A6
THE ASTORIAN • THURSDAY, APRIL 14, 2022
Ordinance: ‘I think we made a good step forward’
Continued from Page A1
As a makeshift RV camp
on 10th Avenue and Neca-
nicum Drive continues to
cause concern for residents
and visitors alike, Sandra
Sheets, a resident who lives
nearby, said the ordinance
would make the city safer .
“We’ve been concerned
about the increase in activ-
ity at the park and I do think
2022-04 is a good start, ” she
said.
City Councilor Randy
Frank said the ordinance
would give Police Chief
Dave Ham a “starting spot”
to enable police to regulate
illegal camping. “It will be
nice to have something to
give your staff the ability to
go out and deal with peo-
ple,” he said.
The city’s Houseless
Task Force, an outgrowth of
a year of public forums on
housing and homelessness,
aimed to produce guide-
lines that will clear over-
night camping on city prop-
erty by creating permitted
alternatives.
The measure puts in
place a program for tem-
porary overnight camp-
ing on both residential and
nonresidential properties.
Vehicles, including vans or
motor homes, would need
to be registered in compli-
ance with vehicle insurance
responsibilities.
R.J. Marx/The Astorian
City offi cials hope a new ordinance will help clear an RV encampment at 10th Avenue and Necanicum Drive.
Permits would be valid
for three weeks, at which
time they could be renewed.
While individual park-
ing or camping locations
were not designated, pro-
posed locations for limited
numbers of permitted vehi-
cles include parts of Shore
Terrace, Necanicum Drive ,
Cartwright Park, Avenue G
and Mill Ponds Park.
Camping would be pro-
hibited at all public park
areas, public parking lots,
restrooms or publicly owned
properties within residen-
tial zoning districts, along
with U.S. Highway 101,
Avenue U, Wahanna Drive,
First Avenue to Avenue A,
Necanicum Drive and other
locations.
Some residents asked the
City Council for more details
on the proposed camping
sites before moving forward
with the ordinance.
“As a parent, I fi nd some
of the proposed locations
that were discussed very
concerning,” Susie James, a
resident, said. “I would like
to see some specifi c ver-
biage saying it cannot be
at public parks. As a parent
and as a person who works
in the hospitality industry. I
understand that tourists are
what drive this town. But if
you’re making it impossible
for people to raise their fam-
ily safely, we’re not going
to have people to work in
the hotels and restaurants
because everyone’s going to
move away.”
Tenth Avenue resident
Russ Mead objected that
the city would be endorsing
a place without electricity,
water or sewer.
“This seems absolutely
unacceptable to me in a town
like Seaside or a city like
Seaside,” Mead said. “It’s
disrespectful to the property
owners. It’s disrespectful to
the people who are living in
these campers.”
Mead suggested the city
abandon the proposal alto-
gether and focus eff orts
on an emergency home-
less shelter with electricity,
showers and bathroom facil-
ities. “All of us deserve bet-
ter than this,” he said.
Sunset Boulevard res-
ident Stephanie Millman
echoed the need to provide
alternative services to the
homeless population.
“It is better to spend that
money enabling communi-
ty-based connected services
to help the homeless get off
the streets and work on their
situation — whether fi nan-
cial or mental health,” she
wrote in a letter to the City
C ouncil.
Mayor Jay Barber, City
Councilor Steve Wright,
Commissioner: ‘A little bit of campaigning’
Continued from Page A1
else is kind of embarrass-
ing – incredibly embarrass-
ing actually,” Baldwin said.
“ ... Again, I’m going to ask
for you to step down from
your position Commissioner
Newton.”
Prior to Newton’s com-
ments on Tuesday, com-
missioners were speaking
with James Fowler, a fi sh-
ing guide who acquired the
lease of city-owned land
known as Sturgeon Paul’s
and was looking to bring in
food carts as a sublease.
Fowler clashed with the
c ommission throughout the
lease transfer, but has since
apologized for his behavior.
Despite a civil dia-
logue on Tuesday, Newton
accused Balensifer of being
unfair to Fowler at the time
of lease negotiations, which
the mayor contested, telling
Newton he was out of order.
