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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 8, 2018)
7A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2018 Code violations: ‘Something bad is going to happen’ Continued from Page 1A Henrikson can recite the Youngs River Road address by heart. The property has several code violations — accumulation of solid waste and trash, people living in recre- ational vehicles in one spot beyond the legal time limit, no electricity, no working septic pump and burning plastics, she said. “I want every trailer out of there that’s not in compliance,” Leslee Thompson said. “The only thing these people will under- stand is, when that trailer is hauled off down the road, they need to find a new place to live.” The predicament was highlighted by a recent first-of-its-kind hearing held by the county commission. A property on G Road in Jeffers Garden that had been foreclosed due to unpaid taxes had similar issues as the one on Youngs River Road, which has not been foreclosed. The property owners originally had two years under state law to either pay the taxes or vacate the land. But following the court-style hearing, commissioners voted to take possession of the property a year ahead of schedule, ruling that it was decreasing in value. Chief Deputy Paul Williams of the Clat- sop County Sheriff’s Office applauded the decision but added that he hopes the land use code could add more teeth to prevent similar situations in the future. The current process does little to deter people from vio- lating, he said. “That’s something way down the road that, at the end of the day, the person doesn’t feel consequences for it,” Williams said. “Something that quickens the process to put it in front of the county would be an improvement.” The Thompsons suspect a number of the former residents at the G Road property moved next door. “Some of those floated over here,” John Thompson said. “It’s not the best of citizens of Oregon.” As time goes on, the squatters have grown bolder, the couple said. Sheriff’s deputies typically note which properties cause disturbances and keep a more focused eye on them during patrols. But they can’t arrest someone unless they find probable cause, and those who are arrested sometimes return quickly due to overcrowding at the county jail. The Thompsons’ granddaughter, 8, no longer wants to visit them after witnessing a confrontation between John Thompson and the squatters. Upset at their constant use of the drive- way, the couple posted a “No Trespassing” sign, but it was quickly destroyed, the cou- ple said. Annoyed at the Thompsons for their complaints, the people next door once placed hidden nails on their driveway. One man even told John Thompson that he may be shot someday, he said. “That, for me, changed everything,” said Leslee Thompson, adding she considers keeping a loaded weapon by her bed every night. Recently, one of the squatters’ dogs chased the Thompsons’ horses. The dog was not responding to verbal commands, and Leslee Thompson considered grabbing a rifle out of fear that the horses would run into the street and cause damage or injury. Before that happened, though, the dog returned to its owner. “Something bad is going to happen,” John Thompson said. Backbone County staffers have held casual conver- sations about giving the code more back- bone, including implementing larger fees for problem properties and shorter time periods before action is taken. A 2012 update to the code, for instance, included a quirk that transferred the power to enforce noise complaints from the sher- iff’s office to the county Community Devel- opment Department. Henrikson said it would make sense to transfer that back. “They’re doing what they can with the power that they have,” Williams said. A recent hire will likely give the depart- ment more power moving forward. The department, which has experienced significant turnover recently, had been miss- ing a code compliance specialist for a cou- ple of years. As a result, other tasks were prioritized. “As the economy picked up here and the development picked up, code enforcement really fell to the wayside,” Henrikson said. But after a lengthy search, Nancy Men- doza was hired to fill the position. Mendoza was an environmental health specialist with the county Public Health Department and had experience with inspections and field work. She began full-time in October and was handed a list of the county’s top 20 problem properties. “Instead of just letters being sent out, we will have a member of the county that goes door to door and speaks with the property owner,” Mendoza said. The Youngs River Road property owner, whose son allegedly allowed people to camp there, filed an eviction complaint against the squatters in Circuit Court last week, accord- ing to court documents. While it has come at a snail’s pace so far, the owner promised to clean up the property after receiving two let- ters from the county in October. In her most recent check-in at the Youngs River Road property this week, Mendoza noticed an improvement. “They’ve kind of established this Mon- day ritual where they go out and see what’s happened over the weekend and if every- thing’s changed,” Henrikson said. The Thompsons, meanwhile, are watch- ing from just up the hill. They’ve considered leaving their dream home but are clinging to hope. “All we know is we’re still living it. All they’re telling us is ‘It’s slow,’” John Thomp- son said. “Once the trailers are gone, they’re gone, and life can go back to normal.” Colin Murphey/The Daily Astorian