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THE ASTORIAN • SATuRdAy, MAy 22, 2021
Extension: ‘Everyone
deserves a warm, safe,
dry place to call home’
Continued from Page A1
Photos by Hailey Hoffman/The Astorian
A photo of Vincent Tadei’s family at the house in the early 1900s hangs on the wall.
Views: Commissioners weigh protections
Continued from Page A1
a deal was reached. Stem-
per said he wants an ami-
cable ending with the Tadei
family, but has maintained
that the church is within
its rights to develop the
property.
“If LUBA sides with
them, we’ll cure the defi-
ciency and continue for-
ward,” Stemper said. “But
LUBA’s not going to side
with them, in my opinion,
because we meet all the
codes and criteria of the city
of Astoria. View is not part
of the code.”
Regulating views
Members of the Tadei
family argue that while the
Riverfront Vision Plan cre-
ated by the city has pro-
tected views and mini-
mized development on the
water, historic properties
like theirs south of High-
way 30 in Uppertown have
not been provided the same
protections.
Peter Tadei, a com-
mercial real estate agent,
recalled the proposed Fair-
field Inn and Suites off Sec-
ond Street. The four-story
hotel, since denied build-
ing permit extensions by
the City Council, spawned
amendments to city code
that shrank the allowed
height and mass of build-
ings on the waterfront to
protect views.
“How is it OK for every-
body to shout down the
hotel, but when it comes to
the Tadeis’ house, there’s
not such a concern by City
Council, by (the Historic
Landmarks Commission)?”
he said. “Nobody seems
to be ready to stand on our
side of that issue.”
After the church annex
application was continued,
Planning
Commissioner
Sean Fitzpatrick noted the
lack of language concern-
ing development that could
block the view of an exist-
ing property.
“With the Riverfront
Vision Plan, virtually all
of the discussion focused
on the loss of views,” he
said. “I think that maybe it’s
something that ought to be
explored.”
Daryl Moore, the presi-
dent of the Planning Com-
mission, said there has
been a long history of prop-
erty owners assuming their
views are protected, getting
angered when they realize
they aren’t and wondering
why the city does nothing.
Commissioner Brook-
ley Henri called the discus-
sion timely, given the red-
hot real estate market and
the importance of views to
property value.
“I think we have a
responsibility to help peo-
ple protect their property
Bethany Free Lutheran Church has faced opposition from
some neighbors over plans to develop a 5,000-square-foot
annex on this plot of land.
values, or at least have
some way to address it, if
it comes up as a concern,”
she said.
Commissioner
Chris
Womack cautioned that
the city needs to balance
the value of a view ver-
sus the value of a prop-
erty that should be build-
able based on city code and
zoning rules. But a majority
of planning commissioners
showed interest in asking
the City Council and Estes
whether they should dis-
cuss codifying the value of
viewsheds.
A complex process
Asked about the issue
later, Estes cautioned that
such a process could prove
complex, time-consuming
and expensive, given that
most of Astoria is built on
a hillside with views. City
staff has already been over-
whelmed with other City
Council priorities, devel-
opment reviews and code
amendments, budgeting for
a new planner in the com-
ing year to help meet the
demand.
Estes also questioned
whether protecting views-
heds citywide would hin-
der efforts to develop more
affordable housing. View
protections in other cities
have often been enacted in
high-end, affluent neigh-
borhoods and resulted in
expensive legal challenges,
he said.
“One that I can think of
specifically is in the Puget
Sound and Seattle where
there were lawsuits between
neighbors over this whole
issue,” Estes said. “I would
ask that if these are set up in
a similar situation in Asto-
ria, would we have a similar
set of circumstances?”
County changes virus reporting
Virus case count
posted on website
By NICOLE BALES
The Astorian
Clatsop County will no
longer issue daily news
releases that detail demo-
graphic information on new
coronavirus cases.
