6A
THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, OCTOBER 19, 2018
Hotel: Parking will be primary issue for developers
down a proposal by Hollander
Hospitality to build a four-story
Marriott-brand hotel, the Fair-
field Inn and Suites, near the
river off Second Street, despite
an effort by the Bellingham,
Washington, developer to rede-
sign the hotel to echo historic
cannery buildings. The project
is in the Bridge Vista section
of the Riverfront Vision Plan
adopted in 2015 and hotels
are an outright use where Hol-
lander wants to build.
Continued from Page 1A
Eighth and Ninth streets. It
could include as many as 40
guest rooms, as well as a small
restaurant.
The building, along with
another, taller companion
across the Astoria Riverfront
Trolley tracks, was last used to
process anchovies before the
fishery declined. The process-
ing equipment was sold at auc-
tion last year and the plant has
been vacant.
Developers plan to use the
existing building over the river
for the hotel and will not con-
struct additional floors, said
Tiffany Turner, the CEO of
Adrift Hotels Social Purpose
Corp. in Long Beach, Washing-
ton. They also plan to open up
public access to the river from
the base of Ninth Street, which
is now blocked by a fence.
“Astoria is an amazing
community and people want to
come here,” said Turner, who,
with her husband, Brady, oper-
ates the Adrift Hotel and the
Inn at Discovery Coast in Long
Beach, the Shelburne Hotel in
Seaview and the Ashore Hotel
in Seaside. “I think bringing in
the right people that the com-
munity wants, to do work that
the community can be proud
of, is something that hopefully
will set us apart from other
projects.”
Luke Colvin, one of the
founders of Buoy Beer, said
they plan to enhance the build-
ing’s unique character, pre-
serving the tall ceilings, wood
Politics
Colin Murphey/The Daily Astorian
Luke Colvin and Tiffany Turner look over a building they want to convert into a hotel in Astoria.
floors and beams, and honoring
the history of the riverfront and
the building itself. He points to
similar work accomplished at
Buoy Beer, another former sea-
food processing facility.
“I think the same applies
here,” he said. “Throughout all
of the discussions it’s always
been we’re going to embrace
the culture and what the build-
ing is offering. We got out of
the way of the (Buoy) building
and let that building tell us what
it wanted ultimately to be.”
David
Kroening
and
Andrew Bornstein, the other
founders of Buoy Beer, are also
involved with the hotel project.
Parking
Parking will be the pri-
mary issue the developers will
need to address to satisfy city
code, said Rosemary Johnson,
a former city planner who is
reviewing the project for the
city’s Community Develop-
ment Department. The devel-
opers plan to use valet park-
ing in a lot tied to the opposite
building to address some park-
ing concerns. They are looking
at leasing additional parking
spaces, too.
But that’s just from the
city’s side of things.
“The concept of an addi-
tional hotel over the water and
the public support or nonsup-
port of that concept is going to
be a challenge,” Johnson said.
New development, espe-
cially hotels or condominiums
over the water, has been at the
heart of debates on the River-
front Vision Plan over the past
decade. The issue has resur-
faced this year as develop-
ers eye the river for projects,
and as the city hears input on
what people want for the Urban
Core.
City boards twice shot
Several candidates for
City Council have said they
chose to run this year because
they worry about further hotel
development along the river.
Some said they will push for
zoning changes so that hotels
are no longer considered an
outright use in certain water-
front areas.
At a debate earlier this
month, the candidates for
mayor questioned the need
for more hotels. Dulcye Tay-
lor, the owner of Old Town
Framing Co. and president of
the Astoria Downtown His-
toric District Association, said
she was disappointed with the
“Fairfield discussion,” saying
she felt the developers should
have done their due diligence a
long time ago. City Councilor
Bruce Jones referenced a fledg-
ling proposal to build a 90-plus
room hotel off Youngs Bay and
said Astorians need housing on
the South Slope more than they
need hotels.
The building Buoy and
Adrift want to turn into a bou-
tique hotel is located in the
city’s Aquatic 2 zone, an area
that calls for water-dependent
uses but envisions mixed-use
redevelopment.
