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THE DAILY ASTORIAN • THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2016
Herzig: Councilor’s last meeting will be Tuesday night
Continued from Page 1A
that otherwise would just be
passed over,” he said.
“It depends on whether you
liked me or didn’t like me, I
guess,” he added with laugh.
Dificult topics
Herzig, who led the
Lower Columbia Diver-
sity Project, advocated for
tolerance and confront-
ing homophobia, transpho-
bia and racism — topics that
many small towns don’t pub-
licly address.
Two years ago, Herzig
worked to convince the coun-
cil to expand the city’s non-
discrimination policy to pre-
vent exclusion of any person
based on sexual orientation,
gender identity and gender
expression.
“Clatsop County has been
fairly rural, fairly isolated, and
extremely homogeneous for a
long, long period of time, and
so they aren’t used to thinking
in terms of diversity,” Herzig
said.
But shifting social and eco-
nomic demographics are alter-
ing the identity of the region,
he said.
“Things are changing, peo-
ple are fearful, and we need to
talk about it so that we can be
afraid of the correct things,
and in the correct way, rather
than start to scapegoat,” he
said.
That same year, he per-
suaded the city to inancially
support the warming cen-
ter during its irst season. The
center operated in the Astoria
Senior Center, which was then
under renovation. Last year,
the shelter moved into the
First United Methodist Church
Get involved
Alex Pajunas/The Daily Astorian
Astoria City Councilor Drew Herzig, in red, who is also the chairman of the Lower Columbia Diversity Project, leads a
candlelight march in January 2014 through downtown Astoria in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
basement and expanded
services.
City Councilor Russ Warr,
a more conservative voice on
the council who frequently
clashed with Herzig, said the
warming center is his col-
league’s hallmark accomplish-
ment and called it a very good
public service.
“By any measure, that was
a good thing to do,” Warr said,
“and it took a lot of work and
effort on his part.”
Criticism
Warr, who chose not to run
for re-election this year after
three terms, is less approv-
ing of Herzig’s conduct on the
council.
“He monopolized the con-
versation. He spent a lot of
time talking about things that
weren’t really city business
during his reports of council-
ors, and I think primarily that
just wasted the time of the busi-
ness of the city,” Warr said.
He added that Herzig’s
refusal to act as a team player
on occasions when the coun-
cil could only move forward
through consensus could be
disruptive.
However, Warr said he
believes Herzig “felt that he
was doing the work of the
city, or at least representing
his constituency, and I think he
worked very hard.
“He was always extremely
well prepared, in that he spent
hours reading and think-
ing about information that
he got in the packet — prob-
ably more than any other
councilor.”
Herzig suspects his out-
sider status led critics to hold
him to a higher standard than
his fellow councilors.
“A number of people who
were not opposed to me have
often thanked me for asking
those questions … for examin-
ing things at council meetings
Herzig said he often asked
many questions, and extended
council meetings, to keep the
process transparent.
“Democracy is doing pub-
lic business in public, and
that’s what City Council meet-
ings are supposed to be: that
the public comes and watches
us do their business and
explain what we’re doing,” he
said.
Herzig’s last council meet-
ing will be Tuesday night.
He and Schweigert have sold
their South Slope home and
plan to leave town the follow-
ing week. Tom Brownson, a
retired contractor, is the only
candidate for the Ward 2 seat
in November.
City politics can be frustrat-
ing, Herzig said, and many of
his constituents have given up.
“I’ve talked to so many
people who say, ‘I just don’t
bother anymore. They’re
going to do what they’re going
to do regardless of what we
want,’” he said.
But he argues that local pol-
itics is ground zero for creat-
ing positive change, and Her-
zig wishes more folks would
get involved.
“If people keep walking
away from democracy,” he
said, “we’re not going to have
it anymore.”
RV park: Company installing
new bottomless sand ilter
Continued from Page 1A
Gary Artman, an inspector
with the state, said the com-
pany has been staying under
the limits by pumping about
800 gallons of sewage a day.
Meanwhile, the company has
been installing a new bottom-
less sand ilter, which Artman
said will likely be complete
within the state’s deadline.
Case settled
In 2013, the county sued
Hick to enforce a compliance
order from 2011 limiting the
park to 43 residential spaces,
Sunset Lake Resort &
RV Park south of War-
renton has reached
a settlement with the
county regarding its
occupancy, and is
meeting the state’s re-
quirement to replace a
failing septic system.
including 18 mobile homes,
25 RVs and an additional 38
spaces for visitors.
“The parties now agree that
(Hick and Resources North-
west) are in substantial com-
pliance with the terms of the
settlement,” Matyas wrote in
a judgment issued last month.
The Daily Astorian
File Photo
Sept 1 st - Sept 11 th
Fal l
planting
S a le
OUR BIGGEST SALE OF THE YEAR IS HERE!
Submitted Photo
Aerial view of 532 N. Laurel St. in Cannon Beach.
Housing plan: Appeals
board denied all arguments
Continued from Page 1A
Commission, then tentatively
approved by City Council in
2015 and afirmed in a previ-
ous state decision.
In January, planning com-
missioners said the development
plan lacked details, including
when and how the new houses
would be built, landscaping and
protections for neighbors during
construction. Friends of Cannon
Beach said the approval set an
unwanted precedent for future
development, since the City
Council’s tentative approval
came after a threatened lawsuit
by the developer.
“LUBA conirmed over-
whelmingly that the appeal was
completely without any merit
whatsoever,” Nicholson said in
a statement
The 70-member Friends
of Cannon Beach raised about
$25,000 to ight the decision.
“Once again, LUBA did not
afirm this was a good decision,
but rather that the City Council
had the right to make it,” Har-
rison said in a statement. “For
Cannon Beach, this most unfor-
tunate action shrugs at our ordi-
nances and is in no way good
for our town.”
Board denied all
arguments
The appeals board denied
arguments that the inal plan
lacked suficient detail, veered
from the approved preliminary
plan and lacked a development
schedule.
Harrison and others argued
that the inal plan was incom-
plete and failed to “indicate
fully the ultimate operation
and appearance of the devel-
opment,” including what the
constructed homes would look
like, the inal opinion stated.
The city’s lawyers and Nich-
olson described the detailed
building plan, grading plan and
landscaping measures.
Petitioners also unsuccess-
fully argued the City Coun-
cil lacked jurisdiction to make
a inal decision on Nicholson’s
application, since the Plan-
ning Commission denied the
application.
The appeals board afirmed
the council had authority to
make a inal decision after hold-
ing a hearing on the application.
The .57-acre property where
Nicholson intends to rebuild the
existing house and construct new
homes, located at 532 N. Laurel
St., has been for sale since April.
Nicholson, who said he
agreed to about 18 different
conditions during the approval
process, plans to build the drive-
way soon, then rebuild the old
home. The timeline is uncer-
tain due to costs from lawsuits
against the city, he said.
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