149TH YEAR, NO. 68
WEEKEND EDITION // SATURDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2021
$1.50
Seaside eyes
moratorium
on vacation
rentals
City concerned rentals
drive up housing costs
By R.J. MARX
The Astorian
SEASIDE — A moratorium on vaca-
tion rental permits could be ahead in
Seaside, with the aim to study their
impact on affordable housing and city
infrastructure.
“One of the discussion items that
we’ve been having is, do we have too
many vacation rentals?” Mayor Jay Bar-
ber said. “Do we need to consider put-
ting a cap on them or do we need to con-
sider a moratorium on them?”
The City Council and Planning Com-
mission met Monday to discuss city
zoning policies regarding vacation rent-
als and updating the city’s comprehen-
sive plan.
Seaside has 316 vacation rental busi-
ness licenses and 28 vacation rental
applications pending approval, code
enforcement officer Jeff Flory said.
Since Jan. 1, the planning depart-
ment has received 73 land use appli-
cations. Of those, 57.5% are for short-
term rentals, including 32 vacation
rentals, seven rental condos and three
bed-and-breakfasts.
Overall, there are 411 short-term
rental units active and pending, Flory
said.
Applications are supported for prop-
erties located west of Neawanna Street
on the city’s north end, west of N. Hol-
laday Drive and S. Holladay Drive and
west of S. Roosevelt Drive. The loca-
tions where vacation rental applications
are not supported are dominated by full-
time residential homes.
The Planning Commission will not
support the approval of a vacation rental
conditional use permit application if
more than 40% of the surrounding prop-
erties within 100 feet of an applicant’s
property are licensed as vacation rentals.
“When it comes to the spatial distri-
bution, what is it doing in the current
real estate market as a house comes for
sale?” Flory said. “Is it affecting the sale
See Vacation rentals, Page A3
Lydia Ely/The Astorian
The housing crunch and other factors have caused some students to experience homelessness.
In Warrenton, homelessness
casts a shadow on school district
By ETHAN MYERS
The Astorian
W
ARRENTON — While
the coronavirus pandemic
brought many obstacles for
students and school administrators, the
Warrenton-Hammond School District
also struggled with a familiar chal-
lenge: students facing homelessness.
In the Oregon Department of Edu-
cation’s annual report card for the
2020-2021 school year, Warrenton
had the sixth-highest share of students
experiencing homelessness in the state
at just over 15%.
“It’s definitely the metric that our
district thinks a lot about. It is the one
that jumps out in the county,” Warren-
ton Superintendent Tom Rogozinski
said.
The school district accounted for
150 of the 267 students in Clatsop
THE SCHOOL DISTRICT
ACCOUNTED FOR 150
OF THE 267 STUDENTS
IN CLATSOP COUNTY
DESIGNATED AS
HOMELESS LAST
SCHOOL YEAR.
County designated as homeless last
school year.
Although the overall number of stu-
dents facing homelessness has steadily
declined since 2016 — and took the
biggest drop this past year — Warren-
ton’s ranking among the top has been
a constant.
The school metric captures the
housing instability that many families
in the region face.
Under the Department of Educa-
tion’s criteria, students designated as
experiencing homelessness can be in
a number of different living situations.
The state defines a student experienc-
ing homelessness as lacking “a fixed,
regular and adequate nighttime resi-
dence.” This could mean the student
is unsheltered or staying in an emer-
gency shelter, but also covers transi-
tional housing, shared housing due
to the loss of housing or economic
hardship and living in a motel, tent or
trailer.
“It’s generally not those who are
living under the bridge … as much as
they are very itinerant, they are very
unstable and they go through a num-
ber of addresses within a given school
year,” Rogozinski said.
See Homelessness, Page A3
GEARHART
Como named fire chief
Strong family ties
to fire department
By R.J. MARX
The Astorian
GEARHART — Josh
Como is the city’s new fire
chief.
On Wednesday, the City
Council unanimously voted
to name Como chief, replac-
ing Bill Eddy, who retired
earlier this year. Como, a
second-generation Gearhart
firefighter, has served as
interim chief.
“I honestly feel that
everything I’ve done my
whole life has led me to
this point,” Como said. “I
was raised here. This is my
hometown. I’ve been in the
fire service for 25 years,
whether that’s here or in
larger departments. When I
was away, this was the one
place I missed the most. I
kind of believe I have Gear-
hart Fire running through
my veins.”
The City Council and
a panel from the commu-
nity conducted an interview
for the position at a special
council meeting last month.
The city received 15
applications before nar-
A rendering of the proposed Jordan Cove LNG terminal in Coos Bay.
James Hutchinson
Josh Como is the new fire chief in Gearhart.
rowing the pool to the five
top candidates. Of the five,
four dropped out; one with-
drew, one relocated and the
remaining two took other
positions. The position
pays between $75,000 and
$85,000 per year.
Como’s first experiences
with the fire department
came when he was 6. There
was a period of time when
there were four Comos serv-
ing with the fire department,
Josh, Randy Sr., Randy Jr.
and younger brother, Tony.
“I was always under
their eye, making sure I
don’t mess up,” Como said.
“You often see them in
sports. The coach’s son is
often benched and his per-
formance must be much
better.”
At 23, Como moved to
the family farm commu-
nity in Wallowa County,
where he joined the fire
department. While there,
he gained knowledge and
experience from much
larger departments.
He became a youth pas-
tor and received a master’s
in leadership and adminis-
tration through George Fox
University.
In Montana, he met his
wife, Trissa. They have four
children, Tanner, Jayden,
Brighton and Elianna.
Returning to Gearhart,
Como became a paid mem-
ber of the fire department,
serving as training officer
and captain.
See Fire chief, Page A3
Battle over Jordan Cove
LNG project is over
Developers pull plug
on $10 billion project
By LIAM MORIARTY
Jefferson Public Radio
The bitter and protracted battle
over the Jordan Cove Energy Project
has finally come to a close.
The Calgary-based Pembina com-
pany formally asked federal energy
regulators Wednesday to withdraw
authorizations for the proposed pipe-
line and liquefied natural gas export
terminal in southwest Oregon.
Pembina’s plan called for a
229-mile-long natural gas pipeline
that would have run from Malin, on
the California border, over the Coast
Range to Coos Bay. The gas would
then have been super-cooled into a
liquefied form, loaded onto ships and
exported to Asia.
The $10 billion proposal raised
concerns
about
environmental
impacts to waterways and wild-
life habitat. It was also expected to
become the largest single emitter of
greenhouse gasses in Oregon.
Jordan Cove was given a key per-
mit in March 2020 by the Federal
Energy Regulatory Commission,
which included the right of eminent
domain. That would have allowed
the company to force property own-
ers along the pipeline route to sell
land to Pembina. But proceeding
with construction under that autho-
rization was contingent on Jordan
Cove obtaining required permissions
from the state.
See Jordan Cove, Page A2