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