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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 18, 2022)
»INSIDE m inessJournal.co CoastRiverBus Volume 17 • FREE Chronicling Published Monthly ss in the Colum the Joy of Busine A housing construction project in Seaside is underway. January 2022 Inside: Issue 1 bia-Pacifi c Region lutions ers as Creativ ts e in so housing for work ide Page 8 LYDIA ELY/ THE ASTORIAN e in Seas Hotelier inves ents take shap more developm High sales industry surges Pacifi c County marijuana Page 6 American eats New food truck in Seaview Page 11 Budgeting made easy Tips for the new year Page 23 149TH YEAR, NO. 86` DailyAstorian.com // TUESDAY, JANUARY 18, 2022 $1.50 Northwest energy generation shifts Carbon dioxide emissions tied to electricity dropped By COURTNEY FLATT Northwest News Network Lydia Ely/The Astorian Signs announcing a public hearing in February to review code changes for development are posted around Heritage Square. Astoria reveals development proposals for Heritage Square Coal plant closures in the Northwest and an increase in natural gas generation meant fewer heat-trapping carbon diox- ide emissions recently contributed to cli- mate change, according to new data from the Northwest Power and Conservation Council. In total, carbon dioxide emissions from the generation of electricity dropped about 20% in 2020 as compared to 2019, said Gillian Charles, senior policy analyst with the c ouncil. The data accounts for heat-trapping carbon dioxide emissions released as facilities generate power, including coal, natural gas, hydropower, wind and solar generation. The data counts greenhouse gas emissions from 2020, which is the most recent year available. “That’s the lowest carbon dioxide emissions in 25 years,” Charles said. See Energy, Page A6 Panel recommends option that involves Clatsop Behavioral Healthcare By NICOLE BALES The Astorian A panel tasked with reviewing ideas for workforce housing at Heritage Square has made a recommendation to the Astoria City Council. Two Portland-based developers, Edlen & Co. and Related, submitted proposals for the downtown block near City Hall after the city requested expressions of interest last fall. A group of city leaders and stake- holders, appointed by Mayor Bruce Jones, conducted private interviews with the two teams on Jan. 11, and after discussion agreed the city should move forward with the pro- posal by Edlen & Co . In a memo on Friday, John South- gate, a city consultant, said two of the six panelists argued that nei- ther proposal is responsive to the city’s workforce housing objectives, “but if the commission fi nds that the proposed income range is consis- tent with its objectives, they like- wise would recommend Edlen over Related.” Southgate added, “It will be important for council to discuss their defi nitions of workforce and aff ord- able housing and who this project intends to primarily serve, ideally acknowledging that Edlen’s proposal serves the widest range of incomes.” The City Council, acting as the Astoria Development Commission, will discuss the proposals and rec- Edlen CITY COUNCIL The City Council will review de- velopment proposals at Heritage Square at 7 p.m. on Tuesday. Code changes to enable develop- ment are scheduled for a public hearing on Feb. 7. ommendation on Tuesday night. The council will consider code changes to enable development at Heritage Square at a public hearing on Feb. 7. The panel that reviewed the pro- posals included City Manager Brett Estes; Megan Leatherman, the city’s community development director; Assistant County Manager Mon- ica Steele; David Reid, the execu- tive director of the Astoria-Warren- ton Area Chamber of Commerce; Jessamyn Grace West, the execu- tive director of the Astoria Down- town Historic District Association; and Walt Postlewait, a developer and the executive vice president for non- profi t lender Craft3. City councilors decided last year to use Heritage Square, a block located between 11th and 12th Street and bordered by Duane Street and Exchange Street , to help address a shortage of lower-cost housing. The block includes the Garden of Surging Waves, a park that honors Astoria’s Chinese heritage, and Clat- sop Post 12 of the American Legion. A parking lot along 12th is used by the Astoria Sunday Market from May to October. Another smaller lot sits at the corner of 11th and Exchange . A pit where the foundation of a for- mer Safeway collapsed dominates the middle. Edlen & Co.’s team, made up of several local partners, including Clat- sop Behavioral Healthcare, pitched two scenarios covering the open spaces of the block. The fi rst scenario involves 53 to 75 workforce housing units, depend- ing on whether the building is three or four stories tall, along with 55 park- ing spaces and a ground fl oor devoted to a mix of residential uses and com- mon rooms. The second scenario involves 44 to 66 workforce housing units with common areas on the ground fl oor, retail concentrated near the corner of 12th and Duane and a possible child care facility at 12th and Exchange . Both scenarios would serve house- holds primarily earning 60% of the county’s median family income, although some could be targeted at households earning up to 80% of median family income or rented at market rate. Two-thirds of the units in both sce- narios would be studios or one-bed- room apartments. The rest would be two- or three-bedroom units. Both scenarios include a separate four-story building on the smaller lot at 11th and Exchange in partnership with Clatsop Behavioral Healthcare, Clatsop County’s mental health and substance abuse-treatment provider. The building would include offi ces for the agency and wrap around ser- vices on the ground fl oor. Thirty-three micro units on upper fl oors would be reserved for the agency’s clients. The building would not include parking, since the agency’s clients typically do not drive. The micro Offi cials look for lessons from tsunami advisory Message issued Saturday after Tonga eruption By R.J. MARX The Astorian Local leaders who oversee emergency response on the North Coast looked for lessons from a tsunami advisory over the weekend. The advisory was issued early Satur- day after an underwater volcanic eruption near Tonga . T he National Weather Service fi rst issued a statement about 4 a.m. announc- ing the eruption was being evaluated for a tsunami . Initial tsunami advisories are not uncommon when a distant earthquake has occurred, Clatsop County Emergency Manager Tiff any Brown said. Wave arrival takes some time, so local govern- ments sit tight after the alert to see what comes out next. “Generally speaking, we are supposed to hear something 30 minutes later, when they brief the state, then every hour there- after,” Brown said. “What’s happening See Heritage Square, Page A6 See Advisory, Page A2 Montanan fi nds artist’s paradise in Astoria Dillon has a gallery on Commercial By GARY HENLEY The Astorian O riginally from Montana, Con- nie Dillon and her husband, Brian, have lived in Astoria since the spring of 2020 , and the North Coast has not disappointed. Dillon loves painting — land- scapes, forests, old homes — and struck artistic gold in Astoria . “A pleasant surprise were the forests,” she said. “I love hiking through forests, taking photos, and I use the photos as the basis for my paintings.” There’s also “all the gardens, the forests, the architecture. I have paintings of some of the local homes. I love the architecture.” The Dillons had visited Asto- ria previously, but only in sum- mer months. “When we came out on a house-hunting trip in Decem- ber, we found a house that we wanted,” Dillon said. “But we had only seen Astoria in the beau- tiful summer, and thought we should really stay and see what it’s like in winter. “And that winter, there was a huge storm with power outages, and we had to read our house con- tract at the library where they had electricity. We thought if the win- ters are this harsh, maybe we’ll rethink it.” The couple still decided to make the move , and haven’t regretted it. “We just felt it was beauti- ful, and the people here are super friendly. My husband was a retired English l it professor, and being an artist I could do my work anyplace, so we decided to move to a place close to the ocean.” Dillon, who had her own art gallery in Billings, opened the See Dillon, Page A6 Astoria artist Connie Dillon stands with some of her work at the ARTstoria gallery downtown.
