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THE DAILY ASTORIAN • THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 2018
Study: Better signs and infrastructure Hotel: Company also
could improve the visitor experience debates the idea that
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the hotel is too large
The ocean and general natu-
ral beauty was predictably the big-
gest visitor draw. One of the region’s
greatest assets is its “vibe”, as many
commented on the area’s ability to
“offer them a calm, quiet, and relax-
ing escape from their busy lives.”
While about 75 percent reported
having a pleasurable time on the
North Coast, the study also illumi-
nated constraints that, if left unad-
dressed, could affect the visitor
experience. About a quarter of partic-
ipants said they anticipate not return-
ing, and in varying degrees cited
issues such as too much traffic, a lack
of parking, crowds and high costs of
lodging as reasons why.
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Good hosts
Outdoor recreation continues to
be one of the fastest-growing travel
markets in the United States. On the
Oregon Coast, outdoor recreation
accounted for about 10 percent of all
visitor spending in 2017, amounting
to about $200 million.
Accommodating the outdoor rec-
reation market not only has room for
growth, but also means attracting the
type of visitor the destination mar-
keting organization is looking for —
someone who tends to stay multiple
nights and spends more when they
are here, Gagliano said.
While the North Coast is known
for outdoor opportunities, and the
report found that visitors enjoy the
outdoor experience, signs and infra-
structure could improve.
Despite having about half of
respondents surveyed in state parks,
only 7 percent reported camp-
ing. Cycling, one of Oregon’s fast-
est-growing outdoor recreation
industries, didn’t make the list at all.
The findings are likely not due to
lack of interest, but lack of certain
infrastructure, Travel Oregon Out-
door Recreation Specialist Stephen
Hatfield said.
“Camping is low compared with
Colin Murphey/The Daily Astorian
The Peter Iredale wreck at Fort Stevens State Park is one of the most
popular attractions in the region.
the state, but that’s probably because
they’re at capacity,” he said.
Safety issues on U.S. Highway
101 and the general lack of oppor-
tunities for mountain biking on the
coast in comparison to the rest of
the state is likely the reason for lit-
tle cycling.
Recommendations in the report
include development of new recre-
ation and camping areas, as well as
better publicizing existing underuti-
lized areas to help disperse crowds
and limit environmental degradation.
Making smaller changes like add-
ing bike lanes, lighted pedestrian
crossings and adding more caution-
ary signs would also aid not just rec-
reation, but overall congestion issues
for locals and visitors.
Diversity
Some of the congestion issues
could be addressed by better infor-
mation about activities — a concern
especially expressed by international
travelers.
Several visitors commented on
the difficulty they had with finding
information about attractions, activ-
ities and events, suggesting more
can be done to elevate lesser-known
attractions.
Some visitors are also look-
ing for more diversity. Between 19
and 23 percent of respondents said
new events, different restaurants
and shopping locations and activi-
ties would encourage them to visit
the North Coast more frequently, and
took issue with the limited hours of
local shops.
More diversity within lodg-
ing wouldn’t hurt, either — about
one-third of respondents said more
affordable accommodations would
make them return more frequently.
There aren’t easy answers to
addressing any of these barriers. But
a better understanding of the visitor
experience is a place to start.
“It’s good to know what people
value, who they are, so you better
understand why you’re developing
the products that you are,” Gagliano
said.
A previous version of the hotel
failed to get approval from both the
Design Review Committee and the
Historic Landmarks Commission
this summer, decisions Hollander
also appealed to the City Council.
The developer later presented an
entirely new and significantly revised
design to the City Council instead of
defending the original version. City
councilors decided to send this new
design back to the Design Review
Committee, though not to the His-
toric Landmarks Commission.
Residents who spoke against the
new version of the project continued
to criticize the size of the hotel, as
well as its design, calling it boxy and
unappealing. Some committee mem-
bers were in favor of the new design,
while others maintained it still needed
tweaking and was too large.
Hollander and his representa-
tives have expressed frustration with
the design review process, telling the
City Council during the first appeal
that they needed clarity about what
the city wanted.
The redesign they presented in
October was intended to echo his-
toric cannery buildings and “bridge
the gap between the old and the new,”
said architect Craig Riegelnegg.
In the new appeal, Hollander’s
lawyers argue that a standard the
Design Review Committee applied
to address scale, massing and build-
ing material along street facades
applies only to existing buildings, not
Policy: Confusion
derived from wording
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Ferry: Has become a learning platform
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along the waterfront between Tongue
Point and the Port of Astoria like
a waterborne version of the Asto-
ria Riverfront Trolley, with stops in
between, Price said.
Most of the recent work on the
Tourist No. 2 has focused on cleaning
the vessel and weatherizing it for win-
ter. The vessel spent the last winter at
North Tongue Point exposed to the
elements and with little maintenance.
The group will soon shrink-wrap
the aft deck and begin restoring the
deck. With the a $20,000 grant from
the state in hand, the group is also
overhauling the electrical system and
ensuring alarms and other safety sys-
tems function properly on the vessel,
which suffered an electrical fire in
2010 that took it out of service until it
was taken to Astoria.
