3A
THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, AUGUST 4, 2017
Gearhart delves into the noxious weeds
practices of various property
owners who owned property in
or abutting the dunes.”
“The issue of whether large
trees can be topped or removed
entirely is the main contentious
issue, and it remains for coun-
cil to decide,” Van Hoomissen
said.
Committee member John
Green said he would like to
see a moratorium on cutting on
public property until the issue
is resolved. “I think before we
do anything, we have to have a
parks master plan,” Green said.
Tree-topping
at core of
beach dune
controversy
By R.J. MARX
The Daily Astorian
GEARHART — City coun-
cilors agreed to consider rec-
ommendations from the Dunes
Vegetation Committee after
finding that city rules on tree
trimming, removal of nox-
ious weeds and invasive spe-
cies failed to provide clear
guidance.
“In my opinion there is
nobody in this debate who is
right or who’s wrong there
are just differences of opin-
ion,” committee member
George Van Hoomissen said
at Wednesday’s City Council
meeting.
Mayor
Matt
Brown
acknowledged the ordinance,
which allows for “thinning or
pruning of 50 percent of the
plant’s present growth,” was
unclear and offered little guid-
ance to officials.
“That’s what got this pro-
cess going,” Brown said.
The ordinance, written in
1994, was a leading discus-
sion item among committee
members.
City Attorney Peter Watts
said the ordinance “creates
problems for both sides,” in its
ambiguity. “One of the things
we’ve talked about is getting
clarity to the process. Do nox-
ious weeds apply to native
plants? Trees are an issue.
Grass is an issue. How do you
R.J. Marx/The Daily Astorian
Residents seek guidance as to how much dune vegetation may be removed or trimmed.
measure 50 percent of grass?”
cil regarding potential changes
to the ordinance.
Search for consensus
In January, residents filled
the Gearhart Fire Station for an
education forum and town hall
meeting on an amendment per-
mitting the removal of noxious
weeds.
The panel of city officials,
state parks representatives and
other experts was organized
by Margaret Marino, a resi-
dent who had expressed con-
cerns about the vegetation at
city meetings and reached out
to state departments and ecolo-
gists for assistance.
The workshop led to the for-
mation of the Dune Vegetation
Committee, comprised of both
permanent and part-time Gear-
hart residents. The city sug-
gested the committee study the
issues concerning vegetation
and vehicle access within the
Beach and Active Dunes Over-
lay District. Members of the
committee would then make
suggestions to the City Coun-
Recommendations
The committee formed in
April and presented its findings
to the City Council at its July
meeting.
In the committee’s recom-
mendations, all but emergency
vehicles are to be limited within
the zone — known as the
Beach and Active Dunes Over-
lay District — not only cars,
but trucks, motorized mowers,
bush hogs and other equipment.
The committee recom-
mended installation of locked
gates at all areas where motor-
ized vehicles are able to enter
the overlay district.
A recommendation con-
cerning tree pruning or vegeta-
tion removal offers guidelines
for homeowners to remove
noxious weeds or trees.
The committee’s fourth rec-
ommendation would allow
the city administrator to issue
a permit for removal of trees
which are larger than 12 inches
diameter.
Van Hoomissen said that
while early meetings were con-
tentious, later meetings found
some consensus. “Over time,
I feel the committee’s work
became much more collabo-
rative,” he said. “The commit-
tee talked about views, elk, dif-
ferent trees, different noxious
weeds, grass, historical evo-
lution of the dunes, historical
Code change sought
Gearhart’s Jack Delaney, a
member of the committee who
disputed aspects of the findings,
said the committee was “ille-
gitimate” because it was com-
prised of nonresidents.
Their findings “totally
ignored the expertise of all the
experts in the area,” he said,
naming a number of county,
state and city agencies. “Not
once did we have any discus-
sion or information from them.”
Committee member Bill
Corti called the composition of
the committee “unbalanced,”
and sought guidance for prun-
ing or trimming trees on city-
owned property.
“I think adjacent property
owners should be able to thin
or remove the trees,” commit-
tee member Jim Furnish said
after the meeting. “I think the
city will be battling about it for
years.”
Clarification of city rules
will likely require a change to
city code, City Administrator
Chad Sweet said. To that end,
the city plans to hold a work
session to discuss recommen-
dations in September.
Potential changes would
go through a public process at
Planning Commission and City
Council meetings with the goal
of crafting a revised ordinance.
“In the end, what we found
is the contentiousness over a
small part of the large issues
often masks the fact that there
is widespread agreement on
much of the issue,” Van Hoom-
issen said. “We should not take
the view that everything is con-
tentious. Because everything is
not.”
TIMBERLANDS CLOSED
DUE TO HIGH FIRE DANGER
Lewis & Clark Timberlands
are CLOSED as of August 1, 2017 to all public
entry and will remain in effect until further notice.
For up-to-date
information
please call our
RECREATIONAL
HOTLINE
503-738-6351 Ext. 2
TIMBERLANDS CLOSED
Kaelia Neal/The Daily Astorian
Kaelia Neal/The Daily Astorian
Claire Tetlow, an Astoria High School student, stands with
her miniature Hereford, Marci, at the Clatsop County Fair
Thursday.
Astoria High School soph-
omore Baylee McSwain
and her goats at the Clat-
sop County Fair Thursday.
4-Hers strut their critters at fair
By KAELIA NEAL
The Daily Astorian
She also took on leadership
roles for the program during
the fair.
“4-H is about helping peo-
ple out. I love that we can
help out each other and work
together,” Tetlow said.
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1 P.M.- 3 P.M. • SUNDAY, AUGUST 6 TH
AT ASTORIA HIGH SCHOOL
Ch ec
k th e L a b e
l
!
When her uncle gave her
a rabbit as a young girl, an
opportunity opened up for
Baylee McSwain that has
impacted her life for the last
six years.
McSwain is competing
in 4-H at the Clatsop County
Fair, which ends Saturday.
4-H is a longstanding part of
the fair and allows youth to
show their farm animals.
“I feel like a lot more peo-
ple are supporting it and real-
izing that it teaches kids about
agriculture,” McSwain said
Thursday.
So far, the Astoria High
School sophomore said she
has won reserve grand cham-
pion for swine showmanship
and reserve grand champion
for rabbit showmanship.
McSwain has shown pigs,
rabbits, chickens and goats
during 4-H since the fourth
grade.
“My favorite to show is
goats,” McSwain said. “At
first I thought they were cute,
but then I learned a lot about
them and wanted to keep
showing.”
Because of her involve-
ment, she wants to continue
4-H for the next three years
before pursuing her career goal
of becoming a veterinarian.
“She’s learned a lot of
responsibility through this pro-
gram,” said Melissa McSwain,
Baylee’s mother. “Just watch-
ing all the kids try their best
and watching all of them suc-
ceed is my favorite part.”
Claire Tetlow, who attends
Astoria High School, is in her
seventh year of 4-H.
“I’m really loving it,” said
Tetlow, who has won many
awards in this year’s 4-H. She
said she is the grand champion
for dairy showmanship in the
senior division and earned a
spot to compete for the over-
all grand champion title on
Saturday.
This 4-H has been differ-
ent for Tetlow, as all of her
animals are new to the show.
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