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THE ASTORIAN • SATURDAY, JANUARY 11, 2020
IN BRIEF
Cache program launched in Gearhart
GEARHART — “You bring them. You pack them.
We store them.”
So read the fl yers available at City Hall as Gear-
hart offers residents the opportunity to store personal
belongings in a cache storage area near the city’s water
tank on Salminen Road.
Residents will have the option to purchase and
house cache containers, to be stored in a large conex
bin. The contents are determined by residents and
meant to provide emergency supplies.
“People will buy the drums and then rent the space,”
City Administrator Chad Sweet said.
Suggested storage items include tents or tarps,
sleeping bags, water storage containers, warm cloth-
ing, fi rst-aid kit, sanitation supplies, batteries and
cookware.
“We’d like this to be a supplement to your 72-hour
bag,” Sweet said. “At home, nearby or in your car,
everyone should have a pack that gets you through the
next three days.”
A 30-gallon plastic drum with lid will be stored at a
cost $40 per year.
Barrels are available for purchase between $60 and
$80.
— The Astorian
Memorial service to honor
lost Coast Guardsmen
ILWACO, Wash. — The U.S. Coast Guard is sched-
uled to host a memorial service at 10 a.m. on Satur-
day at the Lewis & Clark Interpretive Center in Ilwaco
in tribute to Coast Guardsmen and mariners who lost
their lives during seven separate tragic incidents that
occurred along the Washington state and Oregon
coasts.
“Memorials provide an important link to the past,
and it is important to honor those who made the ulti-
mate sacrifi ce,” said Capt. Jeremy Smith, the com-
mander of Coast Guard Sector Columbia River.
“These memorials allow us to remember the bravery
and courage of those who have come before us, while
also reminding us of the risks and dangers of our cho-
sen profession.”
— Chinook Observer
High court upholds state denial of
sublease for Longview coal dock
The Washington Supreme Court has upheld a
state agency’s denial of a sublease to Millennium
Bulk Terminals, dealing yet another potentially
fatal blow to the proposed Longview coal export
dock.
Millennium had asked for a sublease on state
aquatic lands at the old Reynolds Metals Co./
Northwest Alloys dock on the Columbia River. The
state Department of Natural Resources’ refusal to
grant the sublease in 2017 has been subject to court
battles.
“The decision to not allow this coal terminal on
our public lands was the right decision for Washing-
ton, and I applaud the Supreme Court for recogniz-
ing that,” state Commissioner of Public Lands Hil-
ary Franz said in a prepared statement.
“I work every day to make sure Washington’s
public lands make our state stronger and healthier,
now and for future generations. Allowing a com-
pany to use our waters without a full, transparent
accounting of the environmental and fi scal impacts
would jeopardize that mission,” Franz said.
Representatives for Millennium could not imme-
diately be reached for comment.
The state high court denied a petition from North-
west Alloys to review a Court of Appeals opinion
upholding the decision to deny the sublease.
— The Daily News
DEATHS
Jan. 9, 2020
In DUNZER,
Brief
Katherine Elaine, 83, of Seaside, died
in Seaside. Caldwell’s Funeral & Cremation Arrange-
ment Center in Seaside is in charge of the arrangements.
PUBLIC MEETINGS
MONDAY
Cannon Beach Rural Fire Department Board, 6 p.m.,
Fire-Rescue Main Station, 188 Sunset Ave.
Youngs River Lewis & Clark Water District Board, 6 p.m.,
34583 U.S. Highway 101 Business.
Seaside City Council, 7 p.m., 989 Broadway.
TUESDAY
Clatsop County Planning Commission, 10 a.m., Judge
Guy Boyington Building, 857 Commercial St., Astoria.
Astoria Historic Landmarks Commission, 5:15 p.m., City
Hall, 1095 Duane St.
Warrenton City Commission, 6 p.m., City Hall, 225 S. Main
Ave.
Lewis & Clark Fire Department Board, 6 p.m., main fi re
station, 34571 U.S. Highway 101 Business.
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Warrenton planners approve
jail design without sidewalks
Warrenton Fiber
wanted sidewalks
By NICOLE BALES
The Astorian
WARRENTON — The
Planning Commission voted
Thursday to approve the
design for the new county
jail at the former North Coast
Youth Correctional Facility.
