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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 15, 2017)
4A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • TUESDAY, AUGUST 15, 2017 Reunion: Chicks found near Ilwaco High Continued from Page 1A Danny Miller/The Daily Astorian A southeast urban renewal plan could help Seaside schools and other infrastructure improvements. Seaside: ‘It really is about improving what we already have’ Continued from Page 1A think people are necessar- ily against development — we just want it to be smart,” Maria Pincetich, a resident, said in the hearing. City councilors said there were multiple public meet- ings on the issue. “Urban renewal is a proven tool in Seaside for infrastructure. How many enjoy the North Holladay boulevard? If we didn’t have urban renewal money we wouldn’t be able to do that,” City Councilor Tita Montero said. “Seaside will benefit to have the south entry to the city not look like a scumbag.” How it works Urban renewal is a financ- ing program authorized under state law and imple- mented locally allowing the use of property tax revenues from city and regional taxing districts to grow the econ- omy in blighted or underde- veloped areas. The Turnaround and Prom, the city’s sewage plant, 12th Avenue improve- ments and construction of a new library are the products of past urban renewal plans. Using tax-increment financing, funding comes through increases in assessed values of local properties. As new development arrives and existing prop- erties are improved, assess- ments rise and see property tax increases. Property taxes on the growth in assessed value in the urban renewal area are frozen and increases are allocated to the city’s urban renewal agency and not the taxing districts. Property taxes don’t raise for the individual. Instead, a portion of what people are already paying will go to urban renewal rather than to other taxing districts, urban renewal consultant Elaine Howard said. The urban renewal district plans to fund projects like road and sewer system needs for the new Seaside school campus, storefront rede- sign, property acquisition, and most notably, an esti- mated $45 million for bridge improvements at avenues A, G, S and U. “We are very commit- ted to the concept of urban renewal,” Mayor Jay Bar- ber said. “It really is about improving what we already have, and without urban-re- newal we would not have the financial resources to com- plete those projects.” City Manager Mark Win- stanley said that 32 acres out the 560 acres in the entire plan was included in the urban renewal district so that the city could possibly have another point of entry to build road, water or sewer infrastructure to the school site. “I think there has been some confusion between the urban growth bound- ary expansion and the urban renewal district. They are two distinct things,” he said. “It’s not about increasing the size of the city.” However, city council- ors received written testi- mony hours before the hear- ing from Sean Malone, an attorney with the Oregon Coast Alliance, who asserts that by including this prop- erty in the urban renewal dis- trict the city is not in compli- ance with its comprehensive plan. Malone wrote that the comprehensive plan says forestlands “shall be con- served for forest uses,” and argued that “this policy would not be served in any way by using the property for the school district.” Winstanley, as well as the City Council, declined to comment on Malone’s testimony because they did not have a chance to read it before the meeting. Traffic and development Others were concerned about improvement projects on Wahanna Road and Spruce Street bringing more traf- fic into otherwise quiet resi- dential areas. Residents also feared language in the plan allowing eminent domain, an act that allows a city to buy property for fair market value in order to complete an infra- structure project. “We have a very quiet neighborhood,” said James Hall, who lives on Cooper Street. “This could create a lot more traffic and effect the general peacefulness of our neighborhood.” Winstanley said Sea- side has never used eminent domain in urban renewal projects in the past 32 years, and said residents should not worry about that changing this time around. City Councilor Steve Wright also noted that devel- oping roads to the new school site was not just up to the city, but of the transportation advisory commission and the school district, and that this was an ongoing discussion. Community concerns Public involvement One of the aspects Pince- tich took issue with was the idea of annexing 32 acres of unincorporated forest land as a part of the new district. She said she was involved in discussions about expand- ing the urban growth bound- ary, which was tabled last summer. “The (Portland State