149TH YEAR, NO. 118
WEEKEND EDITION // SATuRdAY, ApRil 2, 2022
$1.50
HERITAGE SQUARE
City backs away
from workforce
housing project
City Council support
evaporates after
preview of costs
By NICOLE BALES
The Astorian
The Astoria City Coun-
cil backed away from a
proposed workforce hous-
ing project at Heritage
Square after getting the
first detailed look at the
potential cost.
Edlen & Co., a Port-
land-based developer part-
nering with the city, esti-
mated the project would
cost over $37.8 million.
The developer had hoped
to obtain low-income hous-
ing tax credits and other
government assistance for
most of the financing.
But Edlen & Co. wanted
the city to transfer land on
the downtown block for
free, contribute $2.2 mil-
lion in gap funding through
urban renewal money and
offer property tax abate-
ment for 60 years.
The City Council,
which was already divided
over the project, concluded
that the cost was too high.
“I have a hard time
moving forward on a proj-
ect given the amount of
opposition with that sig-
nificant financial outlay,”
Mayor Bruce Jones said
at a work session Friday
morning. “As the mayor,
I feel an obligation and a
desire to help the commu-
nity in a variety of ways —
housing is one of them. But
also, I have to consider the
impact on the community
to have a potentially divi-
sive issue going through
the spring and summer and
the fall and upcoming elec-
tions and potentially into
next year. And the impact
of that on the staff and their
ability to get other import-
ant priorities done.
“I have been the big-
gest proponent of this proj-
ect,” Jones said. “I still
think it’s the right thing to
do. But I don’t think it’s
the right thing at the right
time, given the confluence
of other circumstances,
which frankly make it very
bad timing.”
By ERICK BENGEL
The Astorian
A resident of Clat-
sop Care Health & Reha-
bilitation in Astoria who
had tested positive for the
coronavirus died on Fri-
day morning.
The woman, who was
in her 90s and had lived
at the care home for a
few years, had contracted
the virus along with sev-
eral other residents and
staff as part of an outbreak
first reported to the Ore-
gon Health Authority on
March 22.
The most recent round
of tests revealed 16 virus
lydia Ely/The Astorian
The Port Commission will review the waterfront master plan on Tuesday.
A blueprint for the Port and the city in Uniontown
By ETHAN MYERS
The Astorian
See Heritage Square, Page A6
Virus outbreak
disclosed at
care home
One resident has died
Waterfront master
plan nears adoption
cases: nine among resi-
dents and seven among
staff, according to Clar-
issa Barrick, the adminis-
trator of the facility, which
is under the umbrella of
the Clatsop Care Health
District.
Of the nine resi-
dents, three were unvac-
cinated against the virus
and six were vaccinated
and had received an addi-
tional booster shot. The
woman who died was
unvaccinated.
Of the seven staff, one
was unvaccinated, two
had received their initial
vaccine doses and four
were boosted, Barrick
said.
A
fter months of hearing feed-
back and making refine-
ments, the Port of Asto-
ria and the city will look to adopt
the waterfront master plan for
Uniontown.
Walker Macy, a landscape
architecture, urban design and
planning firm, was hired to craft
the plan to tackle redevelopment
along the Columbia River between
Pier 1 and the Astoria Bridge. The
Portland consultant collected input
through an advisory committee,
stakeholder interviews and two
public forums in November and
December.
The plan, while similar to the
version presented in December,
has been polished and is ready for
review by the Port Commission
and City Council.
“The adoption process was
something we talked about early on
and I think it’s the first step in mov-
ing this plan forward,” said Will
Isom, the Port’s executive director.
The plan will go before the
Port Commission on Tuesday. If
approved, it would go before the
City Council in the coming weeks.
“It was important particularly
to the advisory committee that
this plan be something that we’re
implementing and not just a plan
that gets put on a shelf,” Isom said.
“By having both elected bodies
adopting this plan, I do think it puts
some urgency behind it and allows
both organizations to start moving
forward.”
