DailyAstorian.com // TUESDAY, APRIL 17, 2018
145TH YEAR, NO. 206
FLAVEL HOUSE | STARS IN NEW FILM
READY FOR ITS
CLOSE-UP
ONE DOLLAR
Astoria
looks at
rental
options
Rules clarified on
accessory dwellings
By KATIE FRANKOWICZ
The Daily Astorian
Photos by Colin Murphey/The Daily Astorian
A film production crew sets up equipment at the Flavel House.
Film crew finds set,
props in Astoria
By KATIE FRANKOWICZ
The Daily Astorian
film crew is in Astoria this week and the historic
Flavel House has a starring role.
It’s a first for the stately Victorian, the
former home of bar pilot and entrepreneur Capt.
George Flavel. The house-turned-museum was covered in
scaffolding in the 1980s and barely appeared in the 1985
cult classic “The Goonies,” which was shot in several
locations on the North Coast and still draws hundreds, if
not thousands, of fans to Astoria each year.
The house is a character in its own right in the film in
the works now, complete with creeping, crawling vines
pinned in place by set dressers.
“The Mortuary Collection,” directed by Ryan Spin-
dell, is a “Gothic horror anthology film,” according to a
Kickstarter fundraising page for the project. While some
of the plans have changed since the Kickstarter page was
created, the film will be a collection of stories. Think
“The Twilight Zone.” It’s a small production with a crew
of around 40 people, according to producer Justin Ross.
If it succeeds, the film will join the ranks of other films
that used Oregon — and Astoria, specifically — as both a
backdrop and an inspiration.
A
See FILM, Page 5A
A crew member dresses the set at the Flavel House.
‘It would probably be
easier for us not to
participate. Probably it
would be easier for them
just to build a set, but, you
know, it wouldn’t be real.’
McAndrew Burns | executive director of the historical society
When Astoria changed how prop-
erty owners were allowed to cre-
ate and rent out accessory dwell-
ing units, the hope was to increase
the number of long-term rentals and
ease the housing crunch.
Now, changes and adjustments
are under review to further clar-
ify the program but also potentially
give it more flexibility. A list of pol-
icy questions and staff recommen-
dations for how the program might
be adjusted will go to the Planning
Commission for discussion.
Accessory dwelling units can
include remodeled interior spaces
or free-stand-
ing
struc-
tures. The city
only approved
six
permits
for accessory
dwelling units
between 2005
and 2016. Since adopting new regu-
lations last year, seven permits were
approved.
In March, the Matson fam-
ily asked that a small manufac-
tured home be considered an acces-
sory dwelling unit — an option that
wasn’t on the table in past discus-
sions. After hearing the case, city
councilors said they’d be interested
in discussions about tweaking the
program.
City staff recommended several
amendments that include clarifying
whether manufactured homes can be
considered accessory dwelling units,
as well as further refining the rules
on short-term rentals. A short-term
rental is not allowed in any part of
a house if there is also an accessory
dwelling unit on the site, since this
would “add to the density of the use,
and increase the traffic and parking
impact to the neighborhood.”
Staff also recommended steps
that could eliminate barriers to peo-
ple looking to develop an acces-
sory dwelling unit on their prop-
erty by reducing fees and speeding
up the time it takes to process a per-
mit request.
Representatives of the Lower
Columbia Preservation Society
attended the City Council meet-
ing Monday night just to listen.
The group was involved in crafting
the accessory dwelling provisions
adopted in 2017. Rachel Jensen, the
society’s president, said later that the
group had some concerns about the
program in the past.
“Most of it is wording,” Jensen
said.
Many of the staff’s recommenda-
tions for further clarification appear
to address the society’s concerns, but
the group plans to remain involved
in the discussions going forward.
See HOUSING, Page 5A
Gearhart could relax rules on beach landscaping
Scotch broom, other
noxious weeds could
be cut along beach
By R.J. MARX
The Daily Astorian
GEARHART — A new ordinance
could make it easier for property own-
ers in Gearhart to landscape their beach-
front properties.
Changes to the city’s beach over-
lay district will be more permissive in
allowing people to cut Scotch broom
and other noxious weeds and prune trees
to maintain views.
“The council was very thorough
at looking at all the different angles
and taking into consideration all the
last-minute correspondence in making a
decision to endorse the staff recommen-
dation,” City Administrator Chad Sweet
said.
The beach overlay district was estab-
lished to regulate activity in dunes and
beach areas in order to protect the land-
scape. The northern boundary is Fair-
way Avenue in the Highlands and the
southern boundary is the south end of
South Ocean Avenue.
The code amendments, presented
to the City Council at a public hearing
Wednesday, set rules for trimming beach
vegetation and provide guidelines for
emergency and construction vehicles.
The limited amount of vegetation
removal to be permitted “will not sig-
nificantly affect the condition of the use
of the dunes recreation area,” a staff
report states.
R.J. Marx/The Daily Astorian
See BEACH, Page 5A
Scotch broom along the trail of Gearhart’s Little Beach. Code amendments
are designed to clarify rules for cutting invasive and noxious weeds.