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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 7, 2019)
THE HACKLES RELEASE NEW ALBUM • INSIDE KLY ENT WEE TERTAINM ARTS & EN THURSDAY NOV. 7 2019 - COLUMBIA ER PACIFIC FIB TVAL ARTS FES PAGE 8 COMING HOME M MUSHROO FORAGING PAGE 14 READS SOLIDER MOIR FROM ME S THE HACKLE RELEASE UM NEW ALB PAGE 19 PAGE 10 NDAY TRIES EVERY SU 3X EN TO WIN A TOYOTA RAV4! er 1! ing Decemb d Prize Draw OM Play Daily! Gran SWBCASINO.C THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 1 7, 2019 // IN TOKELAND! DailyAstorian.com // THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2019 147TH YEAR, NO. 56 $1.50 Commodore building sold to developer Selina will manage lodging By EDWARD STRATTON The Astorian Photos by Nicole Bales/The Astorian Bob Wayne’s horses, ‘The Senator’ and ‘Cricket,’ eating hay. Horsefeathers! Cannon Beach looks to contain horse manure downtown By NICOLE BALES The Astorian C ANNON BEACH — Bob Wayne can usually be spotted riding his horses downtown wearing cow- boy boots, a cowboy hat, a large belt buckle and something red. Wayne, 76, is a retired physician who has lived in Cannon Beach for 40 years. He and his three horses, “Crickett,” “Sensational” and “The Senator,” are known for riding into town and entertaining residents and visitors. “I just ride up to a family with youngsters and I say, ‘Do you guys want to ride?’’ I’ve got three riders that can carry kids. We plop them in the saddle and we go,” Wayne said. “If you would see the smiles of the kids and the delight and the fun that they have — it’s unbelievable.” Wayne said he was surprised to learn just days before a vote that the city had drafted an ordinance that could restrict him from riding downtown. The ordinance would require peo- ple to strap a manure-catching bag, like a diaper, around their horses as a condition. Wayne considers the bag inhumane. He said it is usually used for horses in parades, but would make a regular ride more dangerous. “They always try to get horses off the beach … they lose every time they try to do that,” Wayne said. The City Council voted unan- imously Tuesday night to take no action and send the ordinance back to the parks division. Nearly 30 peo- See Building, Page A6 Astoria will sell Mill Pond piers Bob Wayne feeding his horses ‘The Senator,’ ‘Crickett’ and ‘Sensational.’ ple came to the meeting, half of whom spoke against the idea. No one shared testimony in favor. City Man- ager Bruce St. Denis said the proposal came after 36 complaints about horse manure and numerous discussions at public meetings. Wayne and local business owner Carmen Swigart, who owns Sea Ranch Resort Park & Stables, said they have not been included in the conversation. They also said they were not aware of the complaints. Swigart’s family has owned the resort since the 1950s. She rents her 13 horses to residents and vis- itors to ride on the beach. The ordi- nance wouldn’t apply to the beach since it is under state jurisdiction, but her customers would still have to put the manure catcher on horses to walk through town to the beach. She said she would probably stop renting horses if the ordinance is approved. She said the manure catcher is cruel to horses and may cause the horse to react, putting the rider in danger. “I just assume that the people who suggested that have nothing to do with horses or they haven’t read anything about horses,” she said at the meeting. See Manure, Page A6 Gearhart tackles zoning for franchises New controls on ‘formula use’ By R.J. MARX The Astorian GEARHART — Wendy’s? McDonald’s? Burger King? Probably not in downtown Gearhart if officials move for- ward with plans to modify city code and prohibit so-called “for- mula use.” The restrictions would apply to any restaurant or bar that has four or more establishments in The Lewis Building, home to the Com- modore Hotel and Street 14 Cafe, has been sold to developer Joe Barnes, who has brought in global hotel and hostel company Selina to manage the lodging. Barnes and his wife, Jennelle, recently purchased the building from partners Paul Caruana, Brian Faherty and Lance Marrs for over $1.8 million. Selina leased the 18-room Commodore Hotel and is devel- oping a 2,000-square-foot bar and social area downstairs with his help, Barnes said. Selina, started in Panama in 2014, is a quickly growing chain of more than 50 hotels, hostels and coworking spaces throughout Latin America and Europe. The company is backed by venture capital and valued at $850 million, according to trade publication Hotel Management. Selina plans to have more than 400 locations by 2023, according to the com- pany’s blog. “The Commodore just fits their exact profile,” Barnes said. Micha Cameron-Lattek, co-owner of Street 14 with his wife, Jennifer, said the new ownership does not affect his lease in the Lewis Building, which runs through 2027. “We look forward to continuing a neighborly collaboration with the incom- ing hotel,” he said in an email. Selina had originally reached out about turning the Osburn-O’Brien Building that Barnes owns kitty-corner to the Lewis Building into a restaurant and hotel, but city rules would not allow it, Barnes said. “I think it’s a real tribute to Astoria,” he said of Selina’s interest. “Whether people of Astoria like it or not, Astoria is a real great place for people to come.” Michael Tour, the director of business development for Selina, said the com- pany plans to rebrand the Commodore the Selina Commodore in the spring, while operation anywhere in the coun- try. The code could also exclude businesses with standardized merchandise, facades, signs or services. It will “take a wordsmith,” City Planner Carole Connell said of the new verbiage regu- lating downtown uses. The conversation began in February when the Planning Commission heard from Can- non Beach Community Devel- opment Director Jeff Adams on how that city is managing commercial development downtown. The Planning Commission and the City Council held a work session last week. See Gearhart, Page A6 Pacific Way and Cottage, the heart of Gearhart’s downtown. A developer with city roots By EDWARD STRATTON The Astorian The Astoria City Council narrowly approved the sale of two platted piers in the Mill Pond Village neighborhood to developer John Dulcich, emphasizing property tax revenue over the views of neighbors. The council was weighing two sepa- rate offers on what to do with the piers along the southern shore of Mill Pond donated by late developer Art DeMuro before his death in 2012. Each pier, pro- jecting off a thin strip of shoreland, con- tains six buildable lots with a central walkway for access. The city marketed the property sev- eral times but received little interest from builders. A group of neighbors pro- posed donating $11,500 to have the piers dedicated as city parkland. But then Dul- cich, a Seattle-area developer and former Astorian, offered $35,000 to buy the lots, saying he wants to complete DeMuro’s vision. The neighbors upped their offer to $40,000. City staff estimated it would cost $35,000 to decommission the lots, while costing the county any future prop- erty tax revenue. Neighbors characterized Dulcich as an opportunistic developer who swooped in at the last minute with a below-mar- ket offer. They argued that the property should be preserved to help wildlife hab- itat and as a view corridor. A community park is next to the platted piers. Mayor Bruce Jones said at the meet- ing Monday that the pond includes 26 buildable lots over water, and that the five homes on piers provide more than $28,000 combined in property tax rev- enue. That DeMuro donated the platted piers instead of unplatted land means he likely wanted them to provide housing See Mill Pond, Page A6
