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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (March 6, 2018)
DailyAstorian.com // TUESDAY, MARCH 6, 2018 145TH YEAR, NO. 176 ONE DOLLAR Proposed hotel gets lukewarm welcome Issues raised about design, exterior, size By EDWARD STRATTON The Daily Astorian Colin Murphey/The Daily Astorian Jeromy Nelson works the counter at Hi Casual Cannabis in Astoria. OREGON COAST HIGH ON MARIJUANA SALES Clatsop County sold $8 million in pot products in the past year By EDWARD STRATTON The Daily Astorian W ith their lower populations and higher rates of tourism, North Coast counties sold some of the most marijuana per capita in Oregon last year. The 14 licensed marijuana retailers in Clatsop County sold more than $8 million in products last year, part of the nearly $520 million sold statewide. The industry has grown to employ more than 12,000 people, while the state has raked in more than $100 million in tax revenue. There were six marijuana retailers in Astoria, four in Seaside, one in Cannon Beach, two along U.S. Highway 26 and one in Westport — more than 1 for every 2,800 people. Combined sales equaled $208 per person, the sixth-highest rate in the state during the first full year of recreational sales regulated by the Oregon Liquor Control Commission. Tillamook County ranked fifth, selling $5.6 million in mari- juana products, equal to $214 per person. Lincoln County came in third, at $13.6 million, $284 per person. Stephanie Schlip, who manages Oasis Cannabis locations in Newberg, Monmouth and Seaside, said her sales on the Oregon Coast will often outstrip those in the Willamette Valley by 25 percent in the summer and lag behind in winter. “I would say about 1 out of every 20 customers say they’re from another state, and they’ve never been in a dispensary,” she said. Many were Californians before that state recently legalized recreational sales, she said, Many were from Idaho, the only state bordering Oregon where recreational marijuana is illegal. North Coast marijuana sales, 2017 Counties in Northwest Oregon rank among the highest statewide for per capita sales of marijuana and related products. Clatsop (Pop.: 38,820) • Total sales: $8.1 million • Sales per capita: $208.13 • Rank (sales per capita): 6th Tillamook (Pop.: 26,175) • Total sales: $5.6 million • Sales per capita: $214.49 • Rank (sales per capita): 5th Source: Portland State University Population Research Center Lincoln (Pop.: 47,960) • Total sales: $13.6 million • Sales per capita: $284.26 • Rank (sales per capita): 3rd Edward Stratton and Alan Kenaga/ EO Media Group Clatsop Co. marijuana sales by item, 2017 Concentrates: $177,402 or 2.2% Shake/trim: $271,810 or 3.4% Edibles: $691,005 or 8.6% Extracts: $1.6 million or 19.6% Other*: $237,543 or 2.9% Bud: $5.1 million or 63.4% Total sales: $8.1 million * Includes tinctures, topicals, combined products, immature plants, capsules, seeds and transdermal patches. NOTE: Percentages may not equal 100 due to rounding. See MARIJUANA, Page 4A Source: Oregon Liquor Control Commission Edward Stratton and Alan Kenaga/EO Media Group ‘I THINK SALES ARE GOING TO INCREASE, AND THEY’LL CERTAINLY GET A LOT HIGHER AS WE TAKE AWAY FROM THE BLACK MARKET.’ Hollander Investments received a mostly cold shoulder, but also thanks for providing a chance for public input at a forum Mon- day on a Fairfield Inn and Suites the com- pany has proposed next to The Ship Inn on the Astoria waterfront. The company, based in Bellingham, Washington, has built and operates proper- ties in Puyallup, Everett, Tacoma, Seattle and Portland. It bought the properties for- merly occupied by The Ship Inn and Steph- anie’s Cabin restaurants over the past couple of years. It recently submitted plans for a four- story, 66-room hotel, repurposing The Ship Inn building as a lobby, kitchen and part of a dining area. Attendees filled half of The Loft at the Red Building meeting hall. Many took issue with the style and boxy design of the nearly 45-foot-tall hotel and how it would block views of the Columbia River and Asto- ria Bridge. Several hoteliers and business owners in tourist-related industries voiced support. The Bridge Vista portion of the city’s Riverfront Vision Plan limits shoreline development to 35 feet, or 45 feet with See HOTEL, Page 3A Kujala to seek seat on county commission Former Warrenton mayor stepped down last year By JACK HEFFERNAN The Daily Astorian Former Warrenton Mayor Mark Kujala will run for a Clatsop County Board of Com- missioners seat. Kujala was the city’s first elected mayor in 2014 after being appointed to the post in previous years. He served as a city commissioner and mayor for 12 years before stepping down last year. He was recently appointed to state Depart- Mark ment of Fish and Wildlife Kujala Fish Passage Task Force and serves on the Oregon Community Foundation North Coast Lead- ership Council. Don Morse | director of the Oregon Cannabis Business Council, a trade association See KUJALA, Page 3A City Council approves zoning change for Astoria Co-op Concerns over traffic persist By KATIE FRANKOWICZ The Daily Astorian Amid concerns about traf- fic, a majority of the Asto- ria City Council on Monday upheld a Planning Commis- sion decision to rezone the site in Mill Pond where the Asto- ria Co-op Grocery plans to expand. The decision moves the grocery store along to the next steps before it can break ground. The project still must undergo design review. Mayor Arline LaMear was the only “no” in the 3-1 vote Monday. City Councilors Tom Brownson, Bruce Jones and Cindy Price voted to amend the zoning at the 1 acre site from mixed use, where retail is permitted as a conditional use, to local service, where retail is permitted outright. Coun- cilor Zetty Nemlowill, the gro- cery store’s marketing director, cited a conflict of interest and sat in the audience during the hearing and vote. Jennifer Bunch of Wickiup Consulting, representing the landowner, argued the zoning is a natural progression from commercial to residential. The site, located off Marine Drive near 23rd Street, is bordered by a more industrial zone to the west and the Mill Pond res- idential area to the east. But some Mill Pond res- idents and property owners are unhappy about the Asto- ria Co-op’s plan to use Steam Whistle Way, a narrow street that runs behind the site con- necting 23rd Street to 29th Street, as an access road to the store’s parking lot. Despite the co-op’s commitment to widen the street, residents said it still may not be wide enough. Under the co-op’s plans now, people would turn off Marine Drive, onto 23rd Street Astoria Co-op Grocery See CO-OP, Page 4A The Astoria Co-op Grocery wants to expand to Mill Pond.