG
has appealed a city ruling against a
proposed terminal on the Skipanon
Peninsula, claiming the hearings of¿ -
cer drew erroneous conclusions that
would make any marine industrial
development virtually impossible.
The energy company also argues
that the hearings of¿ cer — 'aniel
Kearns, a Portland land use attorney
— gave too much credence to assess-
ments by the Oregon 'epartment of
Fish and Wildlife and Columbia Riv-
erkeeper, while ignoring expert testi-
mony from the company that terminal
impacts could be minimized.
Columbia Riverkeeper, an envi-
ronmental group that opposes the $6
billion terminal and pipeline project,
has also appealed portions of Kearns’
ruling.
Appeal hearings before the City
Commission are slated for May 4
and 5 at Warrenton Grade School .
The commission’s decision can be
appealed to the state Land Use Board
of Appeals.
Earlier this month, Kearns, who
was appointed by the city to review the
project, denied Oregon LNG’s land-
use applications to build a bidirec-
tional lique¿ ed natural gas terminal .
Kearns — who approved a short
segment of LNG pipeline to serve the
terminal — cited the terminal’s poten-
tial to harm salmon habitat and dis-
rupt the public’s right to ¿ sh in the
Lower Columbia River Estuary. His
decision disagreed with city Planning
'irector Skip Urling’s recommenda-
tion to approve both the terminal and
pipeline.
Oregon LNG’s opponents cheered
Kearns’ decision as a victory for
the environment, while supporters
viewed it as a barrier to economic
development.
Neither Oregon LNG nor Colum-
bia Riverkeeper could immediately be
reached for comment on the appeals.
See LNG, Page 12A
Astoria Ford hits the road to Warrenton
Rosemary
Baker-Monaghan
Liberty
Theater
leader
resigns
Executive
director had
been in charge
for a decade
By DERRICK DePLEDGE
The Daily Astorian
Joshua Bessex/The Daily Astorian
Construction crews work on the future site of Astoria Ford in Warrenton on Tuesday. A rendering of the lot is shown on the left corner of the sign.
The last major car dealership will leave city, keep name
By EDWARD STRATTON
The Daily Astorian
ARRENTON — Astoria Ford owner 'ane Gouge said
he hopes to be in operation at the North Coast Retail
Center in Warrenton by 'ecember, if not sooner .
Gouge, who signed a purchase and sale agreement with the
retail center in 2012, closed on more than 6 acres at the corner
of Ensign Lane and 19th Street earlier this month. Even though
the dealership is changing cities, Gouge said he plans to keep the
same name.
“We’ve worked really hard to push the Astoria Ford name,” he
said, adding only a few people have taken issue with the name .
“It would be really tough to change that.”
Gouge said the location at the retail center, across Ensign
Lane from Costco and adjacent to a planned Wal-Mart, pro-
vides 10 times the traf¿ c as his Astoria location. His new loca-
tion will include a large showroom and service center, with a sep-
arate building for auto detailing, car storage and parking on the
remainder of the site. The entrance to his dealership would be
located across from the proposed exit for the Wal-Mart.
“For me, it’s more exciting to have your own instead of pay-
ing a lease payment,” said Gouge, who leases his current location
W
See DEALERSHIP, Page 7A
Joshua Bessex/The Daily Astorian
A excavator drives on the Astoria Ford site as construction crews work . The new
Warrenton location will include two large commercial buildings, with car storage
and parking on the remainder of the site.
Gearhart short-term rental rules take shape
Rental owners
on notice about
upcoming tax
By R.J. MARX
The Daily Astorian
GEARHART — An addi-
tional room tax, business
license and minimum rental
terms are among the changes
to Gearhart laws in an effort
to curb issues with some
short-term rentals.
Property owners with
short-term rental s received
a letter about upcoming
changes in city law, City
Administrator Chad Sweet
said. The noti¿ cation estab-
lishes the ¿ rst reg-
“We haven’t
ulations for tran-
got much negative
sient
lodging ,
reaction,” Sweet
which is overnight
said. “I haven’t
occupancy of 30
had anybody upset
days or less.
about it. Most
The proposed
people are pretty
ordinance requires
understanding.”
short-term rental
At a mid-
property owners
March Planning
Chad
to pay a 7 percent
Commission work
Sweet
room tax, in addi-
session, commis-
tion to the 1 percent
sioners proposed a
Oregon lodging tax, Sweet rule designating a minimum
said. The tax goes into effect rental period of seven days .
April 1, and is paid quarterly .
“If you can make a sev-
A $40 business license is also en-day reservation, that’s
required by April 1.
great,” Sweet said. “But if
About 85 owners of it’s only three days, four
short-term rental properties days it cannot be occupied. It
have been contacted about limits the turnover.”
the proposed new rules.
Commissioners
also
agreed to limit the number
of available permits, Sweet
added, starting with about
35.
The number of occupants
was limited to two people
per bedroom , based on local
septic recommendations , he
said.
More details remain to
be hammered out, Sweet
said, including developing
a “good neighbor” policy,
off-street parking rules, tsu-
nami preparedness require-
ments and garbage pickup
regulations.
A Planning Commission
public hearing is 6 p.m. April
14 , and will offer an open
comment period on the tran-
sient lodging rules.
Rosemary Baker-Monaghan,
who led the Liberty Theater
since the historic venue’s rebirth
a decade ago, will resign as
executive director.
In an email Tuesday to the
theater’s board of directors,
Baker-Monaghan said she is
proud of her accomplishments
and the generosity of the peo-
ple who have revived the down-
town theater.
“I have given this a lot of
thought,” she wrote. “It is time
for me to move on to the next
project that will be challenging,
interesting, creative, rewarding,
and of bene¿ t to the community.
I wish the Liberty nothing but
success in the future.”
Baker-Monaghan, a former
Seaside mayor and board mem-
ber at Clatsop Community Col-
lege, said her last day at the the-
ater would be Friday and that
she would take vacation time
until her resignation on April 15.
The board, which has sched-
uled an emergency meeting
Wednesday evening, will turn
to an interim executive director
until a permanent replacement
is found.
'ian Barker-Sayce, an exec-
utive at Bank of the Paci¿ c who
serves as the board’s president,
declined to comment on Bak-
er-Monaghan’s resignation.
Last year, the Liberty, an Ital-
ianate-style theater that opened
in 1925, celebrated its 90th
anniversary and the 10th year
since a grand reopening after a
renovation.
The complex at 12th and
Commercial, which includes the
McTavish Room and rehearsal
space upstairs and commercial
outlets on the ground À oor, is
considered the jewel of down-
town and has contributed to the
city’s redevelopment.
Known for the Astoria
Music Festival, a summer clas-
sical music series, the the-
ater has hosted acts as varied
as soprano Angela Meade and
the 'ance Theatre of Harlem
to rock bands 4uarterÀ ash and
The 'ecemberists.
But there has been a sense
privately among some in the
community that the lineup at the
Liberty has gotten stale, and the
theater has struggled ¿ nancially.
There have been tensions
between the board and Bak-
er-Monaghan in recent months,
sources say, over whether the
executive director was too con-
trolling and resistant to change.
Others in the commu-
nity have also expressed
doubts about the theater’s
management.
See THEATER, Page 12A