3A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • THURSDAY, AUGUST 16, 2018 Cannon Beach takes another swing at housing incentives Original ideas voted down by council in April By BRENNA VISSER The Daily Astorian CANNON BEACH — A pared-down version of an affordable housing package that was rejected by the City Council earlier this year will be presented at a public hear- ing in September. The original proposal, brought to the council by Mike Clark of Coaster Properties and former City Planner Rain- mar Bartl, asked the city to reduce parking and landscap- ing requirements, as well as relax height restrictions in the residential zone designated for multifamily housing. The pro- posal would have also allowed multifamily housing in a com- mercial zone as an outright use. The incentives would have Danny Miller/The Daily Astorian Cannon Beach will consider a new affordable housing package in September. only applied if a developer agreed to put a deed restriction on a project that would for- bid the units from ever turning into vacation rentals or condo- miniums. The two argued the changes would remove road- blocks from developers look- ing to build affordable housing, as they help drive construction costs down, which would in turn keep rents lower. But in April the majority of the City Council disagreed, arguing that the changes in no way guaranteed that rents would be affordable and instead would have led to developers tear- ing down and rebuilding sin- gle-family homes to rent at mar- ket prices in the residential zone. At the urging of Mayor Sam Steidel and City Coun- cilor Brandon Ogilvie, who both voted for the original package, the city is consid- ering a scaled-back version of the amendments. The new goal is to refocus on encour- aging development of deed-re- stricted long-term rentals. “I feel there is a need for long-term housing across all strata,” Ogilvie said. Under the new proposal, the deed restriction is kept. Park- ing requirements would still be reduced and height restric- tions for multifamily dwellings would still be increased from 28 feet to 32 feet to match the cur- rent standard for hotels — but only for properties in the limited commercial zone. Because mul- tifamily housing is a conditional use in this zone, the Planning Commission would still have discretion to approve or deny variances related to parking and height on a case-by-case basis. With almost 90 percent of commercial land already devel- oped in Cannon Beach, limiting changes to this zone would be a Bonamici backs national parks funding bill on visit By JACK HEFFERNAN The Daily Astorian During a visit Wednesday to Lewis and Clark National Historical Park, U.S. Rep. Suzanne Bonamici discussed her support for a bill that would address deferred maintenance needs. The National Park Service has estimated that it has $11.6 billion in deferred maintenance backlogs. Lewis and Clark needs $3.2 million, according to 2017 estimates. The Restore Our Parks and Public Lands Act — introduced in July — would commit 50 percent of excess energy devel- opment revenue from 2019 to 2023 to the parks. A similar bill was introduced in the U.S. Sen- ate in June and is co-sponsored by U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, an Oregon Democrat. The bill has 66 co-spon- sors in the House, including Bonamici and representatives from both sides of the aisle. “Typically our national parks have had bipartisan sup- port, and what I heard and saw today just reinforces why, because it’s so great for our youths to see and families to learn,” the Oregon Democrat said after a brief tour of the park and a visit with some members of its youth programs. “And so I would be hopeful that we can pass the bill to maintain the funding and preserve our national parks.” The bill would establish the National Park Service Legacy Restoration Fund in the U.S. Treasury. Revenue would come from energy sources — oil, gas, coal, renewable resources — on federal land. Annual depos- its to the fund would be capped at $1.3 billion. “I don’t know how exactly the funding would be distrib- uted, but I will do what I can to make sure that this park here, Lewis and Clark, gets the fund- ing it needs — especially for the maintenance,” Bonamici said. If Lewis and Clark received additional money, it would likely be spent to upgrade out- dated bathrooms and water pipes and to modernize the vis- itor’s center, Superintendent Jon Burpee said. The visitor’s center updates could include a roof repair, cosmetic repairs and a refurbishing of exhibits to attract younger visitors. The park is on track to have WANTED Alder and Maple Saw Logs & Standing Timber Northwest Hardwoods • Longview, WA Contact: John Anderson • 360-269-2500 about 295,000 visitors this year, Burpee said. That figure would surpass last year’s visi- tation record of 293,000. “That’s nice it’s showing growth,” Burpee said. “Where we’re missing is kind of on the maintenance side.” Clatsop Post 12 Chicken Noodle Casserole Friday, Aug. 17 th 4 pm until gone $ 8. 00 6PM “Karaoke Dave” ASTORIA AMERICAN LEGION Clatsop Post 12 1132 Exchange Street 325-5771 relatively low-risk way to exper- iment with new regulations, City Planner Mark Barnes said. “It’s not identical to work- force housing, but broadly in the rental market, this kind of hous- ing is not made or marketed for the upper market,” Barnes said. While City Councilors Nancy McCarthy and George Vetter both recognized the need for long-term housing, they remain lukewarm on the changes. McCarthy said she still takes issue with the fact the pro- posal has no way to guarantee rents on deed-restricted prop- erties would stay affordable, which is ultimately the problem the council set out to address. Vetter agreed, adding that it is a gamble to possibly loosen standards for a developer that may not build housing that is accessible to workers and year-round residents. “(Developers) are going to rent out units at the high- est value they can,” Vetter said. “Our best hope is another employer in town who wants to build employee housing sees this and says, ‘I could make this work now.’” Steidel urged the council to see the amendments as a frame- work they could build upon in the future to incentivize afford- able projects. Without some reg- ulatory shifts, Steidel said, the city won’t get developers even interested in coming to the table. “For a developer, these changes could make a project pencil out,” the mayor said. Councilor Mike Benefield, who voted against the original package, said he is willing to try the changes in the commercial zone, since it would not impact the majority of residential areas. But the council needs to call it what it is, he said. “Let’s stop calling it afford- able housing amendments. I don’t see this as affordable housing — this is long-term housing,” Benefield said. “We still need a long-term effort to address affordable housing.” AMERICAN LEGION CLATSOP POST 12 Annual Picnic SUNDAY AUGUST 19 th North Shelter ~ Cullaby Lake BBQ Chicken Beans, Corn on the Cob, Salads Hamburgers, Hot Dogs & Des serts (Bring your favorite dessert) FREE To All Members and Guests $ 5 Parking Fee Regular Bingo at the Picnic BRING YOUR DOBBERS! Prize Raffle 50/50 Raffle 100% Cotton Quilt Raffle Tickets: $1 each or 6 For $5 Available at Post 12 and at the Picnic Quilt on display at Post 12 1132 Exchange Street • 325-5771