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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 4, 2016)
3A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 2016 Cannon Beach considers housing solutions Public rejects use of Tolovana Hall for housing By LYRA FONTAINE The Daily Astorian CANNON BEACH — Addressing workforce needs, developing city-owned land and using innovative dwell- ing units could be elements of Cannon Beach’s multi- pronged housing approach. The city’s affordable housing task force will present its final report with recommenda- tions at Tuesday’s City Coun- cil work session. Those could be adopted as soon as the next council meeting. In six meetings with con- sultant Terri Silvis, task force members agreed in their vision statement to “forge a housing plan that encourages and facilitates the creation of long-term workforce rental housing in Cannon Beach.” Members focused on year- round, full-time employee housing, identified city land for housing sites, analyzed census data and examined workforce housing in other tourist communities. The draft report also includes the option to create incentives for long- term accessory dwelling units and to limit short-term rental growth. At its October meeting, the task force discussed the draft report, which includes two development options for mid- dle-class workforce housing and zoning change options. Recommendations include using up to 10 spots in the RV Park for manufactured “park model homes” that could be hooked into existing water and electrical systems. At about 400 square feet, they could accommodate one per- son or a couple. The pilot pro- gram could be financed from the general fund or borrowed funds and would not lead to a significant revenue loss for the city, the draft report states. “We think it’s a wonder- ful idea but maybe the people we’re targeting might not agree with us,” task-force member Ken McQuhae said. “I wonder if we should start with fewer and see how it goes.” The task force may also recommend developing the Submitted Photo The Cannon Beach affordable housing task force will rec- ommend up to 10 manufactured “park model homes,” like the ones shown below from Woodburn to be placed in the city’s RV Park. former children’s center in Tolovana to about nine units. City Manager Brant Kucera suggested there could be a regional task force on housing. “The bigger issue needs to be addressed by all the cities to succeed,” he said. The task force also dis- cussed whether the city should manage the properties and consider the children’s center for housing, but not Tolovana Hall, an idea that was previously proposed. The hall is used for Tolovana Arts Colony classes and organiza- tions like the Friends of Can- non Beach, Clatsop-Nehalem Confederated Tribes and Medical Reserve Corps. Though it’s a “revenue loser,” Kucera said Tolovana Hall is a public good. “I don’t see there’s any consensus at all to replace that,” task-force member Brandon Ogilvie said. Public response erty,” he said. “This won’t put At the task-force meeting, a dent in the housing prob- Jan Siebert-Wahrmund said lem. I think you can draw although the children’s cen- in private developers to do ter is the only area things. It’s wrong being considered for for the city to put housing in Tolovana in money into all Park, the adjacent these things.” Tolovana Hall is an The Cannon important gathering Beach Garden Club space. is opposed to any “If we lost that, development in it would be really a the city-owned lot shame for commu- where Tolovana nity spirit,” she said. Hall and the chil- Ken McQuhae Siebert-Wahr- dren’s center are mund asked the task located, club repre- force for a friend to sentative John Piatt consider affordable housing said at the Tuesday council for long-term elderly residents meeting. The lot was gifted who would like to stay in their to the city in 1987 with deed remaining years. restrictions, including one Ed Johnson said the park that guarantees the garden model homes are more rea- club’s right to use the property sonable than previous con- monthly free of charge. cept designs of 24 units at the “Tolovana Hall is in use six RV Park. He said he hopes the to seven days a week,” Piatt task force’s proposal to add said. “While the garden club park model homes will not recognizes the need for more affect areas adjacent to the RV affordable housing in Can- Park. non Beach, we believe the lot Phil Massebeau said replac- in question is not the answer. ing RV units with park model It should rather remain true homes was not a solution. to the spirit of the deed as a “It doesn’t make any sense resource for the community at to me, taking away city prop- large.” Democrats expected to stay dominant in Legislature Some setbacks likely on Tuesday By HILLARY BORRUD The Oregonian SALEM — Democrats in the state Legislature have a problem this fall. Republicans have a fight- ing chance to claw back seats in the House and Senate — thanks to an unusual number of open seats, a slate with some moder- ate candidates and an infusion of local and national cash. Democrats aren’t expected to lose control of either cham- ber. But defeats could erase their 18-12 supermajority in the Senate and cut into their 35-25 majority in the House. That would threaten their ability to push priority bills in 2017, from requiring businesses to provide paid family leave to raising the gas tax for a long-anticipated transportation package. And yet that setback may only be short-lived. Even if they lost badly this year, Oregon Democrats have a demographic edge that’s likely to widen over the next decade, as the state’s urban centers — including suburbs and smaller cities such as Hood River and Bend — continue to