When
c ommissioners
were given the opportunity
to off er comments at the
end of the meeting, Newton
again denounced the mayor.
“Mr. Mayor, I am sorry I
lashed out at you, but peo-
ple who are deceptive infuri-
ate me and I told Mr. Fowler
that I would not allow you to
deceive him again,” Newton
said. “So that’s why I lashed
out at you because you are
deceptive, which I consider
lying to Mr. Fowler. And
I told him I would protect
him.”
Newton’s bitterness car-
ried on as he brought up
the food cart pod project
near City Hall, an ongoing
topic which sparked debate
at previous meetings. Last
year, Newton walked out of
an Urban Renewal Agency
session which was tackling
the matter, claiming that
his expertise in retail was
being ignored by other c om-
missioners. The issue led to
several more disputes and
confl icts.
As Newton wrapped up
his comments on Tuesday,
Balensifer warned Newton
that he was violating City
Commission rules.
After Baldwin addressed
Newton’s actions, Poe noted
similar apprehensions.
“Mr. Newton’s outbursts
are out of order and they’re
disruptive
and
they’re
embarrassing,” he said. “I
also would remind him that
I’ve asked him to step down
before and I’ll ask him again
now.”
Balensifer said New-
ton had undermined the
City Commission in the
community.
“Like I said before, and
I’ll say again, there are some
things you are dealing with
personally that I wish you
would take care of person-
ally instead of publicly,”
Balensifer said, reminding
Newton of his request for
him to resign.
The mayor also called
the comments from New-
ton, who has confi rmed he is
considering a run for mayor
in November, “a little bit of
campaigning.”
Tensions: ‘It does not matter where we go’
Continued from Page A1
“And when their fam-
ily members don’t feel safe
coming into our business,
because of what’s happen-
ing in front of our business,
it worries me because we’re
not able to step in and pro-
vide the care that they need.”
S everal business owners
asked about ways to force
LiFEBoat to leave. Some
argued that off ering social
services attracts more home-
less people to the city.
“If they stop feeding them
downtown, we would have
a lot less litter downtown,”
Miriam Graham Rose, a
downtown building owner,
said about the homeless
who access LiFEBoat’s ser-
vices. “And that started in the
park.”
Rose has also been vocal
on social media against pro-
viding social services for
homeless people downtown.
When someone on Nex-
tdoor suggested she speak
directly to LiFEBoat and
learn more about what they
do, Rose said, “Clearly you
think the ‘clients’ have more
rights than the business own-
ers or the tax paying citizens
of Astoria. I have less than no
interest in confronting these
‘folks’ as I do not want to be
hauled away by the police in
response to my actions.”
During an Astoria home-
lessness solutions task force
meeting in late March,
Osarch Orak, the director of
Filling Empty Bellies, who
runs LiFEBoat Services with
his fi ancée, Erin Carlsen, the
director of Beacon Club-
house, referred to some of the
critics as a “lynch mob.”
Orak apologized for mak-
ing the comment during the
‘ASTORIA IS A VERY SMALL CITY.
THERE’S NO PLACE THAT ISN’T
SOMEONE’S BACKYARD.’
Osarch Orak | director of Filling Empty Bellies, who runs
LiFEBoat Services with his fi ancée, Erin Carlsen, the director of
Beacon Clubhouse
meeting, but it still sparked
outrage on social media .
When The Astorian asked
Orak if he regretted the com-
ment, he said that he only
regretted apologizing.
“Because it’s the way I
feel,” he said. “It’s not some-
thing I made up. It’s not
something I can’t back up
with proof of people’s actions
toward us. It’s the true defi ni-
tion of that mob mentality is
coming after us.”
‘You have to start by
humanizing them’
This is not the fi rst time
in recent years that tension
around the city’s homeless
population has bubbled up to
the surface. The city started
a homelessness solutions
task force in 2017, in part to
respond to perceived safety
concerns and complaints
from downtown business
owners about property dam-
age and disturbances.
