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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 13, 2016)
DailyAstorian.com // TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2016 144TH YEAR, NO. 53 HOMEOWNERS FEND OFF NEW SEASIDE MOTEL Pearl plan stymied as City Council upholds appeal I By PARIS ACHEN Capital Bureau Danny Miller/The Daily Astorian Negotiations between motel developer Antoine Simmons and Avrel Nudelman, the owner of this home, failed to reach fruition. An overwhelming majority of Oregon voters support a corporate sales tax mea- sure on the November ballot, according to a new poll by icitizen, a nonpartisan sur- vey fi rm. It’s the second poll in less than a week to show Measure 97 with a big lead, but the icitizen survey included several fol- low-up questions, which indicate that voters’ opin- MORE ions change when INSIDE they learn more about arguments Battle over for how the gross Measure 97 hits receipts tax would the airwaves. Page 3A work. “This sug- Democrats out- gests messaging pace Republicans in state races. about the effect Page 10A on an Oregonian’s pocketbook can make for a tighter race in November, depending on either camp’s ability to market the measure in their favor,” said icitizen polling analyst Cynthia Villacis. The measure, backed by a coalition of public employee unions, would levy a 2.5 percent tax on certain corporations’ Ore- gon annual sales exceeding $25 million. See MEASURE 97, Page 10A R.J. Marx /The Daily Astorian See MOTEL, Page 10A Support for tax erodes when voters hear about details Poll indicates opinions change with arguments By R.J. MARX The Daily Astorian t wasn’t quite a matter of inches, but it came down to a matter of feet. Five feet, to be exact, the difference between city code requirement and a proposed side yard. Antoine Simmons had been granted a variance this summer from the Planning Commission to go ahead with his 48-room luxury motel, the Pearl of Seaside. Neighbors said the Planning Commission should have never issued the variance and called for an appeal. And they won . At the City Council’s hearing last month, councilors urged Simmons and neighbors Susan and Dan Calef and Avrel Nudelman to try and work things out. Early in Monday’s meeting it became clear those talks had fallen apart. The Calefs had no intention of selling. Simmons and Nudelman went back and forth on a price for Nudelman’s Beach Drive home, but never came to terms. Simmons, with his wife, Rocio, owns and operates four boutique hotels in Seaside and Cannon Beach, including Seaside’s Gilbert Inn, purchased in 2014, and the Inn at the Prom, which they bought in 2011. Plans for the Pearl called for three sto- ries, a penthouse fl oor and tower roof. A two- level parking garage on Beach Drive with 41 inside spaces would have been supple- mented with an additional 10 outdoor spaces on Avenue A. But minimum stall lengths, back-out and lane widths required a variance from the Planning Commission. Simmons also requested a height variance of 7 feet because of grade differences on various parts of the property. After several months of testimony, the Planning Commission granted both variances. ONE DOLLAR Antoine Simmons addresses the Seaside City Council. Danny Miller/The Daily Astorian The Inn at the Prom would have been demolished for a new motel. Neighbors who objected to the project successfully appealed to the City Council. Conservation easement drive will seek millions Grants would protect the state’s farmland By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI Capital Bureau State legislators will likely be asked for $4.25 million next year to pay for conserva- tion easements that would protect farmland from development. Plans are beginning to solidify for the Oregon Agricultural Heritage Program, which would provide grants to farmers inter- ested in easements and succession planning, said Meta Loftsgaarden, executive direc- tor of the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board. The board , which will oversee the pro- gram, plans to hold “listening sessions” this autumn based on concepts developed by agricultural and conservation groups before drafting proposed legislation for the 2017 legislative session, she said. See EASEMENTS, Page 10A League hopes to protect parks from lawsuits Astoria parks department worried sites may need to close By ERICK BENGEL The Daily Astorian In the next legislative session, the League of Oregon Cities will likely push for a bill restoring immunity for city parks employees against lawsuits fi led by people injured at sites under the employees’ care. The move is a response to a recent Oregon Supreme Court decision that allows parks employees to be held lia- ble for injuries caused through their neg- ligence — a ruling that has compelled some cities to close parks out of caution. On Monday, Astoria hosted the League of Oregon Cities — which represents the interests of the state’s municipal governments — for a discus- sion of the organization’s top legisla- tive priorities. Erin Doyle, an intergovernmen- tal relations associate at the l eague , gathered feedback from several North Coast government offi cials, state Sen. Betsy Johnson, state Rep. Debo- rah Boone, Bruce Bobek — Boone’s Republican challenger — and members of the public. Astoria is one of 17 cit- ies holding similar forums during “City Hall Week.” The Supreme Court ruling in John- son v. Gibson last March sent waves of anxiety through the state’s local parks departments. In Oregon, property owners, includ- ing cities, enjoy “recreational immu- nity”: They are immune from civil liability if a person is injured while rec- reating on their lands for free, accord- ing to Doyle. The court’s decision, however, held that this immunity — enshrined in Oregon Public Use of Lands Act — doesn’t specifi cally apply to land- owners’ agents, including city employ- ees. Though the state requires cit- ies to indemnify their workers against lawsuits, the court’s ruling may have blown a hole in that protection. The l eague wants to see a bill clari- fying that recreational immunity applies to property owners’ employees, not just the property owners themselves. State Rep. Deborah Boone State Sen. Betsy Johnson “We think this is a very simple fi x,” Doyle said. Uneven terrain Astoria’s Parks and Recreation Department has not closed any sites See LEAGUE, Page 10A