The
c ommission had
extended the public hear-
ing on the design in Decem-
ber after Stephen Fulton,
who works on land devel-
opment and wetland mit-
igation issues for Warren-
ton Fiber, asked the city to
require a sidewalk in front of
the new j ail near the compa-
ny’s housing development.
He said he was concerned
about pedestrian safety on
19th Street and suggested
the county has the money to
pay for a sidewalk. He also
claimed Warrenton Fiber
has a sidewalk “going to
nowhere.”
Clatsop C ounty addressed
Fulton’s comments on Thurs-
day, along with details on the
process of creating a multi-
use pathway. Fulton was not
present at the meeting.
The P lanning C ommis-
sion voted 4-1 to approve the
jail design with the condi-
tion the county add refl ective
paint on both sides of 19th
Street for extra pedestrian
safety. Commissioner Chris-
tine Bridgens was adamantly
in favor of the county build-
ing sidewalks on 19th Street
and voted against the design.
Terry Hendryx, the coun-
ty’s assistant public works
director, said the county ini-
tiated conversations with the
city in 2018 for bike lanes
and sidewalks on 19th Street
to improve pedestrian safety.
He said Kevin Cronin,
the city’s community devel-
opment director , approved
the county’s construction of
bike lanes on both sides of
the road in lieu of sidewalks,
due to wetland mitigation
issues.
He said the project is and
has always been separate
from the jail project.
Hendryx said when they
met with the city last August
to discuss the jail project,
Cronin suggested calling the
bike path a multi use path-
way so the development of
the jail would not require
sidewalks.
He said they completed
the multiuse pathway in Sep-
tember and met the condi-
tions for approval.
Monica
Steele,
the
assistant county manager,
said a sidewalk like Ful-
ton requested would add
$135,000 to the $250,000
the county has already spent
to put in a multiuse path-
way. She said that does not
include the potential cost of
wetland mitigation, which
could be up to $85,000.
“While Mr. Fulton stated
in the previous meeting that
the county has the funds in
our budget to do this, what
the county has are limited,
dedicated and discretionary
resources that are budgeted
to provide various services
throughout the county, and
we do so in our best fi scally
prudent manner,” Steele told
commissioners.
“To spend potentially
another $220,000 for 910
feet of sidewalk would post-
pone other projects that
we have planned until the
resources are available in the
future,” she said.
Based on the recommen-
dation from the city, the
county added striping and
will also be putting multi-
use path templates along the
entire stretch of S.E. 19th
Street.
“Mr. Fulton also said
Warrenton Fiber is being
required to ‘build a sidewalk
to nowhere,’” Steele said.
“The portion of Bugle Road
that Warrenton Fiber is con-
structing will be connecting
to the portion of Bugle Road
that the county is develop-
ing, which will include side-
walks on both sides of the
road as well as lighting.”
Seaside commission moves to lift
downtown parking requirements
By R.J. MARX
The Astorian
SEASIDE — The city
could take a step toward
a more urban lifestyle if
the City Council adopts
an amendment to elim-
inate or reduce parking
requirements .
The amendment, a prod-
uct of Planning Commission
work sessions, aims to elim-
inate parking requirements
for above-ground apart-
ments over commercial uses
within the downtown core ,
and to relax requirements
for one bedroom or studio
apartments within all zones.
The aim, Planning Com-
mission Chairman Chris
Hoth said at Tuesday’s
meeting, is to make work-
force housing more eco-
nomical for developers and
provide more affordable
housing for tenants.
According to Planning
Director Kevin Cupples, the
current standard specifi es
two spots per dwelling unit,
regardless of the number of
bedrooms or where they are
located. The requirements
place “a signifi cant impact”
on the amount of backup
land necessary to develop
smaller apartments or mul-
tifamily dwellings, which in
turn drives up the land cost
to develop smaller rental
Gearhart land use
application fees to jump
By R.J. MARX
The Astorian
GEARHART — First on
the City Council agenda for
2020: a bump in land use
application fees .
The intent is to bring
Gearhart’s fees in line with
other cities, and to meet the
cost of processing appli-
cation fees and planning
department resources.
