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THE ASTORIAN • THURSDAY, JUNE 20, 2019
Hotel continues to shape riverfront discussion
IN BRIEF
Hollander Hospitality
has yet to build
Health
advisory lifted
for waters off
Cannon Beach
By KATIE
FRANKOWICZ
The Astorian
The public health
advisory for ocean
waters off Cannon
Beach has been lifted.
State Department
of
Environmental
Quality testing shows
fecal bacteria levels
have subsided.
However, state offi cials recommend staying out of
large pools on the beach that attract birds, as well as
runoff from these pools, because the water may con-
tain increased fecal bacteria.
An advisory was issued on Tuesday.
Marquis advocates for enforcing
laws against animal cruelty
Former Clatsop County District Attorney Josh Mar-
quis has led the formation of the National Law Enforce-
ment Council under the Animal Wellness Foundation
and Animal Wellness Action.
The new council is advocating for increased fund-
ing to help law enforcement enforce federal, state and
local laws against animal cruelty. The council also
supports the passage of the Preventing Animal Cru-
elty and Torture Act, which they say will crack down
on animal cruelty.
The organization said animal cruelty is often a stag-
ing ground for other illegal behavior.
“Cruelty to animals is not some isolated, eas-
ily compartmentalized act of aggression,” said Mar-
quis, the co-chair of the council. “When we stamp out
animal cruelty and apprehend people who have lost
empathy for the suffering of others, we make our com-
munities safer for everyone.”
A hotel that has yet to be
built continues to haunt dis-
cussions about waterfront
development in Astoria .
On Monday night, c ity
c ouncilors heard a a slew of
amendments to the River-
front Vision Plan , rules and
standards that lay out how
development occurs along
the river. Most of the changes
are relatively minor —
house keeping measures, city
planners said — intended to
clarify and update what the
city requires.
The City Council will
consider amendments to
standards for building size
and height at a future meet-
ing. The Planning Commis-
sion is still discussing a vari-
ety of new limits on building
height and size in the Bridge
Vista section, which runs
from Portway Street to Sec-
ond Street.
A four-story Marri-
ott-brand hotel — the Fair-
fi eld Inn and Suites — at the
base of Second Street was
the fi rst test of the River-
front Vision Plan’s codes for
Bridge Vista .
During public hearings
on the hotel, the city iden-
tifi ed gaps or confusion in
Katie Frankowicz/The Astorian
Grass and weeds grow tall around Stephanie’s Cabin in Astoria.
The property, owned by developer Hollander Hospitality, has
remained vacant since it was sold in 2016.
the codes. The d eveloper,
Hollander Hospitality, also
asked for direction and clar-
ifi cation from the city . The
project weathered multi-
ple denials by city boards
and was appealed to the
City Council, where it was
approved last year.
“The
City
Council
approved the appeals but
noted that portions of the
code were not clear on what
was intended for various
design aspects,” Rosemary
Johnson, a city planning
consultant, noted in a memo
to the City Council.
On Monday, City Coun-
cilor Joan Herman still had
concerns and wanted to clar-
ify how developers used
adjacent properties to jus-
Clatsop Care seeks members
for oversight committee
Clatsop Care Health District is seeking people to
join its Tax Levy Oversight Committee.
In May 2018, Clatsop County approved a fi ve-year,
$3 million levy to fund program enhancements, criti-
cal maintenance and technology upgrades to the health
district’s three long-term care facilities in Astoria and
Warrenton and an in-home care agency.
The committee will oversee how the levy funds are
being used, make recommendations to the board of
directors and maintain transparency between Clatsop
Care and the community. Committee meetings will
begin in the fall.
To apply, visit www.clatsopcare.org/news.php. For
more information, email Clarissa Johnson, the com-
munity outreach director, at cjohnson@clatsopcc.edu.
Brownson to hold meet and greet
Astoria City Councilor Tom Brownson is holding a
“Meet Your Councilor” event from noon to 1:30 p.m.
Friday in the Flag Room at the Astoria Library, 450
10th St.
— The Astorian
Seaside man pleads
guilty to encouraging
child sexual abuse
The Astorian
Colin Murphey/The Astorian
The expansive gym at the Cannon Beach Elementary
School sits unused.
Cannon Beach Elementary
purchase falls through
Museum passes
on deal for now
By R.J. MARX
The Astorian
DEATHS
June 16, 2019
NOBLE, Paul Ray-
mond, 52, of Elsie, died
in Elsie. Caldwell’s
Luce-Layton Mortuary of
Astoria is in charge of the
arrangements.
June 9, 2019
UTTI, Harry Alan, 72,
of Gearhart, died in Cath-
lamet, Washington. Cald-
well’s Luce-Layton Mor-
tuary of Astoria is in charge
of the arrangements.
MEMORIALS
Saturday, June 22
DAVIS, Mary Louise
(Wooldridge) — Memo-
rial and celebration of
life at 1 p.m., St. John
the Evangelist Episcopal
Church, 2036 S.E. Jeffer-
son St. in Milwaukie.
HOLWEGE,
Betty
Jane Roundy — Cele-
bration of life from 2 to
4 p.m., Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day
Saints, 350 Niagara Ave.
ON THE RECORD
Strangulation
• Zachery Kyle Catron, 24, of Yakima, Washing-
ton, was arrested in Clatsop County on Wednesday for
strangulation and harassment.