Orak and Carlsen have
been involved for years . They
began fundraising and saving
money for a daytime drop-in
center in 2018. Filling Empty
Bellies started serving meals
at Astoria parks in 2014.
The ground fl oor of the
drop-in center on Commer-
cial Street serves members
of the Beacon Clubhouse,
who are stable, employed
or working toward employ-
ment. The basement is where
anyone can come eat through
Filling Empty Bellies, access
resources and connect to
services.
LiFEBoat provides cloth-
ing and shoes for anyone
in need, off ers a washer
and dryer and has plans for
showers. The nonprofi t is
also moving forward with
improvements to the building
in preparation for providing a
year-round overnight shelter.
Orak, who was formerly
homeless in Astoria, said the
goal is to help people who
come for a meal or other basic
needs connect with services.
He said he wishes he had
access to a low-barrier service
provider like LiFEBoat when
he was living outside.
“If you heard some of
our participants stories ... I
don’t know who wouldn’t
be moved by some of our
people’s stories,” Orak said.
“And some of them just
never had a chance.
“You have to understand
what some of these people
have been through. Their
life is constant trauma —
and yes, a lot of it is self-in-
fl icted currently — but a lot
of them don’t know any bet-
ter. And it’s hard to get them
to a place to where they can
make the decision for them-
selves to do something diff er-
ent unless there are low-bar-
rier (services),” he said. “You
have to start by humanizing
them.”
Orak agrees the loca-
tion downtown is not ideal,
but that after an extensive
search, it was the only prop-
erty owner willing to rent to
them. He said they sent pro-
posals to two diff erent prop-
erty owners on the east and
west ends of town away from
downtown and residential
areas, but were denied.
The owners of Astoria
Downtown Market, which
is next door to LiFEBoat,
have frequently complained
publicly since the nonprofi t
opened. LiFEBoat’s other
neighbor, Gizmo’s Arcade &
Eatery, has also complained
about people sleeping and
loitering in front of the busi-
ness and creating messes.
Orak noted that the busi-
nesses attracted homeless
people before LiFEBoat
opened. A previous owner of
the Astoria Downtown Mar-
ket had regular homeless
customers and provided help
when he could, sometimes
off ering people a place to sit
and get out of bad weather.
The awning of the Giz-
mo’s building has long been
used as a cover during bad
weather. Orak said he also
slept in that doorway when
he was homeless.
“It’s just kind of unfortu-
nate how it all played out,”
Orak said. “We 100% would
have rather had been in a dif-
ferent location.
“Yeah, we’re on Commer-
cial Street, we’re extremely
visible,” Orak said. “But no
matter where we go, there’s
going to be a contingent of
people, a group, that is going
to be extremely loud against
us. It does not matter where
we go.
“Astoria is a very small
city. There’s no place that
isn’t someone’s backyard.”
City Councilor Randy Frank
and City Councilor Dana
Phillips voted in favor of
the ordinance on Monday
in fi rst and second readings.
City Councilor Tita Montero
voted “no” to both readings .
City Councilor Tom
Horning approved the ordi-
nance in the fi rst reading,
but not in the second. City
Councilor David Posalski
was absent.
“I wanted the process
to take its time, rather than
accelerating the approval
process, mostly so every-
one in the city could have a
say, if needed,” Horning said
after the meeting. “I don’t
have any problems with the
ordinance in particular. The
rest of the process will be
in the policy of where we
will allow campers to spend
the night. I am not keen on
Cartwright Park or the Mill
Ponds being allowed.
“Given the tendency
for the campers to cre-
ate messes, that could be
a major blow to the parks
program.”
The ordinance will return
to the City C ouncil for a
third and fi nal reading on
April 25 . If passed, it would
become law within 30 days.
“We really worked hard
to try to recognize all of the
concerns about defending
the rights of people who live
in Seaside, the housed peo-
ple, but also at the same time
defending the rights of peo-
ple who are houseless and
also to do it legally so that
we will not be in court over
our decisions,” Barber said.
“There’s still more work
to be done. And we’ll con-
tinue to work on that. But I
think we made a good step
forward.”
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