Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 18, 2017)
7A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 18, 2017 Cormorants: Volunteers ranged from teenagers to 70-something retirees Continued from Page 1A Citizen science The Cape Falcon Marine Reserve, located between the Falcon Cove natural area and Manzanita, was set aside for conservation and scientific research in 2012. It is one of five marine reserves in Ore- gon. They are, as the Friends of Cape Falcon Marine Reserve have described them, “underwater parks,” or “living laboratories,” in the words of Chrissy Smith, coordinator for the Friends of Cape Falcon Marine Reserve. The Cape Falcon site is Oregon’s northernmost marine reserve. Three of the area’s five cormorant colo- nies are easily visible from where Sappington would sit above Devil’s Cauldron, a cove surrounded by steep cliffs where ocean swells turn the water below tur- quoise and milk-white with froth. For the past two sum- mers, the Audubon Soci- ety of Portland and Fish and Wildlife Service, in collabo- ration with Friends of Cape Falcon Marine Reserve and the Haystack Rock Aware- ness Program, have trained volunteers to monitor seabird nesting success. Volunteers also watch colonies at sites in the Cape Perpetua Marine Reserve farther south. Volunteer scientists are also called “citizen scien- tists” and they could be any- one — that’s the point. This summer, Smith said volun- teers ranged from teenag- ers to 70-something retirees. They came from all back- grounds with varying skills and experiences. “Citizen science, you can do a lot with it,” said Liebe- zeit. But, he added, simplic- ity is key. The cormorants are mon- itored as an indicator spe- cies, said Shawn Steph- nesen, wildlife biologist with Fish and Wildlife, “helping us understand ocean condi- tions and food availability for many different seabirds.” But, given the citizen science component, cormorants were also chosen because they are commonly found off the Ore- gon Coast, they are easy to spot, difficult to confuse with other sea birds and they build distinct, separate nests that volunteers can peer into with their spotting scopes and binoculars. For Liebezeit there are several main reasons for community science in this project: “To get good info, and involve citizens who live on the coast so they feel like they are part of the environ- ment they live in, to develop a connection with wildlife and nature, and to contribute.” The volunteers also serve an important function as educators. They explain the monitoring work and the role of marine reserves and pass out brochures to tourists or curious locals who stop to see what they’re doing. Peaceful pace Above all, a Cape Falcon volunteer needs patience. Patience to find a nest. Patience to watch it, and watch it and watch it, waiting for a moment when the bird sitting on it gets up or trades spots with its mate. “Right at that moment you have to look into the nest and see how many eggs there are,” Liebezeit said. This summer, volun- teers monitored 46 cormo- rant nests at Cape Falcon and 66 at Cape Perpetua. They saw 114 chicks successfully fledge. Liebezeit hopes the mon- itoring can continue for a minimum of five years, but it depends on funding. Already, he has some money for next year, and will likely need more to ensure both Cape Falcon and Cape Perpetua have a biologist on hand to answer questions and help with quality control in data collection. Fish and Wildlife provides thousands of dollars worth of in-kind support. Monitoring the cormo- rants is an activity Sapping- ton and other volunteers say they find to be very peace- ful. The normal pace of his life slows, Sappington said. At the same time, though, the birds he has been watching seem to grow up overnight. “All of the sudden what once was an egg is now a bird and it’s getting ready to leave the nest.” Gearhart: Reports of loud parties and overcrowding drew greater calls for action rentals in residential zones can negatively affect the atmo- sphere and livability. At the time, the taxing ordi- nance for short-term rental properties provided exemp- tion for the approximately 50 single-family homes rented out under the city’s guidelines. The owners were required to pay Oregon’s 1 percent lodg- ing tax but did not have to pay Gearhart’s 7 percent lodg- ing tax, through an exemption that had been put in place in the 1990s so those dwellings could be rented without pay- ing taxes. Gearhart City Adminis- trator Chad Sweet estimated that the city was losing about $95,000 a year because of the exemption. That exemption was removed in 2016 and short- term renters were required to pay the city’s 7 percent lodg- ing tax. Another challenge for the city was the absence of an ordinance requiring inspec- tions or spelling out occupancy limits for vacation rentals. An acute countywide hous- ing shortage also drove the conversation. Increased online rental activity and reports of loud parties, overcrowding and blocked roadways drew greater calls for action. By 2015, an increase in online bookings led to more than a doubling of book- ings in Gearhart, through companies like Vacasa, HomeAway and Airbnb. Complaints that out-of-town management was unable to promptly reply to public safety concerns led to an increased call for regulation, particularly a provision requiring 24-hour owner contact information. After a series of hearings, including standing-room- only public workshops in the Gearhart Fire Hall, the Plan- ning Commission crafted rules in May 2016 detailing occu- pancy limits, parking rules and property management contact information. According to rules, rental properties must maintain a “residential appearance,” and provide weekly garbage ser- vice. Homes are required to conduct fire and safety inspec- tions, and post a tsunami evac- uation map in the dwelling. The proposed regulation capped registration to existing short-term rental properties Port: ‘I will fight this thing to the end’ Continued from Page 1A ‘Back in line’ “I think Jim’s been very busy getting this thing back in line,” Campbell said. After running through the many ways he thinks Knight has improved the Port, Camp- bell made the motion to extend the executive director’s contract. Thinking back to his time with the Clatsop County Board of Commissioners and Clatsop Community Col- lege Board, the agency’s lead- ers did not have multiyear contracts, Rohne said. He instead preferred a rolling contract of an indefinite time period, considered each year after a performance review by the Port