grow. Those areas already have more Democrats than Republicans, and more people overall pre- sumably means even more Democrats. Registered Democrats already outnumber Republi- cans in 39 of the 60 House dis- tricts and 22 of 30 Senate dis- tricts, according to an analysis of data from the Secretary of State’s Office. In a little over a decade, as much as 85 percent of Oregonians could be living in those areas, said Jim Moore, director of the Tom McCall Center for Policy Innovation at Pacific University. Moore said lawmakers will likely redraw their districts after national censuses in 2020 and 2030 and shift seats from rural areas to “the more Demo- cratic population centers.” “At that point, the Republi- cans are going to be in a world of hurt, because they’re not going to have the suburban districts anymore. They’ll just have the rural districts,” Moore said. “The demographics are everything, they really are.” Some coin flips Despite Democrats’ over- all registration edge, House Majority Leader Jennifer Wil- liamson, D-Portland, said sev- eral contests this fall are so close — because of open seats in swing districts — they could be coin flips. Williamson said she’s focused on simply holding onto Democrats’ 10-vote majority in the House, which puts them one vote shy of a supermajor- ity. With a supermajority, Dem- ocrats could pass revenue mea- sures without any Republican votes. “We see this as a very defen- sive cycle,” Williamson said. “My first and foremost prior- ity is to return to a majority in the House. I think we can’t take anything for granted this elec- tion cycle.” Moore said this year’s most competitive House races are clustered in Portland’s suburbs and a district between Salem and Woodburn. Right now, they’re all held by Democrats who’ve decided not to seek re-election. And the Republicans looking to replace them have largely positioned themselves as friendlier to a wider spectrum of voters. Preston Mann, a spokesman for Promote Oregon Leader- ship, the political action com- mittee for House Republicans, pointed out that candidates lost by roughly 1,000 to 1,400 votes in three of those districts — in Woodburn, around Hillsboro, and near Happy Valley and Damascus — in 2014. But for all their talk of defense, House Democrats have also gone on the attack in some Republican-held districts where Democrats nonetheless hold a registration edge. GAME MEAT PROCESSING OCTOBER 15 TH & 29 TH , 2016 Debbie D’s will be at Cash & Carry in Warrenton at 10:00 a.m. to pick up and deliver meat for processing. 20 lb. min • Each batch individual Starting Saturday, Nov. 5 th we will be at Cash & Carry every Saturday at 10am for processing LOCAL’S SPECIAL EVERYONE ZIPS FOR THE PRICE OF A KID! NOVEMBER 5 TH -6 TH , 2016 RESERVATIONS REQUIRED OVER A MILE OF ZIPPING $ 69 Two of those seats, in Wil- sonville and out in Yamhill County, are being vacated by Republicans. But the other three are held by moderate incumbents who’ve defied demographics to win convinc- ingly in past elections: Knute Buehler of Bend, Julie Parrish of West Linn and Mark John- son of Hood River. Privately, some politi- cal observers wondered why Williamson and Speaker Tina Kotek, D-Portland, have aggressively targeted those dis- tricts with so many open Dem- ocratic seats to defend. Williamson defended the strategy, saying it was valid to challenge Republicans in areas “where we see a Democratic registration edge.” But House Minority Leader Mike McLane, R-Powell Butte, called Parrish, Johnson and Buehler the type of centrist can- didates who still appeal to vot- ers in increasingly blue subur- ban districts. “They’re running very vicious campaigns against all three of them,” McLane said of Democrats, “which is a shame because Knute and Mark and Julie have shown themselves to be bipartisan leaders and inde- Please call or leave message by Friday so we know to expect you! 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Loving Lulu fi ts the bill for giggly games or tucking in. (More on http://Petfi nder.com/ ) Sponsored By C LATSOP C OUNTY A NIMAL S HELTER 1315 SE 19 th Street, Warrenton • 861 - PETS www.dogsncats.org said of the Bend Republi- can. “He’s very popular. He’s also an avowedly moderate Republican.” In the Senate, voters in southern Oregon must choose between Republican Alan DeBoer of Ashland and Demo- crat Tonia Moro of Medford to replace Democrat Alan Bates, who died in August. Bates, who narrowly won his first election to the seat in 2004, was famed for his bipartisanship. But last month, Bates’ widow took Moro to task for “disappointing” attack ads on DeBoer — suggesting the diffi- culty Moro could face in claim- ing the seat. The ads in question crit- icized DeBoer for his sup- port of two development proj- ects during his time as mayor of Ashland. Senate Majority Leader Ginny Burdick, D-Port- land, said they simply pointed out “in a very above-board way” DeBoer’s record. W A NTED Volunteer EACH To the lady that told me to lean on her after I fell, Thank you, thank you! Slowly I am better. pendent leaders.” For example, Parrish sup- ported Oregon’s 2014 ballot initiative to legalize same-sex marriage and has declined to seek endorsements from groups on either side of the abortion issue, saying “it’s not for me to make that decision for someone else.” Buehler, an orthopedic sur- geon often mentioned as a 2018 gubernatorial candidate, cham- pioned a 2015 bill that made Oregon the second state after California to allow on-de- mand birth control pills at phar- macies. And Johnson helped Democrats pass an anti-coal law this year that says utilities must serve half their customers’ demand with renewable energy by 2040. 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