The county has been
publicly disclosing virus
cases locally since the start
of the pandemic, provid-
ing the age range, sex and
whether the individual lives
in the northern or southern
part of the county.
Moving forward, the
county will post the number
of new local cases reported
by the Oregon Health
Authority on the COVID-
19 Public Information Hub
on the county’s website.
The total number of cases,
hospitalizations and deaths
will also be listed.
“The Public Health
Department has been
reporting every local posi-
tive COVID-19 case since
the first one in March
2020,” the county said in
a statement. “The depart-
ment’s approach to the
pandemic is shifting from
an emergency response
to
managing
COVID
cases within the context
of updated guidance and
the ongoing vaccination
campaign.”
A spokesman for the
county said any noteworthy
changes or trends in local
virus cases will be dis-
closed as they occur.
The information hub
includes data from the
health authority on testing,
vaccinations, outbreaks and
hospitalizations.
At several points during
the pandemic, the coun-
ty’s local virus case count
did not match the Oregon
Health Authority’s count,
leading to some public con-
fusion, since case counts
help determine the county’s
risk level and the extent of
government restrictions to
contain the virus.
Over the past year, The
Astorian has pressed the
county to disclose more
demographic information
about virus cases, a break-
down of virus cases by zip
code and workplace out-
breaks that have the poten-
tial to lead to dozens or hun-
dreds of new virus cases.
The county has declined
to disclose more detailed
information, citing patient
privacy concerns, a state
law that gives the county
and the state discretion on
what information to release
during disease outbreaks
and demands on county
staff.
The change in the coun-
ty’s virus reporting policy
comes as the county sur-
passed 1,000 cases.
As of Friday, the county
has recorded 1,003 virus
cases since the pandemic
began. According to the
county, 25 were hospital-
ized and eight have died.
Fireworks: Display to be ‘higher than ever before’
Continued from Page A1
David Reid, the chamber’s
executive director, said in a
statement.
The fireworks display
will begin at 10 p.m. It will
be set near downtown, on
a Columbia River barge.
Spectators will be able to
social distance from other
groups and see the show
from various spots through-
out the city.
“Our goal is to celebrate
our community with this
long-standing and beloved
tradition to help return to
some semblance of nor-
malcy while keeping the
public safe,” Dorn said.
The show will be dis-
played “higher than ever
before” to allow for more
viewers and less crowding
along the Astoria Riverwalk.
Ohana Media Group will
play patriotic music through-
out the show.
“We have talked with
moratorium, which applied
to all properties, HB 2009
applies only to five residen-
tial properties per owner.
Each property can contain
no more than four units.
Commercial property is
excluded.
The renewal aligns with
the June deadline for a mora-
torium announced in Febru-
ary by the Federal Housing
Finance Agency, which reg-
ulates the federally backed
mortgages that account for
about 70% of all mortgages
in Oregon.
The state bill would
empower Brown to renew
the state moratorium for up
to two more quarters, but
only if she gives advance
notice of her orders.
Any foreclosures initi-
ated during the emergency
period are stayed.
According to the House-
hold Pulse Survey by the
U.S. Census Bureau in
March, an estimated 65,000
Oregon households were
behind on their mortgages.
Congress approved mort-
gage assistance in Decem-
ber that will result in an
estimated $40 million for
Oregon, and its approval of
President Joe Biden’s pan-
demic recovery plan in
March will make available
up to $100 million more for
Oregon.
The Senate version also
limits the exemptions for
lenders to take part in the
Oregon Foreclosure Avoid-
ance Program. The current
exemption applies to lend-
ers that initiated less than
175 foreclosures in the prior
year. The bill now applies
the exemption only to lend-
ers that, for 2021 and 2022,
initiated less than 30 fore-
closures in 2019.
On Wednesday, Brown
signed a bill into law that
extends the payment of past-
due rent until Feb. 28.
