149TH YEAR, NO. 82
WEEKEND EDITION // SATURDAY, JANUARY 8, 2022
COUNTY SEEKS BIDS
AT NORTH COAST
BUSINESS PARK
$1.50
Stormy
weather
causes
turmoil
Heavy rain triggered
flooding and landslides
By ETHAN MYERS
The Astorian
Photos by Lydia Ely/The Astorian
Clatsop County is trying to develop 130 acres at the North Coast Business Park.
Another push to develop the long-vacant property in Warrenton
By NICOLE BALES
The Astorian
ARRENTON — Clat-
sop County is moving
forward to develop the
North Coast Business Park.
Through Cushman & Wakefield,
a commercial real estate firm, the
county has issued a request for pro-
posals, asking developers to pitch a
concept plan for 130 acres of the site
located near Costco and close to U.S.
Highway 101.
Developers have until March 17 to
respond.
In the document, the county said it
is seeking general industrial develop-
ment, including light, heavy and air-
port-related industrial activities.
While the county has experienced
steady population growth and sig-
nificant residential development, it
“still lacks key industrial services and
W
jobs,” the document said.
The county hopes a public-private
partnership can enhance livability
through economic development and
job creation.
“With approximately 500 addi-
tional households slated to be built
over the next five years, the NCBP is
a prime industrial location within the
county that can continue to support
growth on the North Oregon Coast
with easy access to the highway,” the
document said.
The property has been a source
of frustration for years as the county
has grappled with what to do with
the land. There have even been dis-
cussions around disposing of the
property.
When the county gained own-
ership of the site in 1991, the goal
was to sell a portion of the land and
use the proceeds for infrastructure
improvements on the rest.
But over the years, it has sat empty.
A development feasibility report,
completed by a Portland consulting
firm last year, detailed development
constraints, including city water,
pump station and wastewater limita-
tions and substantial wetlands.
A data center and technology incu-
bator was the last significant proj-
ect proposed for the business park
in 2018, but a purchase agreement
fell apart in 2019 after months of
extensions.
More recently, the property was
identified as a potential site to relo-
cate the county’s public works facil-
ity, which the county ultimately
decided against. The county has said
it has a desire to get the property back
on the tax rolls.
“During all of that, we continued to
look at our options as far as marketing
See Business park, Page A6
Heavy rain caused flooding and land-
slides across the North Coast, prompting
Warrenton to declare an emergency and
schools to close.
In Warrenton, Mayor Henry Balensifer
declared an emergency due to an over-
whelmed stormwater system that caused
widespread flooding.
“We have searched for additional
resources within our local partners to try
and get some of this flooding dealt with.
We are not yet at high tide and water is
continuing to pour down and will — the
forecast has been extended into Friday,”
Balensifer said on a Facebook Live video
Thursday. “As a result, to safeguard prop-
erty and life and safety, we are going to
declare an emergency and request addi-
tional state resources.”
City crews covered manholes with tarps,
plastic and sand bags, Balensifer said, and
the city encouraged residents to not open or
use sewer manholes or at-home sewer clea-
nouts for drainage purposes, as the system
cannot handle any more inflow.
See Weather, Page A6
Virus
spreads
rapidly
in county
Dozens of new cases over
the past several days
By ETHAN MYERS
and GARY WARNER
The Astorian and Oregon Capital Bureau
The coronavirus spread rapidly across
Clatsop County over the past several days
as Oregon broke state records for new
daily infections.
The Oregon Health Authority reported
45 new virus cases for the county on
Thursday and 46 new cases on Wednes-
day. Since the pandemic began, the county
had recorded 3,007 virus cases and 36
deaths as of Thursday.
See Virus, Page A6
SEASIDE
Planning Commission sidesteps vacation rental moratorium
Decision left to
the City Council
By R.J. MARX
The Astorian
SEASIDE — A planning com-
missioner’s effort to show support for
a vacation rental moratorium failed to
gain support.
Kathy Kleczek, the vice chair-
woman of the Planning Commission,
moved that the commission make a
formal recommendation to the City
Council to declare a moratorium on
new conditional use permits for vaca-
tion rentals.
“It is basically putting the ball in
their court,” she said at a meeting
Tuesday. “Since we can’t actually
create a moratorium — that’s the City
Council’s job — I wanted to officially
say, ‘Here you go. We want you to do
this.’”
Her motion went without a second.
In late November, the Planning
Commission and City Council met in
a joint workshop on short-term rent-
als. Topics included a potential mora-
torium on conditional use permits for
vacation rentals, designed to give the
council time to study the impact of
short-term rentals on affordable hous-
ing and city infrastructure.
Concerns have been raised about
planning ahead for the cost that would
be incurred should the city decide to
place a moratorium on vacation rent-
als and study the effects of existing
regulations or placing limits.
“We as a Planning Commis-
sion appeared to be in agreement
following the joint meeting that
the current VRD (vacation rental
dwelling) vs. long-term rental situ-
ation, or housing in general, bears
VRBO
See Moratorium, Page A6
Seaside is weighing a moratorium on vacation rentals.