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THE ASTORIAN • SATuRdAy, JANuARy 11, 2020
Apartments: Work on two pump stations will cost close to $800,000
Continued from Page A1
supporting the Canes-
sa’s project, testified that
previous projects like Dick
Krueger’s
Forest
Rim
Apartments did not require
carports. Mike Morgan, a
planning consultant on the
Canessa’s project, estimated
that requiring carports
would add between $50 and
$100 a month to rents, esti-
mated at between $1,100
and $1,250.
Morgan pointed out that
neither the Canessa nor
Palmberg developments can
be built until the city finishes
upgrading two ailing pump
stations on Marlin Avenue
and near Fred Meyer, giving
the developers six to eight
months to apply for a vari-
ance not to build carports.
The city should also look at
eliminating the design stan-
dard for carports because
of their look and affect on
rents, he said.
The work on the two
pump stations will cost
around $800,000, Mor-
gan said, with the cost fall-
ing on the city and the new
users requiring more sewer
service. The city has looked
at an advance financed dis-
trict, in which developments
like the Canessa’s that lay
the initial utilities would be
reimbursed by future proj-
ects hooking up to the lines.
Discussion about the
Jetty Avenue complexes’
water and sewer needs led to
a larger one about the city’s
capacity.
Commissioner Ken Yuill
said he is concerned the city
doesn’t take enough account
of its sewer capacity when
approving new projects. He
unsuccessfully tried to con-
tinue the hearing on Lati-
tude 46 until getting a state-
ment from the city’s Public
Works Department about
the capacity of the wastewa-
ter treatment plant.
City Manager Linda
Engbretson said the city is
looking at the capacity of
its wastewater treatment
plant, which is designed to
be expanded, but is not too
concerned.
“Our water is more of a
concern than our wastewater
treatment plant,” she said.
Commissioner Christine
Bridgens said the city also
needs to look at the capacity
of fire and police to handle
all the new apartments. The
staff report on Latitude 46
did not include any input by
the Warrenton Fire Depart-
ment, which recently went
through a leadership change
and a state investigation into
safety violations.
Paul Mitchell, the pres-
ident of the Planning Com-
mission, responded that it’s
the city’s responsibility to
provide police and fire as
the city grows.
“It isn’t for us to deny
applications because we
don’t have enough police
and fire,” he said.
Colin Murphey/The Astorian
Construction workers build the interior of a housing complex
in Warrenton in 2018.
Astoria Pointe: Tight housing market
Continued from Page A1
review the structure and has
concluded that the structure,
which consists of 30 rooms,
can accommodate employee
housing with only minimal
capital investment,” Pacific
Seafood’s
representatives
wrote the city.
Pacific Seafood has cited
the tight housing market on
the North Coast as a reason
the company has had diffi-
culty finding the 300 workers
needed to operate its newly
rebuilt Warrenton process-
ing plant at full capacity. The
company buses in up to 150
workers during the peak pro-
cessing season between May
and November, John King,
general manager of the War-
renton plant, has said.
The company recently
gained approval from War-
renton to turn part of a
machine shop in Ham-
mond into a 70-bed bunk-
house, which could increase
to 90 beds after a one-year
trial. The approval followed
a good-neighbor agreement
requiring Pacific Seafood to
shuttle employees to work
and shopping to limit traffic,
install signs to contain noise,
perform background checks
and promptly remove trouble
employees.
Pacific Seafood will have
to undergo a similar vet-
ting process as the Astoria
Warming Center, an emer-
gency homeless shelter
located in the First United
Methodist Church down-
town, or as Astoria Pointe did
when it started operating as
a treatment center, said Bar-
bara Fryer, the Astoria city
planner.
The worker dorms would
need to comply with the
city’s comprehensive plan
and development standards
for high-density residential,
she said.
“In terms of zoning, it’s
probably the most appropri-
ate zone for that use,” Fryer
said. “It just depends on the
parking. They’re still pro-
viding some additional infor-
mation on the shuttles and
what they anticipate doing to
accommodate the traffic.”
Astoria Pointe has 18 off-
street parking spaces. Pacific
Seafood has asked that addi-
tional parking not be required
because, like in Hammond,
the company would provide
shuttles to and from the pro-
cessing plant. The company
has also offered to invest in
public parking and mass tran-
sit in lieu of providing more
private parking.