Commission. “I feel very strongly about that,” Rohne said. “As a … board member from the gen- eral public, this is, I believe, our responsibility to keep tabs on our sole employee, which is the manager of the Port.” Hunsinger went through his own reasons why Knight’s performance did not warrant a contract extension. Despite being advised by Spence, the commission’s president, not to talk about the Riverwalk Inn lawsuit on instructions from Port counsel, Hunsinger went into the verdict form show- ing where the jury had found Knight culpable and claimed he had broken his contract with the Port. “I will fight this thing to the end, because Jim Knight does not deserve to be there,” Hunsinger said, pointing at the executive director’s seat. Stevens gave Knight credit for hiring the right staff to put the Port on better finan- cial footing. He called Rohne’s proposal a double-edged sword that while providing account- ability, could also suggest the agency changes directors. Spence, a former city man- ager, said he saw chaos and instability during his three years on the Port Budget Com- mittee and sought stability in his campaign for a seat on the Port Commission. The CEO of any organization needs to feel confident in the backing of the governing board and in their contract, Spence said. Waldorf: Apartments will cost between $450 and $850 Continued from Page 1A Housing worked out prospec- tive purchaser agreement with the Department of Environ- mental Quality that will solid- ify the amount of remediation needed and limit the group’s liability on environmental cleanup of the site. During the tests, the group also found soupy soil and groundwater within 1 foot of the building’s floor, Garver said, a good thing considering water preserves the wooden pilings the building likely rests on. New apartments The apartments Innovative Housing wants to create inside the former hotel will range between 250 and 500 square feet, each with a kitchen and bathroom, and cost between $450 and $850 a month, Garver said. Along with apart- ments will be a ground-floor retailer in the space of a for- mer cigar store. “I think we’re pretty open to retail uses that are going to enhance the downtown and benefit the community,” she said. To fit all the apartments into the historic building with operative windows in each unit, Innovative Housing will extend existing light wells on either side of the building to the basement. A staircase will be built in one permit application deadline. As of Oct. 1, 81 vacation rental dwelling permits have been issued, 57 of which are complete and processed, six pending parking plans, 15 working on upgrades after inspection and three awaiting initial inspection, according to the city administrator. Continued from Page 1A of the light wells for a second exit. Silco Commercial Con- struction Inc., the firm that oversaw the construction of the Yacht Club Apartments, will be the general contractor at the Waldorf. Under the best- case scenario, Garver said, construction would start next fall. The Waldorf, also known as the Merwyn Hotel, was tar- geted for demolition as part of the city’s plans to expand the Astoria Library. But preserva- tionists urged the City Council to save the historic hotel, and an expansion of the library fell apart because of high costs. The city opted to renovate the library. Appeals, petition R.J. Marx/The Daily Astorian Ballot box at Gearhart City Hall. MEASURE 4-188 Question: Shall Gearhart’s vacation rental dwellings ordi- nance be repealed and replaced? Summary: If approved, the ordinance would: • Require $600 annual permit fees dedicated to police and fire departments; • Permit transfers to new dwelling unit owners; • Change maximum occupancy from two persons over 2 years old per bedroom to two persons over 12 years old per bed- room, plus three additional people over 12 per dwelling unit, no limit on children under 12; • Repeal ordinances imposing special regulations on vacation rental dwellings related to off street parking, residential ap- pearance, garbage service, septic sewer capacity inspections and cesspool prohibitions. • Require compliance with Gearhart city ordinances that apply generally to all residential dwelling units; • Eliminate requirement that a 24-hour representative be able to physically respond to the site within 30 minutes; • Allow safety inspections to be conducted by any licensed home inspector; • Make dwelling unit owners responsible for self-reporting inspection issues, and provide a six month cure period, for any deficiencies; • Remove current limitation on the number of vacation rentals; • Require public vote for amendment of the vacation rental ordinance or any subsequent ordinance relating to vacation rentals. and established a $600 permit fee. Provisions included permit transfer only by inheritance, not sale. Applicants had to show proof of having paid the lodging tax in 2016. In early September 2016, after what City Planner Carole Connell said were “30 meet- ings and eight draft reports,” the City Council passed Ordi- nance 901 unanimously with- out discussion. Property owners who met the conditions faced a Dec. 16 After the new regulations were adopted, two separate groups sought to overturn the rules in the state’s Land Use Board of Appeals. They said they were not against some aspects of the rules, but opposed what they said were plans to eliminate short-term rentals altogether. They cited inconsistencies in how the city defined “res- idential character,” among other issues. Before a decision was ren- dered, property owners David Townsend, Joy Sigler, Brian Sigler and Sarah Nebeker in March filed a challenge seek- ing a ballot initiative that would repeal and replace the ordinance. Nebeker serves on the Clatsop County Board of Commissioners. Their proposed 15-point ordinance sought to “assure that the interests of vacation homeowners and permanent residents remain in a sustain- able balance that is good for the community, that every property owner’s rights are fairly protected and that no property owner is econom- ically harmed by excessive rules and regulations.” A city summary of the bal- lot initiative was changed as a result of a decision issued by Circuit Court Judge Dawn McIntosh in May. Their ballot petition received more than 200 sig- natures, bringing the matter to voters. On May 30, the Land Use Board of Appeals upheld pro- visions of the ordinance. Vigorous campaigning, including lawn signs, news- paper and radio debates and door-to-door outreach, have marked the election so far.