“Everyone deserves a
warm, safe, dry place to
call home — and during the
COVID-19 pandemic, it has
been particularly critical that
Oregonians be able to stay
in their homes,” the gover-
nor said in a statement.
The Oregon Capital
Bureau is a collaboration
between EO Media Group
and Pamplin Media Group.
regional and state leadership
about the show and how best
to provide a safe experience.
By offering a public display,
we hope to cut down on per-
sonal fireworks displays,
which become a fire and
safety hazard on our beaches
as well,” Reid said.
Fireworks are prohibited
in state parks and beaches in
Oregon. Locally, fireworks
are also banned in Cannon
Beach, per a City Council
decision made in 2020.
Hailey Hoffman/The Astorian
Red, white and blue
fireworks spatter the sky
over Astoria.
Hailey Hoffman/The Astorian
Marysol Ochoa records a video of herself as Audrey Knippa
gives her the COVID-19 vaccine at the Clatsop County
Fairgrounds.
Risk: Vaccinated people
could win cash rewards
Continued from Page A1
governor announced a return
to a two-week cycle for risk
level changes.
Had the state continued
the one-week cycle, Clatsop
County would have qualified
to move from high risk to
moderate risk on Friday. Risk
level updates will instead be
announced by the state on
Tuesday and take effect on
May 28.
“The warning week has
been an excellent tool to give
businesses time to prepare for
complying with the require-
ments of a higher risk level,”
Astoria Mayor Bruce Jones
said in a letter to the gover-
nor on Thursday. “At this
stage in the pandemic recov-
ery it is eminently reason-
able and prudent to eliminate
the warning week for coun-
ties meeting the criteria for
moving to a lower risk level.
Warning weeks should only
apply for counties moving to
a higher risk level.
“I can find no risk-based
rationale for keeping Clatsop
County at high risk for this
additional length of time. It is
an unnecessary burden on our
community and businesses.”
The Astoria-Warrenton
Area Chamber of Commerce
and Warrenton Mayor Henry
Balensifer shared their sup-
port of the letter with the gov-
ernor’s office.
Meanwhile, the state on
Friday announced it is on
track to vaccinate 70% of
adult Oregonians before the
end of June and lift most
virus restrictions. The gov-
ernor said vaccination rates
continue to rise and that hos-
pitalizations for the virus are
at their lowest since April.
“Every single day, we are
getting closer to ending this
chapter of the pandemic,”
Brown said in a press con-
ference. “With summer just
around the corner and life
starting to return to nor-
mal, I think we’re all feel-
ing excited and hopeful that
good days lie ahead. But we
aren’t there just yet. In this
final push to reach every Ore-
gonian with a vaccine and to
meet our goal of at least 70%
of adults vaccinated so we
can fully reopen our econ-
omy, we will need to pull on
every lever we have.”
As an additional incen-
tive for people who have not
yet received their first dose
of a vaccine, the governor
announced the “Take Your
Shot Oregon” campaign, an
opportunity for one person to
win a $1 million grand prize,
and one person in each of
Oregon’s 36 counties to win
$10,000.
All people 18 years and
older who have had at least
one dose will be eligible for
the prizes funded through
federal relief money. The
state will draw the winners
on June 28.
Students will also be eligi-
ble for five $100,000 schol-
arships through the Oregon
College Savings Plan.
As of Friday, 34,213
doses have been adminis-
tered in Clatsop County and
15,953 people were fully
vaccinated. The county’s
goal to reach herd immunity
against the virus is vaccinat-
ing 27,533 people, or 70% of
the population.
Counties where 65% of
people 16 and older have
received at least one dose
were given the option to
move into lower risk on Fri-
day. The 65% mark is a way
for counties to return to more
normal operations ahead of
the state’s herd immunity
goal.
As of Thursday, 59% of
county residents 16 and older
had received at least one
dose. The county said it needs
about 1,900 more first doses
to reach the 65% threshold
and move into lower risk for
the virus.