Sunspire Health, which
operated Astoria Pointe and
the Rosebriar, a women’s
treatment center on 14th
Street, closed both facili-
ties in 2018 for undisclosed
reasons.
Both facilities are owned
by Highland Properties,
belonging to Eleanor Dooner,
of Memphis, Tennessee.
Dooner and her late husband,
Bill, a recovering alcoholic,
opened several treatment cen-
ters around the country. The
Rosebriar is for sale for more
than $1.3 million.
Tobacco: Vote was 3-1 for ordinance as drafted
Continued from Page A1
Edward Stratton/The Astorian
A crew from Arbor Care Tree Specialists began taking down a bigleaf maple at Violet
LaPlante Park in the Alderbrook neighborhood.
Tree: ‘Would not be able to stay up without
the city absorbing a significant amount of risk’
Continued from Page A1
— became infected by fun-
gus and rot.
Jonah
Dart-McLean,
the city’s parks mainte-
nance supervisor, said the
estimate was that the tree
had five to 10 more years
left after the fix. The parks
department also planted a
replacement maple nearby.
“The tree would not be
able to stay up without the
city absorbing a significant
amount of risk,” Dart-Mc-
Lean told the City Council
on Monday.
On Thursday, a crew
with Arbor Care Tree Spe-
cialists began cutting the
behemoth down to the
stump. Dart-McLean said
the tree will be taken down
to the base, from which
the city hopes starts will
sprout.
Ed Overbay, a local fur-
niture-maker with a mill
and kiln, will process the
hardwood into lumber.
Conditioning the wood
could take years, Dart-Mc-
Lean said. The city has also
received requests from oth-
ers wanting a piece of the
tree, but first needs to fig-
ure out how much timber is
available, he said.
A citywide tree inven-
tory in 2015 documented
more than 1,800 in city
parks, providing a road map
for future maintenance.
The city took down some
hazards, but has been for-
tunate with mostly robust
trees, Dart-McLean said.
coupons. He also asked that
modifications be made to
soften penalties for violating
Tobacco 21 rules.
But local leaders and rep-
resentatives from the Amer-
ican Cancer Society and the
American Heart Associa-
tion urged commissioners to
move forward with the ordi-
nance as drafted. McNickle
said price discount coupons
are designed to target con-
sumers who are low income,
disabled and people of color.
The Board of Commis-
sioners voted 3-1 for the
ordinance as drafted.
Commissioner
Mark
Kujala voted against the
ordinance, saying he thought
it was intended to keep chil-
dren from smoking. He
believes adults should be
able to use coupons to buy
tobacco products.
“I don’t think it was
ever proposed as solely as a
youth-oriented issue,” Com-
missioner Pamela Wev said.
“There are many, many
actions that go on in the
public health department
that contribute to cessation
efforts. Yes, this was primar-
ily for kids, but if it can be
in support of also causing
adults to quit smoking, then
it aligns.”
McNickle said 24% of
adults in Clatsop County
smoke tobacco and that there
is a social cost to tobacco
addiction. He said in one
year, $14.5 million is spent
on tobacco-related medical
care in the county.
Some people expressed
disappointment
commis-
sioners did not ban flavored
tobacco products.
The U.S. Food and Drug
Administration issued a
federal flavor ban earlier
this month that excludes
methanol and open tank
e-cigarettes.
The Oregon Health
Authority released a state-
ment last week saying the
federal flavor ban “falls
short” and the exclusions
limit the effectiveness in
reducing youth vaping. A
six-month state ban on fla-
vored nicotine and cannabis
vape products was halted by
the courts.
“After the previous read-
ing of the first version, I was
very disappointed to hear
that it didn’t pass with the
flavor ban and I trust all of
you to look out for our com-
munity and the next genera-
tion, and I hope you will pro-
tect our community tonight
from the big interests of
tobacco,” said Brooke Stan-
ley, the Columbia Pacific
Coordinated Care Organi-
zation’s health improve-
ment coordinator for Clatsop
County.
Stanley said the fact that
a Juul representative showed
up at the public hearing for
the last proposal showed that
commissioners were about
to do something important.
Steven Blakesley, the
North Coast research liaison
for Oregon Health & Sci-
ence University, reminded
commissioners that the orig-
inal ordinance was evi-
dence-based and written by
the Tobacco Control Legal
Consortium.
“So, as we start tweak-
ing it and watering it down,
it starts to lose its impact,”
he said.