Uni- versity) population statis- tics have been published and cites negligible growth for Clatsop County. Why the urban growth expansion?” Pincetich said. After the hourlong hear- ing, there was still a sense from some residents that their voices were still not being heard. Pincetich said it’s not just about the number of public meetings held, but the num- ber of public comment peri- ods to allow the public to interact with the city. “There was one hear- ing on the conformance to the comprehensive plan, but until now no public hearings about the actual merits of the plan,” she said. organization based just outside Astoria, sees at least one gull a week — sometimes more — and between six and 13 bald eagles a year. Last week, a handful of pelicans clustered in the corner of one enclo- sure. Birds come to the cen- ter malnourished, stranded, abandoned, injured. In the nine years Saranpaa has been there, he has only seen a dozen osprey. People found the two chicks a day apart near Ilwaco High School. If they hadn’t been found, they would have starved or died from exposure, Saranpaa said. Osprey are a conserva- tion success story, rebounding from population crashes in the 1950s and 1970s linked to the use of pesticides like DDT. There are a number of nests around Ilwaco High School. Nearby Black Lake, stocked regularly with fish, the fields and the surrounding woods are attractive habitat to these birds known for their long wings and exquisite dives for fish. Osprey are protected under the federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act. It is illegal to remove a nest if it contains eggs or chicks. However, if a nest is empty, people are allowed remove it. An Ocean Beach School District maintenance crew had removed one osprey nest from a set of stadium lights the day the first chick was found, said Superintendent Jenny Risner. Before they removed the nest, they had watched it for sev- eral weeks to make sure it was empty, she said. Osprey often build their large nests on man-made structures like the Ilwaco football stadium lights. They’ve also been known to build nests on communica- tion towers and distribution poles. Most of the time, peo- ple can wait until the nesting season is over and remove the nest after the osprey have Colin Murphey/The Daily Astorian Josh Saranpaa of the Wildlife Center of the North Coast, right, and volunteer Bill Elliott carry a crate containing two rehabilitated osprey just prior to their release back into the wild in Ilwaco over the weekend. Rylan Suehisa said the agency can issue a depredation per- mit. Rehabilitation groups will take the birds to raise and release them and crews will remove the nest. Release Colin Murphey/The Daily Astorian Josh Saranpaa with the Wildlife Center of the North Coast watches as one of two rehabilitated osprey starts to leave a crate before taking off seconds later. left. But, if a nest’s location threatens human safety or the birds’ safety, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service spokesman At Ilwaco High School, the two young birds, so eager to get out of the cage ear- lier, now eyed the field sus- piciously. They settled down at the back of the cage and refused to budge. Todd took out binocu- lars and scanned the treetops. Saranpaa jiggled the cage gently. The osprey chicks just hunched their shoulders. Saranpaa reached in and slowly, carefully pulled one chick out. The chick sprawled on the grass, cocking its head to glare at the volunteers. Then, in a blink, it was off, flying low over the ground and then soaring above the field. Saranpaa reached in for the second bird. Soon both osprey were circling the field, still a lit- tle clumsy on their newfound wings. One of them emit- ted a piercing baby bird’s cry. Saranpaa and the volun- teers watched, happy to see the birds fly but nervous about their chances of survival if the parents were gone. Then suddenly two adult osprey appeared above the trees. One carried a small fish in its talons. They cried at the younger birds and soared around them. Soon, all four osprey were gone, heading in the direction of the lake. “That was a good one,” Saranpaa said, visibly relived as he carried the dog cage back to his car. “That’s what we were hoping for.” Several days later, Todd reported that she and Elliott watched four osprey — two adults and two juveniles — fly around Black Lake. One of the young birds had just caught a fish. Flag: Club has more than 100 members Continued from Page 1A for any bad publicity that was caused for them. I take respon- sibility,” Pitman said. “If I had a better understanding of the situation and what was going on at the time, I would’ve responded differently. I don’t want to add fuel to the fire or add fuel to the hatred.” ‘A bit of a challenge’ Sons of Beaches was one of nearly 100 entries at the