MANCHESTER BOMBING: POLICE HUNT FOR ACCOMPLICES PAGE 9A
DailyAstorian.com // TUESDAY, MAY 23, 2017
144TH YEAR, NO. 233
MAKING THE GRADE
STATE GEOLOGIST LAYS OUT DUNE GRADING
OPTIONS FOR CANNON BEACH HOMEOWNERS
County’s
syphilis
outbreak
continues
Three new cases
charted since February
By BRENNA VISSER
The Daily Astorian
C
ANNON BEACH — Residents
concerned about dune grading
by the Breakers Point Condo-
miniums joined the Planning Commis-
sion Monday to learn about dunes and
how to manage them from the state
Department of Geology and Mineral
Industries.
While not a public hearing, the pre-
sentation was a follow-up of a 1997
study that documents the geologic
forces that create dunes and suggests
solutions for sand removal. This docu-
ment would be the basis for whatever
policy the city creates, City Planner
Mark Barnes said.
The study comes
in light of the confl ict
that has embroiled
Breakers Point —
a region south of
Chapman Point and
north of Ecola Creek
— in recent years
after residents from
Jonathan
the condominiums
Allan
requested large sand
removal permits after complaints of
sand on their property and lost ocean
views.
An attempt to remove an unprec-
edented 73,400 cubic yards of sand
from the 60-foot dune north of Ecola
Creek in 2014 concerned some about
the impact that much sand would have
on the ecosystem, prompting the city
to revist its policy.
In his presentation, Jonathan Allan,
the lead author of the study, suggested
options for what steps the city could
take with excess sand after a grading
project: push it seaward or transport it
to the southern part of the county that
has more erosion.
“It comes down to what is the pur-
pose of the plan? Why are we grading
ONE DOLLAR
By JACK HEFFERNAN
The Daily Astorian
The Daily Astorian/File Photos
The dunes west of the Breakers Point condominium complex block what
were once the oceanfront views of several property owners. The Breakers
Point Homeowners Association filed an intent to appeal the City Council’s
decision not to allow the association to relocate up to 73,400 cubic yards
of dune in 2015.
the dune?” Allan said.
After the grading
There are many factors that contrib-
ute to why sand forms where it does.
Sea level, storm waves, wind patterns,
erosion, climate change and whether
or not it is an El Ni ño or La Ni ña year
all affects where dunes are created.
From Falcon Cove to Chapman
Point, all these factors cause some sec-
tions of the beach, such as Tolovana,
to erod e and actually los e sand, while
Chapman Point accumulates more and
more sand, Allan said.
To remain as a safe, natural struc-
ture to withstand extreme storms and
fl ooding, Allan recommended the city
should not grade any lower than 27
feet. This would mean moving 255,900
cubic yards of sand toward the ocean
in late spring, where the wind patterns
would have a better potential of redis-
tributing sand farther south where ero-
sion is a larger problem.
However, the dune would continue
to rebuild in the same way, because of
natural forces.
“Everything is pointing to sand
moving northward. It’s about main-
taining that area,” Allan said.
Carting sand off to a much-eroded
Tolovana would help alleviate that
cycle, Allan said, because the sand is
less likely to be handled again during
future dune grading. It would manu-
ally help restore balance in the physi-
cal system.
Cannon Beach would also be the
fi rst city to try this approach on the
Oregon Coast, Allan said.
“It’s a totally justifi able approach
— and successful, in the short term,”
Allan said.
See DUNES, Page 4A
Three people have tested positive for
syphilis since public health offi cials declared
an outbreak of the infection in Clatsop
County in February.
Offi cials declared the outbreak after
noticing an increase of positive tests the past
three years.
In 2016, eight people tested positive for
syphilis in the county, a rise from three cases
in 2015 and two in 2014. Only two total cases
were reported the previous seven years.
Following the outbreak declaration, the
county requested $10,000 in funding from
the state to pay for supplies and staff time at
special clinics. The state agreed to hand over
roughly $8,000, and those funds will expire
at the end of June.
Since February, 47 people have been
tested during 16 walk-in clinics at the Clat-
sop County Public Health Department and
County Jail. Two screenings have also been
held at Providence Seaside Hospital.
See OUTBREAK, Page 4A
Pay equity
bill heads for
governor’s
signature
Bill allows workers
to recover back pay
By PARIS ACHEN
Capital Bureau
SALEM — A state pay equity bill is
headed to Gov. Kate Brown’s desk, after the
House of Representatives on Monday con-
fi rmed Senate changes
to the legislation.
The bill allows
workers who are vic-
tims of pay inequity to
recover up to two years
of back pay by fi ling
a complaint with the
Bureau of Labor and
Industries.
The governor is
expected to sign the Gov. Kate Brown
bill next week.
“I applaud the Legislature’s bipartisan
efforts to pass the p ay e quity b ill and I look
forward to signing House Bill 2005 into law.
While workforce discrimination has long
Bruce Francis, property
manager of the Break-
ers Point Homeowners
Association, tromps
through European dune
grass that has trapped
windblown sand west of
Breakers Point in 2015.
See PAY EQUITY, Page 4A
Mayor, former mayor back Gearhart rental rules
Residents
divided over
regulations
By R.J. MARX
The Daily Astorian
GEARHART — As some
residents and property owners
seek to “repeal and replace”
Gearhart’s short-term rental
rules, others, including Mayor
Matt Brown and former Mayor
Dianne Widdop, came to the
defense of the city’s regulations.
They strongly disagree
with the concept of repeal,
as well as the way the rules
Mayor Matt Brown
Dianne Widdop
are characterized .
“We are in full support of
the current ordinance and are
looking to make sure people
keep it in place,” Jeanne Mark
of Keep Gearhart Residential
said .
A summary of a ballot ini-
Jeanne Mark
tiative to “repeal and replace”
the legislation underwent
changes as a result of a deci-
sion issued by Circuit Court
Judge Dawn McIntosh earlier
this month . The ballot measure
would repeal special regula-
tions on vacation rentals related
to off-street parking, residential
appearance, garbage service,
septic capacity inspections
and cesspool requirements
not required of other Gearhart
residents.
Proponents of a repeal
called it a “huge win.”
“The judge agreed with
us, that they were 99 percent
wrong,” property owner David
Townsend said in announcing
the result.
Widdop said Townsend’s
statement was a “gross
exaggeration.”
“If you go down word for
word, there are so few changes
it’s unbelievable,” Widdop
said. “We like the way the ordi-
nance has been written. It’s a
wonderful compromise.”
“I’m not sure if Mr.
Townsend is just playing pol-
itics, which is his job as an
expert political strategist in
Sacramento, but I defi nitely
take issue with some of his
claims that our city staff some-
how misrepresented language
in the ballot title or that the
judge changed 99 percent of
it,” Brown said . “We were
very happy with Judge McIn-
tosh’s ruling and review where
she used most of the meaning
of (City Attorney) Peter Watts’
ballot title.
See GEARHART, Page 4A