ONE OF ROBERT ‘JAKE’ JACOB’S FINAL PROJECTS COAST WEEKEND
DailyAstorian.com // THURSDAY, DECEMBER 13, 2018
146TH YEAR, NO. 119
ONE DOLLAR
Developer wins hotel appeal
A 3-2 vote by
the City Council
By KATIE FRANKOWICZ
The Daily Astorian
A d eveloper won an appeal
Wednesday night to build a four-
story hotel along the Astoria
riverfront .
The City Council voted 3- 2 to
tentatively approve a 60-plus room
Marriott-brand Fairfi eld Inn and
Suites, reversing a denial by the
city’s Design Review Committee.
Mayor Arline LaMear, City
Councilor Bruce Jones and Coun-
cilor Tom Brownson voted for the
appeal by Bellingham, Washing-
ton-based Hollander Hospital-
Knight
receives
mixed
reviews
from Port
ity. Councilor Zetty Nemlowill
and Councilor Cindy Price voted
against the appeal .
For Jones and Brownson, the
issue came down to a lack of clar-
ity in the city’s development code,
with the wording leaving things
open to interpretation, they said.
Based on the code, they did not
feel they could deny the appeal.
“It seems to me no matter what
our personal beliefs or not … I
have to vote on the code that we
have before us,” LaMear agreed.
Speaking to the audience at City
Hall, she said, “I would urge you
if you want to change the code, to
work to do that in the future. B ut
at this point I’m going to go with
approving their appeal because I
believe they have satisfi ed every-
thing we asked them to do. And we
have to go with our code.”
The City C ouncil must approve
fi ndings of fact prepared by city
staff before the decision can be
considered fi nal, including another
set of fi ndings that represent a 3-2
vote made in August to reverse a
denial by the Historic Landmarks
Commission.
See Hotel, Page A7
South County wrestles with food trucks
Executive director
a target of criticism
By EDWARD STRATTON
The Daily Astorian
Jim Knight, the executive director
of the Port of Astoria, received mixed
reviews from the Port Commission i n a
performance evaluation , including a sur-
prisingly low rating from Port Commis-
sioner Dirk Rohne.
The c ommission — Knight’s boss —
provides annual written evaluations with
rankings on aspects of his
performance on a scale of
one to fi ve. The evalua-
tions are often done in pri-
vate, but Knight opted at a
recent meeting to have his
made public.
The executive direc-
Jim
tor also turned down a
Knight
pay increase, including a
nearly 3 percent cost-of-
living adjustment , because of the Port’s
fi nancial woes. He was inked a year ago
to a three-year contract with a base salary
of $168,375.
Knight received overwhelmingly pos-
itive comments from Frank Spence, the
commission president, and commission-
ers Robert Stevens and James Campbell,
who each gave him a four or fi ve on most
performance metrics. But Knight faced a
complete lack of confi dence from Com-
missioner Bill Hunsinger, a longtime
critic who has said the executive direc-
tor should resign. He also had a lack-
luster overall rating of two out of fi ve
from Rohne, who is seen as a moderat-
ing force .
“The Port d irector is an approachable
and pleasant person to interact with on
an individual basis and can speak well in
public settings,” Rohne wrote . “In some
instances there have been some serious
credibility issues. The Port director must
be seen as forthright and an honest broker
in all of his dealings.”
Colin Murphey/The Daily Astorian
Vendors at a food truck await customers at the Cannon Beach Farmer’s Market in 2017.
Logistical, cultural
barriers persist
By BRENNA VISSER
The Daily Astorian
C
ANNON BEACH — Mike Sel-
berg wants to be able to serve
cocktails with the spirits he
creates at the Cannon Beach
Distillery.
In order to do so, S elberg would
have to have a kitchen that satis-
fi es Oregon Liquor Control Commis-
sion standards — a costly renovation .
Instead, he would like to bring in a
food truck for his parking lot, which
would satisfy the kitchen requirement
and offer a new food option in town.
But there is no way to do that
legally in Cannon Beach, which gen-
erally prohibits food trucks outside of
the weekly farmer’s market.
For years, cities like Astoria and
Portland have courted the food truck
movement . But smaller communities
‘WE’RE NOT
PORTLAND. WE
NEVER WANT TO
BE PORTLAND.’
Shelley Crane |
owner of The Oil & Vinegar Bar
like Cannon Beach and Seaside are
beginning to question whether food
trucks should be part of their culinary
scenes .
A large sector of the local restau-
rant industry objects to food trucks,
seeing them as an unfair form of com-
petition and out of step with commu-
nity character. Many business owners
in these tourism-dependent towns say
they are already struggling to make
enough money in the busy season to
carry them through the year .
But others see food trucks as a way
to usher in more diverse food options
and opportunities for a younger gener-
ation of business owners , and believe
cities should get ahead on writing
codes that adapt to a growing trend in
a way that will limit their community
impact.
Spread thin
In November, more than 25 Can-
non Beach businesses that offer food
met to give major feedback on the sub-
ject, mostly in opposition.
The potential for f ood trucks to take
up parking spaces that are already at
a premium was a major issue . Many
also claimed it wasn’t fair to allow
new businesses that wouldn’t have to
pay the same kind of rents and prop-
erty taxes as brick-and-mortar busi-
nesses — a problem especially dra-
matic along the downtown core, where
property values are high.
“I’ve been closed for over a month
and a half because of staffi ng short-
ages ... losing thousands of dollars,
and then I’m hearing this?” said John
Sowa, of Sweet Basil’s Cafe. “It raises
the hair on the back of my neck.”
See Trucks, Page A8
See Port, Page A7
County extends due diligence for data center
A 120-day
expansion for
developers
By JACK HEFFERNAN
The Daily Astorian
Clatsop County has
agreed to extend the due dil-
igence period on a $1.2 mil-
lion land sale for a potential
new data center and tech-
nology incubator.
County commissioners
on Wednesday night unan-
imously approved the 120-
day extension for develop-
ers to purchase the 67 acres
Agile Design
Mark Cox has proposed a new data center and
technology incubator in Warrenton.
in the North Coast Business
Park in Warrenton.
Mark Cox, of Agile
Design, heads the proj-
ect and is funded by inves-
tors based on milestones
reached in its estimated
$200 million initial stage.
He was originally given a
60-day due diligence period
in August when the county
agreed to sell the land.
Prior to the decision,
commissioners held an
hour long executive session,
which was closed to the
public.
Without detailing spe-
cifi cs, Cox said after the
meeting that wetland miti-
gation issues involving the
U.S. Army Corps of Engi-
neers and the Department
of State Lands have played
a factor. Wetlands account
for more than half of the
property.
He also mentioned
efforts to fi nd sources of
renewable energy and take
advantage of the proper-
ty’s proximity to fi ber-op-
tic cables.
“Well, this is a compli-
cated project, and it’s not a
simple real estate acquisi-
tion,” Cox said.
It isn’t the fi rst proj-
ect, though, to encounter
wetlands headaches at the
business park. Fort George
Brewery purchased 10
acres south of Cox’s site in
early 2016 to build a distri-
bution center, but has faced
similar issues.
See County, Page A8