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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (April 11, 2018)
TOP OF THE TRADE CEDR BUSINESS AWARDS APRIL EDITION INSIDE DailyAstorian.com // WEDNESDAY, APRIL 11, 2018 145TH YEAR, NO. 202 ‘As soon as the weather changes, we’ll be finishing it up.’ Dave McElroy | Friends of McClure Park Slide view ONE DOLLAR Cannon Beach nixes changes to housing Councilors claim amendments did little to ‘ensure affordability’ By BRENNA VISSER The Daily Astorian Photos by Colin Murphey/The Daily Astorian A slide is still under construction at McClure Park in Astoria. Slide at Astoria’s McClure Park still in the works CANNON BEACH — In a 3-2 vote, the City Council on Tuesday night decided to reject proposed code amendments intended to encourage affordable housing. Mike Clark of Coaster Properties and former City Planner Rainmar Bartl wanted the city to reduce parking and landscap- ing requirements, as well as increase height restrictions in the residential zone designated for multifamily housing. The amendment would have also allowed multifamily hous- ing in a commercial zone as an outright use. The changes would have only applied to developers willing to put a deed restric- tion on a project that would forbid the apart- ments from turning into vacation rentals or condominiums. The idea came as Clark was looking into ways to rebuild the Sea Lark apartments that burned down last winter. Clark was granted a parking variance so he could expand the complex from four to eight units without increasing the number of parking spots. But he wanted the City Council to look at long- term solutions for developers, Bartl said. While the council affirmed afford- able housing as a priority, some councilors decided the proposed changes did little to provide any kind of guarantee units would be affordable. See HOUSING, Page 7A By KATIE FRANKOWICZ The Daily Astorian Cannon Beach allows pot in mixed-use spaces L et’s be honest: Grown adults have been counting down the days until the nearly 30-foot slide at McClure Park is open for business. The long, winding slide has been sit- ting at the tiny square-shaped park all winter, blocked off and decidedly not ready for sliding. “We got caught in the winter weather,” said Dave McElroy of the Friends of McClure Park. The nonprofit has coordinated with the Astoria Parks and Recreation Department since 2013 to improve, advocate and care for the park, located right where Astoria’s Eighth Street hill starts to really get scary. Contractors haven’t been able to finish up several pieces of prep work to com- plete the installation of the slide, McEl- roy explained. But, he said, “As soon as the weather changes, we’ll be finishing it up.” He hopes work could begin again in May, and mark the kickoff of sev- eral other projects in the park as well including an Americans with Disabilities Act-accessible path. The friends group had advocated for a big slide in 2015. Plans and funding were in place. The original slide would have been a straight chute, but there were con- cerns about how quickly people would go Change affects about 30 buildings in town By BRENNA VISSER The Daily Astorian The nearly 30-foot slide was designed with features to slow down the descent. down, said Jonah Dart-McLean, the city’s park maintenance supervisor. The final version has a couple of kinks designed to slow descent. Plans for the slide didn’t get very far in 2015, though. Then, last June, the friends group entered into an agreement with the city to construct an embankment on a hill to the south side of the park and finally install the slide. City staff will need to inspect the slide and the installation after- wards to make sure it complies with city requirements. The action coincided with the City Council’s approval of a site-specific mas- ter plan for the nearly 1 acre park, as well as an individual plan for Shively Park on the other side of town. This agreement with the friends group laid the foundation for other recent park adoption proposals at Post Office Park, Tidal Rock Park and the creation of an educational garden at Alderbrook Park by the Clasp County Master Gardeners, See SLIDE, Page 7A CANNON BEACH — Marijuana shops will now be allowed in mixed-use buildings. In a 4-1 vote, the City Council on Tues- day reversed a decision made in August that blocked marijuana retailers from moving into properties with both commercial and residential uses. Matt Ennis, a former resident in the build- ing that now houses Five Zero Trees, had told city councilors at a July meeting his landlord planned to evict him to rent the commer- cial space under him to the marijuana store. But rather than change the code, councilors argued that denying applications from pot stores seeking to operate in mixed-use build- ings was a better approach. See POT, Page 5A Port interested in opportunity zones Federal incentives for investment By EDWARD STRATTON The Daily Astorian Local leaders hope several low-income cen- sus tracts around Astoria and Warrenton can attract outside investment as part of a new fed- eral tax incentive known as opportunity zones. Investors hold trillions in pretax capital gains, according to the Economic Innovation Group, a Washington, D.C., based think tank that backed the creation of opportunity zones. The capital gains would usually be taxed by the federal government by up to 20 percent. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act passed last year created opportunity zones, low-income cen- sus tracts designated by the state where inves- tors can put pretax capital gains into projects and defer payment until the end of 2026. The taxes on those capital gains can decrease by as much as 15 percent on investments of at least seven years. In addition, any profits from an opportunity zone investment of 10 years or more can be free from capital gains taxes. Jim Knight, executive director of the Port of Astoria, submitted four census tracts — three covering Astoria and another covering parts of Warrenton and the Astoria Regional Airport — for the state’s consideration. Gov. Kate Brown has until April 20 to nominate up to a quarter of the state’s low-income census tracts for federal certification as opportunity zones. “From my perspective, with the Port being responsible for economic development … I really felt that the opportunity zone was one of the best ways to help with that,” Knight said, adding the capital could help Port tenants See PORT, Page 7A The Daily Astorian Workforce housing projects like Innovative Housing Inc.’s redevelopment of the former Waldorf Hotel in Astoria could be supported by newly created federal opportunity zones.
