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THE DAILY ASTORIAN • THURSDAY, APRIL 26, 2018
Seaside business owners seek help County marijuana
in curbing aggressive panhandlers sales tax referred
to voters this fall
City could take
a cue from
Salem, Astoria
A potential 3
percent tax on
retail sales
By R.J. MARX
The Daily Astorian
SEASIDE — Downtown
business owners in Seaside
want help controlling aggres-
sive panhandlers.
“If we sit here and get
wishy-washy, and don’t take
some real measures we’re
going to have a really, really
ugly summer,” business owner
Neil Dundas said. “It’s going
to get worse.”
At a forum Wednesday
hosted by the Seaside Down-
town Development Asso-
ciation and Seaside Police
Department, business owners
asked police to take a “hard
line” when it comes to aggres-
sive panhandlers, who, they
say, camp out on city streets,
intimidate passers-by, play
loud music and litter.
Business owner Jeremy
Stevenson asked for greater
police presence, describing
panhandlers who station them-
selves outside his store for
hours at a time, sometimes for
days on end.
Wayne Poole, whose Pig
’N Pancake restaurant sits in
the heart of Broadway, said the
city should “take the aggres-
sive side and figure out how to
deal with it.”
The perception of Seaside
has gotten “sketchy,” business-
woman Rebecca Buck added.
“My children won’t come here
anymore.”
Seaside has ordinances
designed to control begging,
public performances and dis-
orderly conduct.
In 2015, the City Coun-
cil considered new regula-
tions on panhandlers, musi-
cians and itinerant merchants.
The amendment would have
required a $50 per day fee
for anyone soliciting “for
any form of compensation or
remuneration.”
Opposition was swift. At a
public hearing, the amendment
was called “wrong,” “bru-
tal,” “discriminatory” and “a
street-sweeping technique.”
The amendment failed to
pass and the issue was tabled.
Three years later, business
owners say problems have got-
ten worse.
In
November,
they
approached the downtown
association and Police Chief
By JACK HEFFERNAN
The Daily Astorian
R.J. Marx/The Daily Astorian
Broadway in Seaside last summer. Business owners say panhandlers block the sidewalk
and intimidate passers-by.
Dave Ham with complaints.
A committee was formed to
address the challenge, leading
to Wednesday’s forum, which
brought about 60 people to
City Hall.
In 2015, police counted 17
unlawful lodging cases, issu-
ing eight citations. Numbers
were similar in 2016. In 2017,
when police started tracking
tents on the beach in addition
to unlawful lodging, 79 unlaw-
ful lodging case files were
taken. Police issued 15 cita-
tions for tents on the beach.
“They’re not ticket-happy,”
Ham said. “Those who deserve
the education are the ones who
put the middle finger up and
say, ‘I don’t need to listen to
you.’”
This summer, police will
increase their downtown vis-
ibility, adding foot or bicycle
patrols, he said. A police intern
will add additional patrol
capability.
Police will also seek greater
compliance from complain-
ants and witnesses. “We can
issue a citation, but we need
you as a witness,” Ham said.
“We’re going to need your
participation.”
Other options include
reconsideration of a permit
process for panhandlers, lim-
iting public Wi-Fi capabili-
ties, outdoor utilities and even
replacing wooden benches
with less comfortable stone
ones to discourage extended
Clatsop County vot-
ers will decide in Novem-
ber whether to place a tax on
retail marijuana sales.
County commissioners
voted unanimously Wednes-
day to refer the 3 percent tax
to the general election bal-
lot. Revenue from the hand-
ful of dispensaries outside
city limits would be about
$50,000 annually, county
staff estimates.
The state ballot measure
in 2014 that legalized mar-
ijuana sales gave cities and
counties the ability to impose
a tax of up to 3 percent if
approved by voters in a gen-
eral election. No recreational
dispensaries existed outside
city limits in 2016, the most
recent general election. The
tax would be effective 30
days after voter approval.
In other business Wednes-
day, commissioners:
• Continued a public hear-
ing on updated flood-hazard
maps and revisions to land
use rules, including require-
ments for property own-
ers to pay for a permit when
developing their land or seek
approval before altering
structures.
The Federal Emergency
Management Agency has
required the revisions in
order for the roughly 700
affected property owners in
unincorporated, flood-prone
areas of the county to be eli-
gible for the National Flood
Insurance Program. Resi-
dents expressed their oppo-
sition to the changes both at
a county Planning Commis-
sion meeting in March and to
commissioners Wednesday.
Despite the county’s efforts
since the Planning Com-
mission meeting, the fed-
eral agency has not budged
on any of its requirements,
Community Development
Director Gail Henrikson said.
Commissioners
are
scheduled to hold another
hearing in May, when they
may vote to adopt an ordi-
nance. The federal agency
has mandated that the county
implement the revisions by
June 20 in order for residents
to remain eligible for the
insurance.
• Appointed Robert
Stricklin to the county Plan-
ning Commission. Strick-
lin has served on the com-
mission before as well as
the county Charter Review
Committee and various other
boards.
The commission makes
decisions on land use issues
and recommendations to the
Board of Commissioners.
Jacque Presley stepped down
in February after four months
in the position to focus more
time on Angels for Sara
Sanctuary — her nonprofit
dog rescue organization.
R.J. Marx/The Daily Astorian
Business owner Neil Dundas offers a call to action at the
forum on aggressive panhandling. Brian Owen, executive
director of the Seaside Chamber of Commerce, is at left.
stays.
Seaside could also take
a cue from Salem and Asto-
ria, with a program that lets
businesses authorize police to
enforce trespassing laws on
private property after hours.
In Astoria, more than 40
businesses have signed on
this year for Property Watch.
A one-year contract between
businesses and police allows
officers to remove people
engaging in loitering or disor-
derly activity.
State law does not allow
police to prevent people from
using public spaces — includ-
ing for panhandling, sitting or
lying down.
In Seaside, a sign-up form
for businesses has been drafted
and will go to the city attorney
for review.
Associated Press
A 3 percent county tax on retail marijuana sales is
headed to voters.
Clatsop Post 12
US House moves to reverse order to aid salmon
By MATTHEW DALY and
NICHOLAS K. GERANIOS
Associated Press
WASHINGTON — The
U.S. House approved a
bill Wednesday that would
reverse a federal judge’s order
to spill more water from four
Pacific Northwest dams to
help migrating salmon reach
the Pacific Ocean.
The bill, approved 225-
189, would prevent any
changes in dam operations
until 2022. It was sponsored
by Republican U.S. Reps.
Cathy McMorris Rodgers
and Dan Newhouse, both of
Washington state.
They say the four Snake
River dams provide hydro-
power, flood control and other
benefits while already allow-
ing record salmon runs.
“We are recognizing the
role dams play in the North-
west and that dams and fish
can coexist,” McMorris Rodg-
ers, the fourth-ranking House
Republican, said after the
vote.
The bill now goes to the
Senate.
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