Neighbors around the property say the site has been the source of conflict in recent months. Uniontown: Meeting was the first of several the city plans to host Continued from Page 1A The Daily Astorian The Port of Astoria needs more money to repair its docks. Port: Does not gather much tax revenue Continued from Page 1A Michael Haglund, a mar- itime attorney contracted by the Port to analyze its ability to charge the new fees, said the agency has broad author- ity to charge fees within its jurisdiction, which extends to the Washington state side of the Columbia River. Kate Mickelson, head of the Columbia River Steam- ship Operators Association representing oceangoing ves- sels, said the group hopes the Port helps keep the region’s ports competitive. Seafood processors and fishermen at the meeting Tuesday immediately came out against any new fees, calling them another hit the industry cannot afford and warning that fishermen could deliver to other ports to avoid the additional costs. Rob Seitz, a commercial fisherman and co-owner of South Bay Wild Fish House in Astoria, delivers to Born- stein Seafoods. Any potential fees would hit him when he delivers to Bornstein and when he buys from the pro- cessor for his restaurant, he said. Andrew Bornstein, part of the family ownership of Born- stein Seafoods, called the pro- posed fees a bait and switch. The processor, formerly located near downtown, was recruited to the central water- front in the 2000s when the Port was planning a seafood and boatyard cluster that has since eroded. The Port took out a $12 million loan to build a new plant that the company’s lease payments have now brought down to $7 million, Bornstein said. “We never would have signed up for that loan if we knew this kind of conversation would happen,” Bornstein told the Port Commission. The Bellingham, Washing- ton-based company, with sev- eral locations along the coast, has already begun pulling back on investments planned in Astoria and is wondering whether it should extend local leases, Bornstein said. “We own our building in Newport,” he said. “Maybe we need to put all our eggs in the Newport facility.” Running out of options Knight and Port commis- sioners lamented even having to consider new fees but said the Port does not gather much tax revenue and is running out of options to keep the agen- cy’s docks operational. Port Commissioner Dirk Rohne called for a multifac- eted approach to get more money, from potential new fees and public-private devel- opment projects to selling off nonessential property. “I’m not a proponent at this point of charging fish- ermen more fees, but if that were to be a conversation, then I think we have to say where the money is going in great specificity,” Rohne said. The Port is not protect- ing its tenants by propos- ing new fees on seafood, said Port Commissioner Bill Hunsinger, a retired fisher- man and longshoreman. “We’re creating a hardship on the voters and taxpayers of Clatsop County,” he said. “It doesn’t make sense to me. I think fishermen are being sin- gled out to take care of more fees, when they are only try- ing to help our tenants.” City parking requirements create a barrier to new devel- opment, while existing busi- nesses rely on on-street park- ing on Marine Drive. There is a lack of public spaces. And, Uniontown’s economic base is still primarily rooted in resource-based industries like timber and seafood process- ing, even as much of the rest of Astoria seems to be shift- ing away from these tradi- tional jobs. An early city survey asked people to use a word to describe Uniontown as it exists now. People wrote words like “shabby,” “indus- trial,” “dirty,” “old,” “afford- able,” “neglected” and “diverse.” When asked how they hoped to be able to describe the area in the future, they wrote words like “welcom- ing” and “vibrant.” The words “historic” and “afford- able” popped up in both instances, however. In surveys and conversa- tions, consultants heard from residents, businesses and the community that it is import- ant to preserve Uniontown’s historic character and the existing old buildings. On Wednesday, a large group considering Uniontown’s future economic growth and development emphasized on a note they wrote together that they are concerned about local small businesses getting moved out. “How do we keep peo- ple?” they asked. They worried about repeating mistakes made else- where when development occurred rapidly and without careful planning and longtime businesses and residents, no longer able to afford the area or compete, were forced out. On the transportation side, constraints include lim- ited access to commercial and recreational destina- tions, unsafe conditions — especially unsafe pedestrian crossings on Marine Drive — problematic traffic pat- terns in the summer months, traffic concerns around Port of Astoria-related operations and limited parking. Among the potential solutions, con- sultants listed reconfiguring Marine Drive and opening up access to pedestrians and cyclists. But Marc Rodman, a five-year Uniontown resi- dent, remains convinced the state and the city need to look outside Uniontown to begin addressing traffic congestion issues. “We have to figure that out from both ends of town,” he said. Wednesday’s community meeting was the first of sev- eral the city plans to host, said City Manager Brett Estes. Consultants expect the entire study process to stretch into next summer. They hope to have a finalized study and list of recommendations to the Planning Commission and the City Council sometime between June and November.
