HONORING OUR
FIREFIGHTERS
INSIDE
A RECAP OF OUR
ENDORSEMENTS
OPINION • 6A
DailyAstorian.com // THURSDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2016
144TH YEAR, NO. 85
ONE DOLLAR
Candidates
SHORTAGE IN SEASIDE DIVIDES weigh in
HOMEOWNERS, LABOR FORCE on housing
gridlock
THE HOUSING CRUNCH
Contenders recognize
complex problem
By ERICK BENGEL
The Daily Astorian
Limited
availability
leads to call
for solutions
By R.J. MARX
The Daily Astorian
Danny Miller/The Daily Astorian
Seaside is facing a housing crunch, especially for the large service industry
feeding the tourism business .
Cannon Beach
prioritizes housing
for local workforce
There’s ‘no easy solution’ to high
prices and a scarce inventory
ANNON BEACH — Cannon Beach, a city known for care-
fully protecting an image as an idyllic coastal getaway, has
taken a practical approach to the housing
crunch.
The city has prioritized workforce
housing and a task force is analyzing
potential options on three city-owned
properties.
In a citizen survey this year, 76 percent
responded that it is necessary or import-
ant for the city to assist with developing
affordable housing. The City Council has
set a goal to add 25 affordable units by
2018, and 25 more by 2020. “It is abso-
Brant
lutely essential for the health of Clatsop
Kucera
County that we begin to address afford-
able housing,” City Manager Brant Kucera said .
See CANNON BEACH, Page 4A
MORE INSIDE: VACATION RENTALS, SECOND
HOMES PLAY BIG ROLE IN GEARHART • PAGE 4A
ABOUT
THIS SERIES
The housing crunch is
everywhere in Clatsop
County and impacts all
walks of life.
By LYRA FONTAINE
The Daily Astorian
C
PART FOUR OF FIVE
This week, The Daily
Astorian examines the
housing crunch through
the eyes of elected
officials, economic
experts, real-estate
professionals, develop-
ers, homeowners and
renters.
The series will explore
the forces driving the is-
sue, along with what is
— and is not — possi-
ble for the North Coast
to achieve. And, the
coverage does not end
this week, as the Astori-
an tracks the challeng-
es and solutions going
forward.
COMING
FRIDAY
• County sees barriers
to housing solutions
S
EASIDE — Even having connec-
tions doesn’t help when it comes to
fi nding a rental in Seaside.
“I was in a position where I needed
housing, to fi nd a house,” said City
Councilor Seth Morrisey, a lifelong res-
ident. “I couldn’t even get something on
the high end. No amount of money could
get me a place to live. I just knew there
was a big problem.”’
According to the Oregon Employ-
ment Department , demographic statis-
tics show an aging, affl uent population
of mostly second
homeowners who
occupy the hous-
ing stock yet drive
the demand for
labor.
That shortage
has left seasonal,
part -time and low-
er-wage workers
squeezed out.
The need is
Seth
clear especially
Morrisey
for the large ser-
vice industry feeding the tourism busi-
ness. With 1,300 rooms in Seaside, and
dozens of restaurants, shops and outlets
to meet the needs of tourism, thousands
of workers both seasonal and year-round
are competing for living space.
“I sympathize with the business own-
ers who can’t even fi nd staff who can
afford to live in the area,” Morrisey said.
“There are huge waiting lists. Unless you
can buy, there’s no way you can fi nd a
place.”
City Council President Don Johnson
said workforce housing is a top priority.
Candidates for local and state offi ce par-
ticipated in a friendly public forum Wednes-
day at Clatsop Community College, and the
fi rst question addressed today’s defi ning
issue: the housing crunch.
The panel discussion, hosted by the
American Association of University Women,
included Bruce Jones and Cory Pederson,
the political newcomers vying for the Asto-
ria City Council Ward 4 seat; Tom Brown-
son, the unopposed Ward 2 candidate; and
the state House of Representatives District
32 candidates, Democratic incumbent Debo-
rah Boone and Republican challenger Bruce
Bobek.
Moderator Patricia Garner, the associ-
ation’s state public policy representative,
asked the speakers what specifi c strate-
gies, tools or policies they would support to
tackle the lack of housing options available
for Astorians and Oregonians, and which
organizations the city should partner with to
implement those strategies.
See CANDIDATES, Page 9A
Americans
are eating
more fi sh
Astoria top commercial
fi sh port on West Coast
By KATIE FRANKOWICZ
For The Daily Astorian
Americans ate nearly a pound more sea-
food per capita in 2015 than in 2014 even
as West Coast commercial fi shermen spent
much of last year grappling with unfa-
vorable ocean con-
ditions, a decline in
landings in a number
of fi sheries and the
rise of a marine toxin
that shut down valu-
able Dungeness crab
fi sheries.
Still, across the
nation, 2015 was an
“above average year,”
reported Richard Mer-
Richard
rick, a chief scien-
Merrick
tist with the National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
and co-author of a study of 2015 fi shery sta-
tistics in the U.S.
See SEASIDE, Page 5A
See SEAFOOD, Page 9A
Oregon surfer punched shark in gills to survive
By GILLIAN FLACCUS
Associated Press
PORTLAND — Joseph
Tanner was resting his arms on
his surf board, his lower body
dangling in the water, when
something grabbed his right
leg and yanked him under the
waves.
In an instant, Tanner knew
he was being attacked by a
shark in the chilly waters off
the northern Oregon coast and
he wondered if he would die,
he recalled Wednesday, nearly
three weeks after the Oct. 10
attack north of Cannon Beach.
The shark had his leg in its
jaw — a bite that would later
measure 26 inches from his
Joseph Tanner survived a
shark attack while surfing
on the Oregon Coast this
month.
upper thigh to his ankle — and
as Tanner struggled to break
free, he remembered that he
should try to punch the shark in
the nose or poke it in the eye.
“I opened my eyes and there
were gills in front of me. I can’t
reach the nose and I can’t reach
the eyeballs, so I just started
hitting the gills,” said the
29-year-old.
The shark released him and
he screamed a warning to his
friends who were surfi ng about
40 feet away, then began pad-
dling to shore on his board.
He was terrifi ed the shark
was following him, tracking
him by the blood streaming
from his mangled leg.
Friends later told him he
paddled about 200 yards — a
fi ve-minute ordeal — before
catching a wave and riding it in
for the last 40 yards, he said.
See SURFER, Page 9A
Photos by Stephanie Yao Long/The Oregonian
Joseph Tanner, who survived a shark bite while surfing on
the Oregon Coast on Oct. 10 shows his scars while speak-
ing with the media at Legacy Emanuel Medical Center in
Portland where he is a critical care nurse, Wednesday.