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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 28, 2018)
WEEKEND BREAK: THE GIFT OF LOVE 146TH YEAR, NO. 129 Astoria backs new apartments WEEKEND EDITION // FRIDAY, DECEMBER 28, 2018 ONE DOLLAR Astoria mayor looks back on an eventful four years New subdivision near North Tongue Point By KATIE FRANKOWICZ The Daily Astorian A proposal to develop a 120-unit apartment complex above North Tongue Point on the eastern edge of Astoria landed city approval Thursday. The Planning Commission unani- mously approved the project, but with a host of conditions, including two that delayed a vote earlier this month. At the commission’s request, devel- opers Stan and Cary Johnson agreed to enlarge park space in the middle of the development from just over 2,000 square feet to 5,000. They will also be required to plant trees along the streets. With the Planning Commission’s approval in hand, Cary Johnson hopes work on the units could begin as early as next summer, but there are still a number of city and state permits they will need to secure, he said. Develop- ers also need to bring utilities to the site. The Johnsons are planning to develop 22 lots for multifamily units on acreage along Old U.S. Highway 30 near the Tongue Point Job Corps Center. The Eagle Point subdivision will start small, with a fi rst phase of seven lots and a cul-de-sac off the highway. The city will not be responsible for either the trees or the park — a con- cern planning commissioners had at the earlier meeting on the subdivision. The city has struggled to main- tain its parks and has been against the development of new parks if the city is expected to be responsible for maintenance . A new Scandinavian Heritage Park at Peoples Park off Marine Drive downtown was only granted city approval after the group behind the project secured a memorandum of understanding taking on the respon- sibility for maintaining any new park features. Planning c ommissioners were sup- portive of the Eagle Point subdivision . Even some of the commissioners who disagreed about whether to require the planting of street trees said they would vote with the majority rather than let the Johnsons’ application fail. Astoria has not had many subdi- visions, Planning Commissioner Jan Mitchell said, but could see more proj- ects in the future. She was pleased the park space had been increased, but was adamant that street trees should also be required. “Anything we do on a subdivision, at this point, sets a precedent for the next developer,” she said. It is not an onerous condition, but rather one that is “important to increase the livability of the com- plex,” Planning Commissioner Joan Herman said. Thursday was Herman’s last meet- ing before she moves on to take her seat on the City Council. She was elected to the downtown Ward 3 seat held by Cindy Price, who chose not to run for re-election. LaMear sees progress, but work remains By KATIE FRANKOWICZ The Daily Astorian n one of her fi nal acts as Astoria’s mayor, Arline LaMear performed that most mayoral of tasks: She hoisted a pair of oversized scissors and cut a ribbon. The ceremony celebrated the reopening of Bond Street to two-way traffi c, a decade after a landslide narrowed the street’s western end to one lane. The mayor marked the city’s completion of an important project to ensure people can get through town even if Marine Drive is blocked. But she’s ready to let someone else wield the scissors. LaMear announced in January that she would not seek re-election to a second term. City Councilor Bruce Jones won the Novem- ber election to replace her and will take on the role of mayor in the new year . LaMear was the fi rst mayor in Astoria in 24 years who wasn’t Willis Van I Colin Murphey/The Daily Astorian Arline LaMear looks through the stacks of books at the Astoria Library. See LaMear, Page A7 Katie Frankowicz/The Daily Astorian Arline LaMear, center, prepares to cut the ribbon at a ceremony marking the reopening of Bond Street to two-way traffi c. ‘SOMETIMES I FELT LIKE I COULDN’T MAKE UP MY MIND ABOUT AN ISSUE. I OFTEN EMPATHIZE WITH BOTH SIDES.’ Arline LaMear | outgoing Astoria mayor Finn Ware expands into Portland The latest Astoria business to branch out By EDWARD STRATTON The Daily Astorian Luke Whittaker/Coast River Business Journal Finn Ware owner Saara Matthews has opened a new location of the Scandinavian store in the Portland cultural center Nordia House. Finn Ware has joined the short list of Astoria busi- nesses that have expanded into the Portland metro area. Saara Matthews, owner of the Scandinavian store on Commercial Street, recently opened an annex called Nordic Finn Ware in Port- land’s Nordia House. The announcement comes as local ice cream-maker Frite & Scoop recently canceled an expansion into Forest Grove. Matthews had been run- ning a pop-up store during the holidays the past two years at the Nordia House, a Scandinavian center opened in s outhwest Portland by cultural nonprofi t Nordic Northwest. The center also includes Broder Söder, a newer location of the pop- ular Portland Scandinavian restaurant. After last Christmas, Matthews started discussing a permanent location with Nordic Northwest. By the end of last month, she had hired a couple of employ- ees and opened a 10-by-20- foot annex to catch the holi- day rush using her inventory from Astoria. “I’m trying to bring up things that they can’t get at Ikea, or they can’t get at Cost Plus” World Market, she said. The next challenge in Portland is seeing what cus- tomers will buy year-round, she said, although Scandi- navian foods such as ling- onberries and glogg have proven popular. Sisters Darlene Bjorns- gard and Dorothy Smith started Finn Ware in 1987, when there were three Scan- dinavian stores in Astoria, See Business, Page A7