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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (June 9, 2017)
ADVENTURERS GO IT ‘ALONE’ WITH N NATURE TURE weekend break • 1C 144TH YEAR, NO. 246 Gearhart video poker to see replay Port’s Knight points fi nger at Hunsinger for complaint Council to reconsider Gearhart Crossing plan Commissioner denies that he turned staffer in By R.J. MARX The Daily Astorian GEARHART — The Gearhart City Council will take another look in July at their decision to deny a license for video poker at Gearhart Crossing . “You’re looking at your code, looking at the defi nition for a ‘neighborhood cafe’ and interpreting your code whether it allows for a separate room for video lottery machines or not,” City Attorney Peter Watts said at a meeting Wednesday. In January, Terry Lowenberg went before the Planning Commission seeking a permit to install video lottery machines in Terry the brew pub, a move, he Lowenberg said, is essential for the pub’s future profi tability. Lowenberg said the machines — four to start, with a maximum of six — placed in an enclosed area next to the deli separated by an 8-foot wall, would help the brew pub survive economic hardship in winter months. The Planning Commission denied the permit and the City C ouncil upheld the denial, citing concerns about maintaining the neighborhood character and saying there was no proven need for the machines at the pub. Lowenberg and his lawyers believe the city’s denial ignores state law and that Lowenberg does not need the city’s approval to install the machines. Lowenberg appealed the council’s ruling to the state Land Use Board of Appeals. The matter returned to the local level at a special meeting in May when the city chose to bring the application back for reconsideration. By EDWARD STRATTON The Daily Astorian TRANSIT CENTER MAKES CHANGES IN RESPONSE TO RISE IN HOMELESSNESS FRICTION GROWS Colin Murphey/The Daily Astorian Authorities have reported a rise in the population of people in the area temporarily without shelter or transportation. Some businesses are making changes to cope. Testimony The July 5 hearing will include testimony already on the record, along with additional requests for information. Watts said he expected future discussion to center on whether state law prevented the city from prohibiting video machines. Testimony could also turn on whether a conditional use permit for l ottery machines is required by state law. Mayor Matt Brown said he sought infor- mation as to whether state law trumps the city’s land use decision. Councilors will also seek to determine if a conditional use permit is even neces- sary at Gearhart Crossing, as that use may be automatically granted in conjunction with a liquor license. Watts said Lowenberg attorney Greg Hathaway had requested the July date for discussion, which is within the 90-day time frame required for the city’s decision. Anyone who is party to the appeal is free to testify, Watts said. ONE DOLLAR WEEKEND EDITION // FRIDAY, JUNE 9, 2017 By JACK HEFFERNAN The Daily Astorian ent Birdeno sat in his offi ce and stared out at one of the sidewalk garbage cans that sport drawings of fi sh on the side. “Hardly a day goes by where I don’t see people go pick through it, sometimes eat out of it,” he said. Birdeno owns Commercial Adjustment Co. on the corner of Ninth Street and Marine Drive, directly across the street from the Sunset Empire Transit Center. He said peo- ple who appear to be homeless often gather behind the building and leave their trash, forcing him to pick up cans and bottles on a weekly basis. “They keep leaving their little nest behind,” he said. In the near future, Birdeno hopes to install a surveillance system for some peace of mind. K Others in Astoria have also been making adjustments as encounters with the home- less increase. Clatsop Community Action, a nonprofi t that helps homeless people fi nd resources such as food and housing , saw a more than 50 percent surge from 2015 to 2016 . The statistics covered people who were not living in a residence or home- less shelter, just those who were out on the street. Much of the friction with the homeless community has stemmed from issues caused by a small but growing number of people who stay in the area on a temporary basis without shelter . “We have seen a lot of new faces,” Asto- ria Police Deputy Chief Eric Halverson said. “We’ve always had a transient population, but I don’t remember the numbers being this high.” See HOMELESSNESS, Page 9A ‘We have seen a lot of new faces. We’ve always had a transient population, but I don’t remember the numbers being this high.’ Eric Halverson Astoria Police deputy chief R.J. Marx/The Daily Astorian In the latest example of the acrimony between the Port of Astoria staff and certain commissioners, Port Executive Director Jim Knight has accused Port Commissioner Bill Hunsinger of making an anonymous com- plaint against a Port staffer to the Oregon State Bar. Port Property and Con- tracts Director Shane Jen- sen, who is studying to be an attorney, is being inves- tigated by the state bar’s u nlawful p ractice of l aw c ommittee after an anon- ymous complaint late Bill last year. The complaint Hunsinger stemmed from a Novem- ber memo written by Jen- sen about the legality of electing alternate mem- bers to the Port’s B udget C ommittee. Pressed by Port Com- mission President Rob- ert Mushen in February, Jim Hunsinger and the other Knight commissioners denied any involvement in the complaint. But in an email to the Port Commission last month, Knight said the identity of the person behind the complaint was no longer in question. Knight said a letter from the state bar to Jensen has “comments from Commissioner Hunsinger that accuse Shane of providing false and misleading legal advice.” In a letter to Hunsinger, state bar inves- tigator Morad Noury thanked Hunsinger for contacting him in February and expressing his willingness to contribute to the investi- gation. In a letter to Noury, Hunsinger talked about his concerns over Jensen presenting himself as a source of legal advice for the Port in several matters. Nothing in the letters, however, identifi es Hunsinger as the source of the original complaint against Jensen. In a response to Noury, Jensen said he prepared the memo under the supervision of and review by attorney Eileen Eakins, hired earlier this year as the Port’s general counsel. “I truly believe that at all times, I con- ducted myself appropriately as an employee of a local government entity in the State of Oregon,” Jensen wrote Noury about the var- ious allegations against him. “Sometimes, being an employee of a local government means using words that are also used by lawyers. There is a big difference, however, between using words sometimes used by lawyers in the context of commercial busi- ness decisions on the one hand and what can fairly or reasonably be called the unautho- rized practice of law on the other.” The investigation has since been assigned to a state bar committee member, who is expected to produce a report early next month. Paying for defense Knight said Jensen is hiring an attorney in response to the investigation, and that the Port will cover his legal expenses because the complaint came from a commissioner. The new look at the Gearhart Crossing Pub & Deli. See PORT, Page 9A Tenant protections bill in peril in Oregon Senate By PARIS ACHEN Capital Bureau stripped away some of the most controversial provisions of the bill — including lifting a ban on local rent control ordi- nances — in an attempt to garner support for the legislation. The bill still calls for outlawing no-cause evictions and requiring landlords with more than fi ve units to pay a month’s rent to a tenant when the tenant is forced to move out because the landlord is changing the proper- ty’s use, renovating, demolishing or moving in. SALEM — A tenant protections bill that would outlaw no-cause evictions may be in peril in the Senate. Despite several changes to address the most controver- sial aspects of the bill, the legislation lacks enough votes in the Senate to pass, according to several people familiar with the issue. Reasons vary “We are still working on it. We are Senate Majority Leader Ginny meeting with the no votes and seeing Burdick, D-Portland, has been what can be changed in the bill to get spearheading negotiations on the it off the fl oor,” said state Sen. Lau- Ginny Laurie Tina bill, which is in front of the Senate rie Monnes Anderson, D-Gresham, a Burdick Monnes Kotek Rules Committee. chief sponsor of the bill. Anderson “This is an important issue in The bill, championed by House Portland. At this point, I believe there still is a path- Speaker Tina Kotek, D-Portland, passed the House of Representatives 31 -27 April 4, with no votes from all way to get a bill to protect tenants,” Burdick said. Republicans and a handful of Democrats. See BILL, Page 9A The Senate Committee on Human Services last month Capital Bureau The Senate lacks votes to pass the tenant protection bill, but the Sen- ate Rules Committee is working on changes to try to garner more “yes” votes.