Highlights
At the first public forum in
November, Walker Macy revealed
the Astoria Riverwalk Inn, which
wraps around the West Mooring
Basin, was not a part of the rede-
velopment plan and recommended
its removal due to issues with
infrastructure.
However, the replacement
of the hotel will have to wait, as
Ganesh Sonpatki, who leases the
hotel through Param Hotel Corp.,
still has several years left on his
contract with the Port.
A new 60-to-90 room hotel is
being recommended by the consul-
tant near where the Riverwalk Inn
sits. Walker Macy also indicated
that the structure should be built on
land, not over water like the Riv-
erwalk Inn, and oriented north to
south to minimize obstructions to
view corridors.
The removal of the Chi-
nook Building is also being rec-
ommended, and because of its
vacancy, it was identified as an
opportunity for an “early win.”
Private development of marine
industrial uses will be sought for
the 5-plus acres on Pier 1. Potential
uses include manufacturing, sea-
food processing and shipping.
Additions to Pier 1 would also
include several pedestrian friendly
features, such as a tower overlook-
ing the West Mooring Basin, a
walkway wrapping around the pier
and a footbridge. A space desig-
nated for picking up and dropping
off cruise ship passengers would
also be carved in.
Concepts for a market hall and
fishing village are also laid out in
the plan.
The space where most of the
Riverwalk Inn sits would be trans-
formed into a boardwalk, connect-
ing the new hotel, market and fish-
ing village.
Several multiuse structures are
scattered throughout the plan.
A particular emphasis is to make
the area more suitable for the com-
munity, while complementing
the city’s working waterfront. In
addition to opportunities for pri-
vate development, a new street,
room for parking, a relocated Asto-
ria Riverfront Trolley stop and an
improved section of the Astoria
Riverwalk are included.
“One of the general themes
that has been pretty consistent is
that we want to make sure that this
planning area serves multiple pur-
poses,” Isom said. “For the Port, it
obviously is important that it meets
our mission of being an economic
driver and a job creator, but also I
think it’s important that the com-
munity sees this as a win for them
and not something that is geared
toward visitors and tourists.”
See Waterfront, Page A2
See Outbreak, Page A6
Police chief to move to part time
City continues search
for a new leader
By NICOLE BALES
The Astorian
Astoria Police Chief Geoff Spal-
ding will move into a part-time role
this month as the city continues the
search for his replacement.
Spalding announced his retire-
ment in December after serving as
the city’s top cop since 2017. His
last day as police chief before work-
ing part time is April 19.
Deputy Chief Eric Halverson
will serve as the police department’s
interim leader until a new chief is
hired.
‘I’M LOOKING FOR
SOMEONE WHO’S
A GOOD LISTENER.
SOMEONE WHO
WORKS WELL IN
THE COMMUNITY.’
Brett Estes | Astoria city manager
City Manager Brett Estes said
Spalding will support the police
department on a part-time basis,
focusing on issues such as home-
lessness and community livability.
“I’ve really appreciated his ser-
vice to Astoria and to the citizens of
our community,” he said.
The city completed a recruitment
process earlier this year for a new
police chief but did not select a can-
didate. Estes said three people were
interviewed for the position, one of
which pulled out during the process.
He said none of the candidates were
the right fit for Astoria.
The city reopened the job posting
and will take applications through
the end of next week. If someone is
selected in the second round, Estes
said it could take a couple of months
before they begin work.
“I think Astoria is a smaller com-
munity that has a lot of issues that
larger communities face,” Estes
said. “So we’re looking for some-
one who is able to be a good leader
for the department, to be able to
bring new ideas to the department.”
He said the city is also looking
for someone who can work through
various issues, including emer-
gency dispatch and homelessness
— two of the biggest challenges the
police department has faced.
Hailey Hoffman/The Astorian
See Police chief, Page A2
Police Chief Geoff Spalding will move to a part-time role on April 19.