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147TH YEAR, NO. 83
DailyAstorian.com // THURSDAY, JANUARY 9, 2020
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TREACHEROUS
TILLY
County code on RVs draws criticism
Astoria
refi nes rules
on downtown
development
Plans for the Urban Core
By EDWARD STRATTON
The Astorian
Hailey Hoff man/The Astorian
A Clatsop County ordinance restricts how long people can live in RVs.
Some people are living in vehicles
By NICOLE BALES
The Astorian
A
Clatsop County ordinance has
drawn criticism over concerns
that it exacerbates the housing
crisis .
The code limits people to living in
their campers, trailers and other recre-
ational vehicles no more than 30 days
out of a 90-day period .
A similar code exists in coun-
ties throughout the state. But with the
lack of affordable housing in Clatsop
C ounty, the code raises the question:
I f people can’t live in their RVs, then
where do they go?
Jamie Trinkle, of the Oregon Law
Center, sent an email to the county in
November on behalf of a client who has
been affected by the code. She requested
the Board of Commissioners enact a
seasonal moratorium on enforcement
and take time to reevaluate the code.
Trinkle said suspending the code
during the winter months would give
people security during the coldest and
wettest time of the year.
The Astoria City Council moved
toward enacting a new set of downtown
development rules after agreeing to allow
redevelopment on a Sixth Street dock
that used to house the Cannery Cafe.
City c ouncilors held a public hear-
ing Monday night for the development
standards recommended by the Planning
Commission in the Urban Core, a swath
of downtown and waterfront properties
between Second and 16th streets .
The Urban Core is the last of four sec-
tions of the city’s Riverfront Vision Plan
guiding development along the Colum-
bia River. The City Council has approved
new development rules for Bridge Vista
in Uniontown, the Civic Greenway east
of downtown and the Neighborhood Gre-
enway in Alderbrook.
The proposed rules largely limit
development over piling fi elds and exist-
ing docks to the height of the riverbank
to protect views, while allowing redevel-
opment of existing waterfront buildings.
See Downtown, Page A6
See RVs, Page A6
City backs
Fort George
Port separates cruise ship marketer, hosts enterprise
Concerns over
zone plan
potential confl icts
By EDWARD STRATTON
The Astorian
The Port of Astoria Commis-
sion has adopted a new lease
decoupling Bruce Conner, the
agency’s cruise ship marketer
and owner of a private tour com-
pany, from the volunteer group
Clatsop Cruise Hosts.
Will Isom, the Port’s exec-
utive director , on Tuesday pre-
sented the new contract, which
he said was negotiated by Sue
Transue, the agency’s direc-
tor of terminal and commercial
services.
“This is not something, per
Hailey Hoff man/The Astorian
The Port of Astoria has clarifi ed the role of its cruise ship marketer.
our bylaws, that would need to
go in front of the c ommission
or would need approval,” Isom
said. “I did think it was import-
ant from a transparency stand-
point based on the recent ethics
investigation and things like that
that have gone on, that we did
make this public.”
Conner, who has agree-
ments with cruise lines to mar-
ket shoreside excursions on
ships through his company, Sun-
dial Travel , was recently fi ned
by the state Ethics Commission
for improper use of confi dential
information, using his offi cial
position with the Port for fi nan-
cial gain and not disclosing con-
fl icts of interest.
The new, month-to-month
lease with Conner charges him
$345 a month for the corner
offi ce he leases on the ground
fl oor of the Taggart Building.
He also shared rent of another
space at a below-market rate
with Clatsop Cruise Hosts, who
help guide visiting cruise ship
passengers at the docks and in
downtown Astoria. The new
lease separates Conner’s space
from the cruise hosts’.
The
Port
Commission
recently approved a new profes-
sional services agreement codi-
fying its relationship with Con-
ner, who holds similar cruise
ship marketing roles in Astoria
The Astoria City Council and Port
of Astoria Commission have approved
an application by Fort George Brew-
ery to take advantage of a state property
tax break on new equipment as it builds
out its primary distribution, canning and
brewing operations inside the former
Astoria Warehousing.
Fort George will likely become the
fi rst company to participate in the Clat-
sop Enterprise Zone offering property
tax breaks for certain new investments. It
will become one of the fi rst companies in
rural Oregon to participate in the state’s
long-term rural enterprise zone offering
up to 15 years of tax breaks in exchange
for at least $12.5 million invested and the
creation of 35 jobs.
See Port, Page A6
See Fort George, Page A6
By EDWARD STRATTON
The Astorian