PUBLIC MEETINGS
THURSDAY
Seaside Transportation Advisory Commission, 6 p.m.,
City Hall, 989 Broadway.
tify certain design charac-
teristics in new construction.
The Fairfi eld Inn developer
used the Astoria Warehous-
ing building, a collection of
large and low buildings to
the west, as part of their jus-
tifi cation for the hotel’s size,
Herman said.
City staff clarifi ed this
requirement in the code
changes, Johnson replied.
Developers must look to
all buildings visible within
three blocks and cannot zero
in on only one building.
Concerns about the size
of the hotel — planned at
the former Ship Inn restau-
rant — as well as its ini-
tial boxy design stalled the
project early on and ignited
vocal protests from some in
the community.
Despite winning the
appeal in December, Hol-
lander Hospitality has yet
to build the new hotel. City
staff say the developer has
not submitted any permits to
begin construction and the
property remains vacant .
Representatives of Hol-
lander Hospitality could not
be reached for comment on
when hotel construction will
begin. Nor was information
available about the develop-
er’s long-term plans for adja-
cent property, also owned by
Hollander, that includes the
former Stephanie’s Cabin
restaurant.
Meanwhile, an old com-
plaint has resurfaced.
Sarah Jane Bardy, who
serves on the Design Review
Committee and voted against
the hotel, and others in the
community criticized Hol-
lander last year for not tak-
ing care of the properties and
allowing tall weeds to grow.
The complaints prompted
City Manager Brett Estes to
contact the developer about
the unkempt landscaping.
The developer addressed
the grounds , but weeds and
grasses are once again fl our-
ishing around T he Ship Inn
and Stephanie’s Cabin .
“Too bad that somebody
has to be reminded, but I
think it makes a statement
on our community, partic-
ularly in our busy season,”
Herman said.
The Cannon Beach His-
tory Center and Museum
will not be moving ahead
with a plan to purchase the
former Cannon Beach Ele-
mentary School from the
Seaside School District.
The museum had hoped
to restore the gymnasium
and create a cultural event
center for the community .
“Over the past few
months it has become clear
that our timeline for this
purchase must be pushed
back,” Elaine Trucke , the
museum’s executive direc-
tor, said . “We hope to
approach the school district
in the future, but for now,
we must focus our energy
on the museum and its
collections.”
In November, Sheila
Roley, the school superin-
tendent in Seaside, said the
school district supported
the sale.
The building, which has
sat vacant at the north end
of Cannon Beach since the
school was closed in 2013,
has long been of interest to
the city, which discussed
buying it as some form of
event or community center
on and off for years.
The Clatsop-Nehalem
Confederated Tribes also
showed interest in preserv-
ing the unique building as a
cultural landmark.
The former elemen-
tary school is one of four
buildings the school dis-
trict is attempting to sell as
it builds a new campus out
of the tsunami inundation
zone.
“We would defi nitely
be interested in the future,”
Trucke said. “Just not right
at the moment. Sheila
Roley and the Seaside
School District have been
very supportive of this
endeavor. In fact, there has
been so much support from
the community. We hope to
revisit this next year.”
The real estate fi rm of
Norris & Stevens is prepar-
ing to market other school
buildings, including Broad-
way Middle School, Sea-
side High School and Gear-
hart Elementary School, as
part of the plan to relocate
students to a new campus .
SPIRIT OF
ADVENTURE
NORTH
COAST
A Seaside man pleaded
guilty on Tuesday to encour-
aging child sexual abuse in
the second degree for pos-
sessing child pornography.
Joshua Allen Pickering,
35, was arrested last year
and charged with 18 counts
of encouraging child sex
abuse in the fi rst degree and
one count of felon in posses-
sion of a fi rearm.
He came into posses-
sion of the visual recordings
between January 2016 and
January 2018.
Pickering is scheduled to
be sentenced in October .
Astoria man arrested after
allegedly running over woman
The Astorian
An Astoria man was
arrested for assault on
Wednesday after allegedly
running over a woman with
his car.
Ronald Keith Hobbs, 56,
was arrested for assault in
the fourth degree and reck-
less endangerment in the
incident on Nordmark Drive
off of U.S. Highway 26.
Authorities said he could
face additional charges.
The woman suffered seri-
ous injuries and was fl own
to a Portland hospital .
Appeals court upholds Tillamook
transmission line approval
By MATEUSZ
PERKOWSKI
Capital Press
The Oregon Court of
Appeals has upheld the
approval of a 9-mile trans-
mission line across farms
and forestland in Tillamook
County without explaining
its legal reasoning.
Last month, the Tilla-Bay
Farms dairy was joined by
the Oregon Coast Alliance
conservation group in argu-
ing the project didn’t com-
ply with land use rules.
The transmission line is
controversial because crit-
ics fear it will disrupt farm
activities, such as aerial
spraying, while encouraging
trespass and vandalism of
private forestland. The Ore-
gon Farm Bureau and Ore-
gon Dairy Farmers Asso-
ciation have opposed the
project’s approval.
The Tillamook People’s
Utility District says the
transmission line is neces-
sary for reliable service to
the community of Oceans-
ide, which faces power out-
ages from vehicles and trees
colliding with an existing
distribution line.
Opponents claim the
project could be avoided by
building a second distribu-
tion line along existing road
easements, which wouldn’t
take additional farm and for-
estland out of commission.
During oral arguments
in May, the a ppeals court
focused on whether such a
transmission line is permis-
sible within estuary zones in
Tillamook County.
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