Grand Land Parade. A small number of judges usually have about an hour to study the floats — not the trailing vehicles — and question designers, Travers said. “I could see how they could miss that,” Travers said. “It’s a bit of a challenge. It really is.” Travers witnessed the parade on Duane Street across from Fort George Brewery and never saw a flag anywhere near the float. “I’ve got to be honest, I was surprised,” he said. The Regatta may consider revoking the group’s award at some point, though it likely would not happen for at least a few weeks, Travers said. Pitman, 55, lives in a rural area south of Seaside and served in the U.S. Navy from 1979 to 1981. He and his fam- ily, who he said comes from a mixed-race background, owned the Pier 11 Feed Store and Restaurant in Astoria from 1977 to 2003. Since the Sons of Beaches was founded in 2010, its float — Confederate decals and all — has been a fixture in mul- tiple local festivities. Ear- lier this summer, it earned the award for best patriotic entry at the Fourth of July parade in Warrenton. Sons of Beaches Sons of Beaches, an off-road enthusiast group, won the Admiral’s Award in the Astoria Regatta’s Grand Land Parade on Saturday. The club has been criticized for displaying Confederate symbols. version of the Confederate emblem was flown as a bat- tle flag during the Civil War. The Confederate government adopted different versions that largely employ the same logo. The original use as a bat- tle flag, rather than as a sym- bol for the policies adopted by the Confederate govern- ment, made it worthy of place- ment alongside others flown in U.S. wars, Pitman said. He also alluded to the fact that American citizens, regard- less of whether they supported the Union or the Confederacy, were related to people who fought on the losing side of the war. “There’s bigger issues than one battle flag that was used more than 150 years ago,” Pit- man said. “I just know that the Civil War was part of our his- tory and shouldn’t be ignored. That part of our nation’s his- tory is being shamed.” Volunteers Intended as a tribute Many members of the Sons of Beaches either are military veterans or active-duty service members. Pitman insists the Confederate flag and decals were not displayed as politi- cal or racial symbols but were intended instead to be tributes to veterans. The most recognizable The Sons of Beaches club, which includes more than 100 members, takes shifts volun- tarily patrolling beaches in off- road vehicles. On patrols, they rescue cars trapped in sand, pick up trash and sometimes help maintain trails. The club also holds charity events. “It’s a moral shot in the arm and a boost of energy that makes you feel good,” Pitman said. Pitman founded the Sons of Beaches in 2010. He said some previous off-road clubs had bad reputations in the commu- nity after tearing up trails and even finding themselves in the crosshairs of the Internal Rev- enue Service. “I’m trying to completely steer away from that negative image,” Pitman said. Pitman said he did not grasp the negative attention the Con- federate symbols at the parade were causing until Sunday. The club held an event at the Seaside Factory Outlet Cen- ter to benefit Oregon Health & Science University’s Doer- nbecher Children’s Hospital in Portland, and a Confederate flag was on display. At one point, a man who had just parked his car walked over to the display and accosted club members. The flag was removed after some intense back-and-forth exchanges. While expressing his regret that the symbols had caused a high degree of negative attention, Pitman joked about the promotional value it added to the club. As of Monday afternoon, he said, the club lost one member but gained eight as a result of the controversy. Rejects racism Pitman said both he and the club reject racism, claiming he once denied a membership application to someone who had previous connections to the Ku Klux Klan. “When they call me racist, they don’t have a clue,” Pit- man said. He said the Confederate flag, widely seen as a symbol of African-American enslave- ment, was “chosen by groups to be racist.” However, Pitman said the group has decided to no longer fly the flag. “Good, rational adults can come to a rational decision that still respects our veterans, and our club is willing to do that,” Pitman said. The Astoria Regatta, mean- while, is exploring legal options to limit similar dis- plays in the future. Travers said he considered those pos- sibilities before the parade this year based on backlash other parades around the coun- try had received. But he said it is difficult to work through free-speech issues on short notice. “I didn’t realize we didn’t have it as tight as we would like it until too late in the game,” Travers said. As for next year? “Now I’m most certainly going to do it.”