In addition to the volunteer Astoria
Ferry Group, the vessel has become a
regular learning platform for a rotat-
ing cast of seamanship students from
Tongue Point Job Corps Center earn-
ing time at sea as they train to become
merchant mariners.
“It helps me get where I want to
go,” said Diabolique Powell, who has
been working on the vessel one day a
week over the past month.
From Norfolk, Virginia, Powell
said he came to Tongue Point to train
as a merchant mariner on large cargo
vessels. But he has taken more non-
traditional jobs to gain sea time and
expand his experience among dif-
ferent types of vessels, working as a
deckhand on the tall ship Lady Wash-
ington, tugs in Tennessee and the
Tourist No. 2, he said.
The Tourist No. 2 ended its ser-
vice on the Columbia after the Astoria
Bridge was completed in 1966. It con-
tinued operating as a ferry for Pierce
County, Washington, and was even-
tually purchased by Seattle-based
Argosy Cruises and renamed the
Kirkland, providing passenger ser-
vice around Lake Washington.
After an electrical fire in the
engine room took it out of service,
Argosy decided the vessel wasn’t
worth keeping operational and even-
tually sold it to Christian Lint, who
wanted to restore it. Lint eventually
linked up with Jacob. In 2016, Lint
sailed the vessel down the Pacific
coast and into the Columbia River,
parking at North Tongue Point.
The Astoria Ferry Group had
struggled to gather public interest in
the Tourist No. 2 when it was docked
at North Tongue Point. The group last
year gave the community an ultima-
tum to raise $100,000 and add more
boat-savvy board members or let the
dream of the ferry go.
Jacob helped pull the restoration
back from the brink, gathering more
volunteers, striking a deal with Job
Corps for student help and securing a
lease with Pier 39 owner Floyd Hol-
com to give the vessel a more visible
location. The group is giving regu-
lar tours of the vessel and organizing
more events to get people on board,
such as a New Year’s Eve party and
a series of independent films, Price
said.
Portraits of Jacob look over the
inside of the vessel, along with the
ferry’s original captain and owner,
Fritz Elfving.
While she’s wavered on the proj-
ect, Price has remembered Jacob’s
belief that doing the right thing isn’t
always easy. “I really try to channel
Jake in being really positive,” she
said.
new construction.
The first design the company sub-
mitted to the city incorporated The
Ship Inn as a lobby area, but feed-
back from city boards convinced
Hollander to drop the idea. The
new design consists entirely of new
construction.
Hollander’s lawyers note the
Design Review Committee did not
address the Second Street facade
when it determined that the hotel
did not meet criteria for scale and
massing.
The company also debates the
idea that the hotel is too large.
In materials submitted to the
city as part of the appeal, the Port-
land-based firm Carleton Hart Archi-
tecture compares the hotel to other
buildings in the area, including the
Columbia House condominiums,
Astoria Warehousing, Buoy Beer
Co. and two cannery buildings that
no longer exist. In all the examples,
the Fairfield Inn would be the smaller
building.
They also argued in favor of the
building’s simplicity, noting a city
standard that states building forms
should be simple, single geometric
shapes.
Community
Development
Department staff did not recom-
mend either approving or denying
the project in reports presented to city
boards. In findings of fact staff wrote
to represent the split decision and
denial by the Design Review Com-
mittee in October, staff prepared find-
ings to outline both positions.
Reshaping the mobilization
policy was out of concern some
fire board members had about the
amount of time Fire Chief Matt Ben-
edict spent helping fight fires around
the state and California last summer
— the season, some board members
argue, where the fire district needs a
fire chief most. Summer is typically
when the fire district sees a higher
emergency call volume and faces
more fire danger.
The new policy also attempts to
keep costs associated with the calls
down by budgeting a certain amount
for compensation for both salaried
and volunteer employees sent out on
fires. Compensation requests over
the budget will be held until the fire
district gets reimbursed from the
state.
“Part of the reason for the in-state
requirement was because we were
waiting so long for checks to come
from California fires,” Smith said.
The confusion derived from the
wording of the new policy, which
reads that the 15-day limit “will not
apply to volunteers if there is ade-
quate staffing to handle the district’s
normal call volume for the antici-
pated deployment period.”
When asked by a fellow board
member Monday about whether the
in-state requirement just applied to
the fire chief, Smith responded by
saying, “This mobilization policy
covers him, the equipment, person-
nel, volunteers and anything the dis-
trict would provide.”
“In my mind, I was answering
that as it pertained to the 15 days
part of the policy,” Smith explained
Wednesday.
He feels the way the new policy
is written allows volunteers to go on
conflagration calls without impedi-
ment from the fire board, as it is the
fire chief who ultimately decides
whether the district has enough
resources to help with other fires.
Benedict, however, said his
impression from Monday’s meet-
ing was that the mobilization policy
applies to the fire chief and the vol-
unteers. Benedict hopes to meet with
the fire board in the coming months
to clarify the intent of the policy and
how different sections affect the fire
chief position and volunteers.
“What the expectation of the fire
chief and volunteers is when we do
get asked to go by the state of Ore-
gon needs a little more clarification
before we can proceed,” he said.
“It’s just about working together
to make sure when someone in the
future reads this policy they know
how it clearly works and there’s no
‘ifs,’ ‘ands’ or ‘buts.’”