3A
THE DAILY ASTORIAN • THURSDAY, MAY 11, 2017
Seaside council approves
zone change for housing
Fake bomb found in Warrenton
Wildlife,
affordability
remain at issue
By JACK HEFFERNAN
The Daily Astorian
By R.J. MARX
The Daily Astorian
SEASIDE — A proposed
affordable housing develop-
ment on North Wahanna Road
is moving forward , while
neighbors remain skeptical.
A zone change to allow 40
unit s on 2 acres passed through
required readings and could be
approved at the next City Coun-
cil meeting later this month. But
neighbors remain concerned
about discrepancies in the prop-
erty survey, traffi c on Wahanna
Road, affordability and impacts
on the environment, including
wetlands and wildlife.
“I understand they’re going
to do what they’re going to
do,” Dawn Miller said follow-
ing the meeting. “I’m all for
growth, but this is crazy. It’s
not affordable housing.”
Donna Lyons of Warrenton,
whose mother’s property is
next to proposed development ,
questioned the feasibility of
providing workforce housing
at the prevailing wages in the
community.
“McDonald’s is generous at
$11 an hour,” Lyons said. “At
$11 an hour to rent an apart-
ment that’s $1,000 to $1,500
(per month), how do you come
up with 30 to 50 percent? How
do you live in that rental without
having two or three families in
the same rental? Do the math.”
Eagle’s nest
R.J. Marx/The Daily Astorian
Mayor Jay Barber and councilors approved a proposed
zone change on Wahanna Road. Council President Tita
Montero is at right. A third and final reading awaits.
able housing, but the zone
change could limit the city’s
input on the building’s future
plans. The developer would
not have to go before the city
for any use that is permitted
outright, Cupples said. Any
plan would need to meet code
setbacks, including distance
from wetlands, he added.
“I have a little apprehen-
sion, especially with eagles
nesting in the trees, with the
possibility of trees being cut
down,” Horning said. “I’m on
the fence, to be quite honest.”
Housing need
City Councilor Dana Phil-
lips said housing remains the
city’s most critical concern. “I
don’t understand the double
standard if we don’t approve
this plan,” Phillips said.
“This is one of our goals,”
Councilor Seth Morrisey said.
“There’s obviously not enough
workforce housing in the city
and this would fulfi ll that.”
Morrisey said the issue ulti-
The 3.75-acre property, of
which 2.5 acres is buildable,
is located between North Wah-
anna Road and the wetlands
along Stanley Lake. The prop-
erty is bounded to the north by
the North Coast Family Fel-
lowship and to the south by a
single-family home. The zone
change could allow an apart-
ment complex consisting of
fi ve buildings, each containing
eight units, with a total of 40
one- to three-bedroom units.
The city is consider-
ing a zone change request,
City Planner Kevin Cupples
said, not a plan for a specifi c
development.
At a February Planning
Commission meeting, project
owner James Folk said units
would rent for between $800
and $1,300 a month.
At Monday’s hearing,
Miller sought protections for
an eagle’s nest on nearby Stan-
ley Lake.
Miller also questioned
numbers in a 1988 survey
which could alter the num-
ber of buildable acre s. “How
are we going to move forward
with zoning if they don’t have
2 (buildable) acres?” Miller
asked. “If they don’t, why
would we do a zone change?”
Jennifer Bunch of Astoria’s
Wickiup Consulting responded
to concerns on behalf of owner
Folk and Sierra Partners IV.
Development would be resized
to fi t the property as deter-
mined in a new survey, “what-
ever that may be.”
City Councilor Tom Horn-
ing said he recognized the
need for workforce or afford-
Clatsop Post 12
Spaghetti
Dinner
Friday
th
May
12
4 pm until gone
$
00
8.
6PM
mately came down to prop-
erty rights. “This is Mr. Folk’s
property,” he said. “The rest of
the debate of what he can do or
not do on his own land — it’s
not our place.”
Phillips presented a motion
to approve the change, sec-
onded by Morrisey and carried
unanimously. A separate item,
annexing the Wahanna prop-
erty into the city for police, fi re
and water services, was also
approved by councilors.
Neighbors hope to reverse
the council’s action. On Tues-
day, Miller said she did not
rule out an appeal.
“I think it’s going to detract
from the gorgeousness of the
city of Seaside and the places
you can go and totally get
away from the city,” Miller
said. “Everybody uses Wah-
anna Road. So it’s going to
get real congested real quick.
What are they going to do
when Hood to Coast comes?
You can’t get out of the drive-
way, as it is.”
WARRENTON — A
device that looked like a
bomb in a mailbox turned out
to be a hoax.
Warrenton
Police
responded to reports of an
apparent improvised explo-
sive device shortly before
noon Wednesday on North-
east Skipanon Drive across
the street from Rod’s Bar and
Grill.
Oregon State Police explo-
sive technicians removed the
device from the mailbox and
shot it with a water cannon.
Further investigation deter-
mined the device was not an
explosive.
Northeast
Skipanon
Drive
between
Har-
bor Street and Northeast
First Street was closed
for more than 2 1/2 hours
Colin Murphey/The Daily Astorian
An Oregon State Police explosive disposal techni-
cian, center, putting on helmet, prepares to destroy a
suspected explosive device discovered in Warrenton
around noon Wednesday.
until the device was safely
removed.
Police do not yet have a
suspect in the case. Evidence
will be processed and sent to
the Oregon State Police crime
lab in Warrenton. Because the
device was located in a mail-
box, it is considered a state
and federal crime.
Saturday
May 13 th
Mother’s Day
Brunch
10 AM -N ooN
MOTHERS EAT FREE
ALL OTHERS
$ 5 DONATION
Sun ., May 14
th
Mother’s Day
BINGO 3
PM
“Karaoke Dave”
ASTORIA AMERICAN LEGION
Clatsop Post 12
1132 Exchange Street
325-5771
Joining the team at
Rinehart Clinic
Stacey Agee
Adult Nurse Practitioner
Rinehart Clinic welcomes Stacey
Agee, our new nurse practitioner
serving patients 12 and over.
She has over 34 years’ experience
as a registered nurse and nurse
practitioner specializing in internal
medicine and women’s health.
Stacey is new to the Rinehart Clinic, but she’s been
serving our coastal communities for many years!
RINEHART
230 Rowe Street
Wheeler, Oregon 97147
Clinic & Pharmacy
1-800-368-5182
A TTENTION A LL F AMILY , F RIENDS AND L OCAL B USINESSES
The Daily Astorian is creating a graduation publication for our
local high schools to honor and congratulate the
Class 2017
of
This will publish on
Friday, June
Device was
destroyed
2 nd .
D EADLINE :
M ONDAY
M AY 15 TH AT 5 PM
To participate in this publication:
Knappa · Astoria ·
Warrenton · Hammond
503-325-3211
Gearhart ·Seaside ·Cannon Beach
503-738-5561
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