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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (May 3, 2016)
DailyAstorian.com // TUESDAY, MAY 3, 2016 143RD YEAR, NO. 214 A MATTER OF DESIGN ONE DOLLAR Animal welfare group sues Coast Guard Activists claim buffer around cormorant-cull area is excessive By EDWARD STRATTON The Daily Astorian Lyra Fontaine/The Daily Astorian An Arch Cape resident is appealing a county decision to eliminate the unincorporated community’s Design Review Committee. Arch Cape takes county to task over design review By LYRA FONTAINE The Daily Astorian A RCH CAPE — It’s the last design review committee in Clatsop County, and residents are reluctant to see it go. ¶ After being disbanded by the Clatsop County Board of Commissioners in February, the committee’s fate has moved to the state Land Use Board of Appeals . Arch Cape resident Jim Jens- vold appealed the county’s deci- sion to dissolve the 39-year-old Southwest Coastal Citizens Advi- sory Committee, also known as the Arch Cape Design Review Committee. The committee was the last of six in the county to survive, and until this year screened all con- struction design review applica- tions for the unincorporated com- munity of Arch Cape submitted to the county Community Develop- ment Department. “I don’t think it was right for the county to just dissolve the committee with very minimal notice and with hardly any pub- lic process,” Jensvold said in an email. “That’s not the way to build trust between the county and this community, which has a strong vision for its own future.” The county has fi led a motion to dismiss the appeal. If the Land Use Board of Appeals does not dismiss the challenge , both See ARCH CAPE, Page 12A ‘I don’t think it was right for the county to just dissolve the committee with very minimal notice and with hardly any public process. That’s not the way to build trust between the county and this community, which has a strong vision for its own future.’ Jim Jensvold Arch Cape resident who appealed the county’s decision to dissolve the 39-year-old Southwest Coastal Citizens Advisory Committee, also known as the Arch Cape Design Review Committee A n animal welfare group trying to docu- ment the culling of cormorants on East Sand Island by the U.S. Department of Agriculture has fi led suit against the U.S. Coast Guard over their exclusion from the killing zone. Showing Animals Respect and Kindness arrived last month with the Bob and Nancy, a gray Kodiak boat paid for through a grant from former “The Price is Right” host and animal welfare activist Bob Barker and part- ner Nancy Burnet. The boat is equipped with an eight-propeller drone with a camera. Activists have been going out from the Port of Astoria’s West End Mooring Basin, trying to document the killing of the cormo- rants from boats operated by Wildlife Ser- vices near East Sand Island, a dredge deposit just south of the Oregon-Washington border near Baker Bay. Wildlife Services, which is under the Department of Agriculture and contracted by the U.S. Army Corps of Engi- neers to do the shooting, specializes in kill- ing animals that threaten livestock or, in the Columbia River’s case, endangered salmon runs. A permit issued from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service allows Wildlife Services to kill 3,114 double-crested cormorants, 93 Brandt’s cormorants and nine pelagic cor- morants. Agents can also destroy 5,247 cor- morant nests by slathering eggs in corn oil to suffocate the embryos within. As of Wednes- day , Wildlife Services had killed 1,025 dou- ble-crested cormorants, with no nests oiled. Safety or secrecy? At Wildlife Services’ request, the Coast Guard created a 500-yard safety exclusion zone around Wildlife Service s’ boats on April 25. “The recommended space around use of (a) shotgun on the water is 300 yards,” said Petty Offi cer 1st Class Levi Read, a spokes- man for the Coast Guard. “Because of the maritime environment, we added a couple hundred yards.” See SUIT, Page 12A Seaside schools in a race to safety Superintendent is ‘optimistic’ about bond By R.J. MARX The Daily Astorian Cruise ship season starts off in a big way Wednesday with the Crown Princess and Norwegian Jewel bringing nearly 5,000 cruisers to the Port of Astoria. The 950-foot Crown Princess, run by Princess Cruises, is expected to bring 2,600 passengers to Pier 1. The 965-foot Norwegian Jewel, run by Norwegian Cruises, will go to anchor next to Astoria with 2,376 passengers. Joshua Bessex/The Daily Astorian SEASIDE — When U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden paid a visit to Seaside last month, his goal was to help the school district move schools in the tsunami inundation zone to safety. That will require passage of a new bond, three years after a $128.8 million plan failed with voters. State and federal assistance will be crit- ical to its passage, Seaside School Dis- trict Superintendent Doug Dougherty said Monday. “One of the pieces we heard over and over again was our community wanted to have some type of help from the state and federal government to offset local costs,” he said. Dougherty and the school board intend to put the bond on the November ballot to pay for the relocation of Seaside High School, Gearhart Elementary School and Broadway Middle School. “What we’re looking at is a school that will eventually be expanded in one direction or another, then build another elementary school or mid- dle school up the hill to the east,” Dough- erty said. “We’re still discussing plans and components.” As Dougherty and offi cials seek funds from state and federal sources, they’ll also ask the community to assess local enthusiasm. See CRUISE SHIPS, Page 12A The Crown Princess will stop in Astoria Wednesday, along with the Norwegian Pearl. See SEASIDE, Page 12A Lyra Fontaine/The Daily Astorian Hug Point State Recreation Site, 5 miles south of Cannon Beach, was originally designed to pro- vide access to Arch Cape. Cruise ahoy! Busy summer ahead Twenty-four big ships and their passengers visit The Daily Astorian