Colvin and Kroening say
there are few options when it
comes to repurposing this type
of facility. To Kroening, it was
clear the building would not be
profitable for seafood process-
ing after multiple groups came
through last year and opted to
buy the equipment at auction
rather than start up another
plant.
Hotels that provide signifi-
cant visual access to the water-
front are allowed as a condi-
tional use in the Aquatic 2 zone
if the project can meet the cri-
teria in city code. “So when a
planning commissioner looks
at this they have to review the
criteria, not whether or not you
want something there,” John-
son said.
The building is not desig-
nated as historic and will not
fall under review by the His-
toric Landmarks Commission.
City staff continue to pro-
cess applications like the one
from Buoy and Adrift under
current city code while the
Urban Core is being drafted.
“If an application comes in
for some sort of development
or project then we would pro-
cess it just like we would any
other application,” City Man-
ager Brett Estes said. “There’s
not any difference or any
nuance — we work within the
laws of Astoria presently.”
Warrenton: City poised to take over Hammond Marina
Continued from Page 1A
Balensifer, who chairs the
housing study’s technical advi-
sory committee. Rather, there’s
a lack of houses that first-time
home buyers or younger fami-
lies can afford.
Balensifer says the hous-
ing study will provide valuable
insight into how city leaders can
go about encouraging develop-
ment of the housing Warrenton
needs.
But Washington thinks the
city could be doing more to
encourage low-income housing,
perhaps through tax incentives.
“They need to take care of
what’s in front of them and fig-
ure out how we can get our
hands on property to promote
low-income housing,” he said.
Some of the bigger stores that
have set up shop in Warren-
ton in recent years do not offer
high-paying jobs, he added.
Families are making do on min-
imum wage.
Experience
Both men have referenced
experience in their bids for
mayor.
Balensifer, 29, who grew
up in Warrenton, highlights
his many years of experience.
Besides his service as an elected
official and his involvement
with the county housing study,
he is involved with the War-
renton High School Fisheries
Program — he founded a non-
profit to rebuild the program
— as well as various regional
economic development and
tourism and business promotion
organizations.
Washington, 54, on the other
hand, points to his lack of politi-
cal experience as a selling point.
He comes to the role of mayor
with no agenda, he said. Wash-
ington, who moved to Ham-
mond 19 years ago, has spent
the campaign going door to
door. The job of the mayor is
to be the voice of the people, he
said. If elected, he plans to con-
tinue going door to door to listen
to people’s concerns.
Balensifer disputes Wash-
ington’s claim that city lead-
ers don’t listen to citizens. He
has held several town hall-style
meetings since his appointment
to mayor and hosts “coffee with
the mayor” events each Mon-
day. As the city pursues an eco-
nomic development strategy,
he has purposefully held meet-
ings in both Warrenton and
Hammond.
The city is also in the middle
of updating a number of plans
that Balensifer believes will
guide the city into the future.
He pushed for an update to the
city’s vision plan, a document
that would require a high degree
of public input. A vision plan
provides an “overarching, bal-
cony view of what you want
your town to look like,” Balen-
sifer said.
“In city government, if it
isn’t in the plan, you can’t invest
in it,” he noted.
For Balensifer, housing
issues and quality of life ques-
tions fall under an even bigger
category: Growth management.
As the area experiences
rapid development, the city has
had to weather numerous grow-
ing pains. City staffing levels
remain relatively the same even
as demands for service increase.
Intersections have become bus-
ier and more fraught. Hous-
ing projects bloom in neighbor-
hoods. The City Commission
has spent much of the last two
years discussing ways to encour-
age development that does not
compromise residents’ quality
of life.
But Washington believes
some of the city’s plans may
make life for people in Ham-
mond more difficult.
towns, one in Warrenton and
one in Hammond, Balensifer
said. Both have unique charac-
ters and characteristics. With
the marina under city owner-
ship and the construction of a
$1.6 million water line to Ham-
mond, Balensifer sees the possi-
bility for more in what has been
a sleepy and often underserved
area.
