148tH yEar, NO. 140
WEEKEND EDITION // Saturday, May 22, 2021
$1.50
CORONAVIRUS
Fireworks
return for
July Fourth
An official show after
last year’s surprise display
By ALYSSA EVANS
The Astorian
Photos by Edward Stratton/the astorian
The Tadei family has placed yard signs and hired a lawyer to fight a proposed annex for Bethany Free Lutheran Church because it
would block the Columbia River views of patriarch Vincent Tadei.
expansion revives debate on protecting views
A balance between
quality-of-life values
and property rights
Fireworks enthusiasts will have a reason to
celebrate this summer — the Fourth of July
fireworks show is scheduled to happen this
year in Astoria.
The Astoria-Warrenton Area Chamber of
Commerce announced the event on Thurs-
day, marking a change from the 2020 celebra-
tion, which was initially canceled because of
the coronavirus pandemic. Local businesses
funded a surprise show, which was revealed
to the public an hour ahead of the display on
July 4.
Last year’s show cost an estimated
$20,000, about twice the budget of the city’s
2019 show. This year’s show is expected to
be the city’s largest yet, according to the
chamber.
The chamber and more than 20 businesses
are collaborating on the event, which is being
paid for entirely by businesses. Major contrib-
utors include Robert Dorn, the CEO of Hyak
Maritime, who led the effort last summer; for-
mer Astoria Mayor Willis Van Dusen, of Van
Dusen Beverages; and Ohana Media Group,
which owns KAST and other radio stations.
“The chamber is honored to have the sup-
port from these business partners to keep
this annual event on the calendar this year,”
See Fireworks, Page A6
By EDWARD STRATTON
The Astorian
A family is threatening to take a
fight against a proposed church annex
in Uppertown to the state Land Use
Board of Appeals to protect their views
of the Columbia River.
The argument has revived the issue
of how Astoria, a city known for pan-
oramic views, balances quality-of-life
values with property rights.
Members of Bethany Free Lutheran
Church, located on 34th Street, want to
build a 5,000-square-foot annex across
the street in a vacant lot the congre-
gation purchased in the 1980s. The
building, gabled to mimic the church,
would rise to 34 feet in an east-west
orientation.
The church annex would block the
view of Vincent Tadei, who has lived
next door for 88 years, and whose fam-
ily built the home in 1904. The fam-
ily has installed yard signs decrying
the potential expansion and has hired a
lawyer to fight the project.
After failing to convince the His-
toric Landmarks Commission and City
Council to deny the project’s design,
the Tadei family filed a notice of intent
with the state appeals board to inter-
vene. The deadline is approaching for
the city to prepare a written record of its
decision for the state to review.
“The city is going to be preparing
the record on the decision and won’t
be weighing in or providing any more
direction or testimony, based upon the
Criticism
emerges on
virus risk
Astoria, Warrenton
ask Brown for changes
City Council’s decision,” City Manager
Brett Estes said.
Carrie Richter, the lawyer for the
Tadei family, has argued that the land-
marks commission improperly com-
pared the church annex to large com-
mercial buildings along U.S. Highway
30 and a nonhistoric church built in the
1980s when determining neighborhood
compatibility, rather than accounting
for the nearby historic homes it would
dwarf.
City councilors commiserated with
the Tadei family over concerns with
the size of the church annex. But they
backed the commission’s decision,
agreeing with the argument that the
neighborhood includes larger buildings.
“I feel for the neighborhood who
disagree with the structure itself, the
size of it,” City Councilor Joan Herman
said. “But for its site right along U.S.
(Highway) 30, or very, very close to it,
By NICOLE BALES
The Astorian
I don’t think it’s incompatible.”
The project came before the Plan-
ning Commission last month for a con-
ditional use permit to build on residen-
tially zoned property. But with a deal in
the works to realign a sewer line, move
the church annex about 30 feet east and
clear the view for the Tadei family, the
application was held off until June.
“I showed a member of the Tadei
family exactly what the realignment
would look like and he seemed very
receptive to it,” said Randy Stemper, a
developer representing the church. “So
I would assume, based on the conver-
sation, that if we can make this sewer
realignment work, this whole thing’s
going to go away.”
Tadei and his son, Peter, a co-owner
of the home, declined to comment on
whether the appeal would continue if
Astoria and Warrenton political and busi-
ness leaders are calling on the state to elim-
inate the warning week for counties moving
into lower risk levels for the coronavirus.
Gov. Kate Brown canceled the warn-
ing week in April as the state experienced a
surge of virus cases that pushed 15 counties
into extreme risk. The
policy change was an
MORE
effort to speed up the
INSIDE
return to normal busi-
ness operations by
County
announcing risk level
changes virus
changes weekly instead
reporting
of every two weeks.
• a6
In mid-May, when
the state no longer met
the hospitalization met-
rics for extreme risk, the
See Views, Page A6
See Risk, Page A6
Lawmakers extend residential foreclosure ban
Extension could go
through December
By PETER WONG
Oregon Capital Bureau
SALEM — Gov. Kate Brown
is the final stop for a bill that rein-
states a moratorium on residen-
tial foreclosures through June, and
possibly to the end of this year if
the governor chooses to extend it
by executive order.
The state House gave final
approval on Wednesday to an
amended House Bill 2009 by a
36-20 vote. The Senate approved
the bill in May. The bill clarifies
that a borrower must give notice
to the lender of an inability to pay
mortgage — and show how the
coronavirus pandemic affected the
borrower’s ability to pay, such as a
loss of job or income.
“We continued to work on the
language as some concerns came
up after this bill had passed the
House,” state Rep. Paul Holvey,
a Democrat from Eugene and the
bill’s floor manager, said.
Brown imposed a moratorium
by executive order at the outset
of the pandemic more than a year
ago. A June special session of the
Legislature wrote Brown’s order
into law, and let her extend it by
order through December.
Unlike the original state
Colin Murphey/the astorian
See Extension, Page A6
Lawmakers have extended a ban on residential foreclosures during the coronavirus pandemic.