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SEASIDE BOYS, GIRLS TAKE TO THE PITCH SPORTS 7A
DailyAstorian.com // WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2016
144TH YEAR, NO. 49
ONE DOLLAR
Vacation rental owners seek to derail Gearhart rules
Alternate rental
initiative presented
to City Council
By R.J. MARX
The Daily Astorian
GEARHART — As Gearhart
readies to pass short-term rental rules,
a group of homeowners announced
their intention to fi le an initiative to
supersede the new ordinance. An
informal band of vacation home-
owners are “waiting to see” if Gear-
hart ratifi es the ordinance at the City
Council meeting Wednesday night.
“The mayor and council are fairly
entrenched, so we have taken the next
step of retaining counsel and draft-
ing an initiative,” Gearhart home-
owner David Townsend, a commu-
nications strategist, said Tuesday.
“This allows us to put our alternative
ordinance to the voters, which can-
cels theirs. Hopefully we don’t have
to do it, but we’re prepared to do it.”
Proponents of the initiative agree
with the need for a 24-hour emer-
gency contact, neighbor notifi ca-
tion and fees for permits — although
they would designate revenue from
the vacation rental taxes to a special
fund for city fi re and police services,
rather than enforcement costs, as City
Administrator Chad Sweet proposed
in August.
Sweet said today he didn’t have
any comment to the initiative yet, but
“tonight you’ll get your answer from
the City Council. For me, it’s all just
part of the process. It’s democracy in
action.”
He said all councilors had received
copies of the ordinance and it was
included in tonight’s meeting packet.
“There’s been a few discussions with
individual councilors, but I’m not
sure what their opinions are.”
Does he anticipate the city’s ordi-
nance will pass as planned tonight?
“I do,” Sweet said.
See GEARHART, Page 10A
The Daily Astorian/File Photo
The city is shifting parking enforcement
to the Astoria Downtown Historic Dis-
trict Association.
EVERY KID IN A PARK, AGAIN
Lewis and Clark National Historical Park
Fourth-grade students pose with a Newfoundland dog during an educational program at Fort Clatsop National Memorial.
Lewis and Clark park welcomes fourth-graders
By KYLE SPURR
The Daily Astorian
GET A
PASS
L
ewis and Clark National Histor-
ical Park welcomes all fourth-
grade students to visit the park for
free through the initiative, Every
Kid in a Park for another year.
The yearlong program, which
began again Sept . 1, offers fourth-grad-
ers and those accompanying them a
free annual pass into more than 2,000
federal lands, including Lewis and
Clark National Historical Park for the
second year.
Jill Harding, the park’s visitor ser-
vices chief, said Lewis and Clark
National Historical Park gave out
1,136 free passes to fourth-graders last
year, making the park one of the Top
25 to participate out of more than 400
national parks.
“We’ve had great response from
families and fourth -graders receiving
the pass,” Harding said. “Through our
education program, and at our front
Lewis and Clark National Historical Park
See PARK, Page 10A
Fourth -grade teacher Melissa Groethe (left) and park Ranger Tom Wilson
show students Lewis and Clark National Historical Park earlier this year.
To download
a free pass
for nation-
al parks,
fourth-grad-
ers can visit
www.everykid
inapark.gov.
The website
also has links
to education-
al activities,
trip planning,
field trip
options, and
additional
information in
both English
and Spanish.
The paper
pass can be
traded in for a
more durable
pass at the
federal sites
nationwide.
‘Fourth grade is that age where kids are starting to look
outside and learn more about external experiences. It’s a good
age to encourage them to come to national parks.’
Marcus Koenen
interim superintendent at Lewis and Clark National Historical Park
Merchants
take over
parking
tickets
Tourism money will
pay for outreach offi cer
By DERRICK DePLEDGE
The Daily Astorian
The next parking ticket you get down-
town might not come from the Astoria
Police.
The City Council voted Tuesday night
to shift parking enforcement to the Astoria
Downtown Historic District Association,
which represents merchants. The city will
deputize a uniformed community outreach
offi cer who will have the authority to issue
citations.
Money from the fi nes will still go to the
city through Municipal Court, but down-
town merchants will gain greater control
over parking.
“There’s a mutual benefi t for it. Nobody
is more motivated to turn over parking down-
town than the downtown association,” Asto-
ria Police Chief Brad Johnston said. “They
will always be more motivated to do that
than the police department.”
The city will fi nance the community out-
reach offi cer with $22,000 in Promote Asto-
ria tourism money. The tourism fund, made
up of hotel-room tax revenue, has also been
tapped to pay a private contractor to main-
tain the Astoria Riverwalk and other down-
town green spaces and for a cleaning com-
pany to service public restrooms at the
Doughboy Monument and downtown.
Using tourism money to privatize park-
ing enforcement and park maintenance helps
relieve pressure on the city’s general fund,
which otherwise would have to underwrite
services for both residents and visitors.
“Right now, I feel as though that we see,
as staff, an overall benefi t to the city,” City
Manager Brett Estes said.
See PARKING, Page 10A
Most humpbacks leap off endangered list
Whales off
Pacifi c Northwest
shores listed as
threatened
By AUDREY MCAVOY
Associated Press
HONOLULU — Federal
authorities took most hump-
back whales off the endan-
gered species list Tuesday,
saying their numbers have
recovered through interna-
tional efforts to protect the
giant mammals.
Known for their acrobatic
leaps from the sea and complex
singing patterns, humpback
whales were nearly hunted
to extinction for their oil and
meat by industrial-sized whal-
ing ships well through the mid-
dle of the 20th century. But the
species has been bouncing
back since an international ban
on commercial whaling took
effect in 1966.
The moratorium on whal-
ing remains in effect, despite
the new classifi cations.
The National Marine Fish-
eries Service said it fi rst had
evidence to indicate there
were 14 distinct populations
of humpback whales around
the world. It then said nine of
these populations have recov-
ered to the point where they no
longer need Endangered Spe-
cies Act Protections. These
include whales that winter in
Hawaii, the West Indies and
Australia.
Before, the agency classi-
fi ed all humpback whales as
one population. They had been
listed as endangered since
1970.
“Today’s news is a true eco-
logical success story,” Eileen
Sobeck, assistant administra-
tor for fi sheries at the National
Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration, said in a
statement.
The whales will continue
to be protected under other
See WHALES, Page 10A
Joshua Bessex/The Daily Astorian
A humpback whale breaches near the Astoria Bridge last
fall. Federal authorities are taking most humpback whales
off the endangered species list, however whales that feed
off Pacific Northwest shores are listed as threatened.