Washington disagrees. He
believes greater development
around the marina, rather than
serving as an economic engine
for the area, would create park-
ing problems and traffic con-
gestion in neighborhoods. Ham-
mond would be better served
with basic street improvements
and the installation of street-
lights and sidewalks, he said.
Both men emphasize that, if
elected, they would be part of a
team with the four City Com-
missioners, just one vote out
of five. It is here where Balen-
sifer sees an advantage over his
opponent.
“I have a vision for this city
that the City Commission also
shares,” he said.
And, both men note, if the
mayor can’t get along with fel-
low commissioners, it doesn’t
work out well.
Hammond Marina
The city is poised to take
over ownership of the Ham-
mond Marina from the U.S.
Army Corps of Engineers,
something Balensifer has been
involved with as well. City
ownership of the marina is key
for Hammond’s future develop-
ment, he said.
“Hammond’s downtown has
always been tied to that marina,”
Balensifer said. The marina gets
heavy use during the summer
salmon fishing season, but is not
nearly as bustling as it once was.
The city has two down-
Seaside: Mayor Barber ‘was all for it’
Continued from Page 1A
“We were going to do them
back to back, so people could
watch the presentation and
right after, at 7, do the debate,”
Barnes said.
The public safety asso-
ciation, a nonpartisan group
which includes all nonman-
agement police, fire and dis-
patch employees, prepared a
list of public safety and com-
merce-oriented questions.
“I told him (Barber) the
idea was to give each can-
didates three minutes, three
questions, a week ahead of
time, because we wanted edu-
cated answers, not ones that
were off the cuff,” Barnes said.
A “surprise” question
would be presented to each
candidate, along with opportu-
nity for a three-minute closing
statement.
Barnes said he received a
commitment from both candi-
dates, although Barber asked
that the debate time be pushed
to 7:30 p.m. to avoid a con-
flict with a City Council work
session earlier in the evening.
“Jay told me it sounded great,”
Barnes said. “He was all for it.
I later heard from Chapman
and he committed.”
Last Friday, Barber sent
Barnes the email withdrawing.
Later that afternoon, Barnes
was contacted by Owen,
who said that the chamber
was unable to participate as a
co-sponsor because of a lack
of policy guidance.
“The reason that we
declined is because we don’t
have a policy that clearly states
how we handle these debates,”
Owen explained. “Not hav-
ing a clear policy on political
engagement, I felt it best to
pass on this invite to co-host a
debate and create a clear polit-
ical activity policy.”
Barnes said he and other
association members were
“hugely” disappointed by Bar-
ber’s decision.
Previous events, includ-
ing a September forum pre-
sented by the American Asso-
ciation of University Women
and The Daily Astorian, cov-
ered many issues but left oth-
ers remaining.
“We have a whole associa-
tion who feels there are ques-
tions not answered by these
candidates,” Barnes said.
“We want to know what their
two-, five-, 10- and 20-year
plans are for the city of Sea-
side. We want to know what
they are going to do about
affordable housing in Seaside.
Good, working families who
want their kids in the Seaside
School District cannot afford
to buy a house.”
Barnes said association
members sought candidates’
views on improving traffic
flow, future business growth
and whether they regarded the
city as a “sleepy little beach
town or a big community.”
Barnes disagrees with
Barber’s assessment that the
debate was too late in the elec-
tion cycle to make a meaning-
ful difference, he said.
“No. 1, voters historically
wait until the last moment,”
Barnes said. “No. 2, I think
this is something that would
motivate a lot of people who
are not going to vote to get out
and vote.”
T HE S LEEP
Y OU N EED
GUARANTEED
Warrenton
503-861-6085
Located next to Big 5
and Fred Meyer
HOURS: MON-FRI 10-7
SAT 10-6; SUN 11-5
www.americasmattress.com
With 6 convenient locations NEWPORT | FLORENCE | COOS BAY| LINCOLN CITY | WARRENTON | TILLAMOOK