Developers
seeking
conditional use permits,
street vacations and vari-
ances could pay fees up to
10 times higher in order
to meet the cost of staff
reports, maps, legal notices,
map searches and appeals,
among other tasks.
“This is a project that’s
been worked on for some
time,” City Administrator
Chad Sweet said. “We’re
going to talk about building
fees and basic permit fees,
because we haven’t made
changes in 20 years.”
Sweet said fees failed to
cover planning costs, lead-
ing to a burden made up
by taxpayers. “We want to
make sure costs are covered
for the city,” he said.
In a staff report, City
Planner Carole Connell
estimated costs associated
with conditional use fees at
$2,483 — far greater than
the current fee of $250, put
in place in 2005. Other cit-
ies, according to her report,
list conditional use fees in a
range from $400 to almost
$7,000.
Similar increases would
be seen across the board for
all land use applications.
Street vacation fi lings could
rise from $750 to more than
$3,000. Subdivisions, with a
current fee of $500 plus $10
per lot, could increase to
more than $3,300, more in
line with fees of other cities .
“When you look at other
cities’ fees are, you think,
‘Whoa, we should have
looked at this a while ago,’”
Mayor Matt Brown said.
“I think there’s really no
downside to adjusting those
fees.”
Discussion of restruc-
turing building fees was
delayed, but like the land
use fees, will allow the
city to become comparable
with other cities in Clatsop
County .
As for the land use fees,
“We’re going to clarify
a few of these things and
bring it back next month,”
Sweet said after Wednes-
day’s meeting.
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housing.
Public Works Director
Dale McDowell warned at
a previous meeting that an
unintended side effect may
be parked cars blocking
periodic street cleaning.
Signage could notify
the public of street-clean-
ing dates, Cupples said.
“I’m confi dent that if there’s
additional signage that
needs to be done to restrict
parking to have adequate
street sweeping, the public
works director is going to
get it done, ” he said.
“What we’re voting on
tonight is sending this to
the City Council,” Hoth
said. “They can decide
Seaside Visitors Bureau
Seaside could adjust parking
rules downtown.
if it’s strict or not strict
enough. We’re sending it as
a recommendation.”
The motion to send the
amendment to the coun-
cil for consideration passed
unanimously.
Sullivan selected
new chairwoman of
county commission
County.”
Sullivan, Commissioner
Mark Kujala and Com-
The c ounty Board of missioner Lianne Thomp-
Commissioners
selected son nominated themselves
Commissioner
Kath- Wednesday to be the board’s
leen Sullivan on Wednes- next leader . They all voted
day as the board’s new for themselves. Nebeker and
chairwoman .
Commissioner Pamela Wev
voted for Sullivan.
Sullivan,
who
Following
the
served as vice chair
selection of Sullivan ,
last year, was elected
Nebeker, Kujala and
in 2016 and rep-
Thompson
nomi-
resents eastern Asto-
nated themselves for
ria to Westport.
vice chair. Wev and
She replaces Com-
Sullivan voted for
missioner
Sarah
Kathleen
Nebeker, making her
Nebeker.
Sullivan
the board’s new vice
She is up for
chair.
reelection this year,
Nebeker is also up for
and although she has not
publicly announced whether reelection this year. Her d is-
she will campaign for trict covers Gearhart and
another four-year term, she Clatsop Plains and portions
is expected to run. Courtney of Seaside and Warrenton.
“As chair, my goal is to
Bangs, a Knappa teacher,
will run for Sullivan’s post further teamwork among the
board members and staff,
in the May election.
“It is an honor to be to maintain accountability
selected as board chair of to the public by being open
the Clatsop County c ommis- and transparent in our work
sioners,” Sullivan said in an as a board, to basically tell
email. “I appreciate the wide our story so that folks know
range of talents and expe- what their county govern-
riences of my fellow com- ment does every day, and
missioners and our staff and very well,” Sullivan said.
She hopes to increase
know that together, we will
continue to provide excel- public involvement in all
lent leadership for Clatsop levels of local government.
“The county government
not only provides necessary
services to the residents and
OREGON CAPITAL
visitors of Clatsop County, it
is one of the largest employ-
ers in the area,” Sullivan
Get the inside
said. “It is important that we
scoop on state
all work together to be the
government
and politics!
best we can be.”
By NICOLE BALES
The Astorian
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