A3
THE ASTORIAN • SATURDAY, APRIL 23, 2022
Probe: ‘We need to put
this behind us … I want
to put this baby to bed’
lative or administrative
interest. During the meet-
ing this month, Newton
confi rmed to the E thics
C ommission that the infi ll
far exceeded the $50 limit.
Civil penalties can
range up to $5,000 per vio-
lation. The E thics C om-
mission is instead off er-
ing Newton a settlement,
which would include a let-
ter of education rather than
a fi nancial penalty.
If Newton accepts the
settlement in the next
few weeks, it will go for
approval before the E thics
C ommission in May.
Newton has cooperated
with the investigation and
said he plans to accept the
settlement.
“We need to put this
behind us … I want to put
this baby to bed,” he said.
After the initial atten-
tion around the infi ll, sev-
eral of Newton’s fellow
commissioners urged him
to resign, arguing that his
behavior was disruptive
and problematic. Newton
was again asked to resign
this month after he lashed
out at Mayor Henry Balen-
sifer in a meeting. During
his time in front of the Eth-
ics Commission, Newton
made more accusations
about Balensifer.
“It has been very appar-
ent that I have been under
continued attack by the
mayor for the last year …
I very well believe this
is just a part of that thing
because he would like me
to quit,” Newton told the
Ethics C ommission.
Continued from Page A1
The city is examining code changes to allow more housing density.
Housing: More sessions coming in May
Continued from Page A1
During the listening ses-
sion Thursday night at the
Holiday Inn Express &
Suites, city staff listened to
public concerns and sugges-
tions and previewed some
options that will go before
the P lanning C ommission.
“At the end of the day,
we’re balancing confl icting
needs,” said Alex Murphy, a
city planner who facilitated
the discussion.
“We’re here to hear what
people have to say and to
try and respond to them
in a way that hopefully
addresses those concerns
and start seeing more hous-
ing opportunities present
themselves,” he said.
About two dozen people
participated in the discus-
sion. Some common con-
cerns included regulatory
barriers and maintaining the
character of neighborhoods.
Some people said the
development process is too
costly and that the city’s
building permit process
needs to be streamlined.
“Contractors in general,
inside the area and outside
the area, don’t — won’t —
work in the city of Asto-
ria,” Jay Rosen, a furniture
restorer and owner of North
Coast Fix, said. “They
know the regulatory hur-
dles. It’s diffi cult, you need
liaisons and you actually
need a meeting for contrac-
tors just like this.
“It’s basically a dis-
cussion about if you want
housing, somebody has to
do it. If somebody’s going
to do it, you have to make
it straightforward, easier
and a way so they can make
money.”
Murphy said the city is
aware there are some chal-
lenges. “And so we’re
going to try to streamline
processes as much as we
can,” he said.
Murphy said the city is
also proposing to revise
bulk standards, which gov-
ern things like minimum lot
area, setbacks and fl oor-area
ratio. However, he said the
city has no plans to change
height standards.
“We’re
looking
to
expand
opportunities,”
Murphy said. “We have to
allow the duplexes, but we
can also use this opportu-
nity to allow more types of
housing projects.”
He pointed to triplexes,
fourplexes, cottage clusters,
townhouses, single-room
occupancy, group hous-
ing and boarding houses
in places where they make
sense.
There will be discussion
about ways to encourage
more housing downtown on
the upper fl oors of existing
buildings.
The city will also review
parking standards.
A recent state analysis
of regional housing needs
estimated Astoria will need
about 1,400 additional units
over the next two decades,
an increase of about 28%.
The state has required
the city to analyze housing
needs for current and future
residents every six or eight
years, which must be com-
pleted by the end of 2024.
The city’s projection may
diff er from the regional anal-
ysis, but in the end, the city
must adopt a housing pro-
duction strategy to ensure
the needs are addressed.
Two listening sessions
are planned for May 4 at
the Barbey Maritime Center
and Astoria Middle School.
A session is also sched-
uled for May 14 at the Bar-
bey Maritime Center.
to move forward with the
investigation.
Newton has repeatedly
said that he thought the
move would save money
for both the city and Big
River.
“I wanted a win-win-
win and it sure as hell
didn’t turn out that way,”
he said.
Newton
previously
stated that he was consider-
ing whether to ask the E th-
ics C ommission to investi-
gate in order to exonerate
himself after attention and
issues of fl ooding sur-
rounded the infi ll, but he
never did.
An ethics complaint
was submitted earlier
this year by a city police
detective .
The complaint alleged
that the infi ll was an
improper gift and raised
questions about whether
Newton used his position
to get preferential treat-
ment in regard to per-
mits and sanctions, Susan
Myers, an investigator
with the Ethics Commis-
sion, said during the April
8 meeting.
Based on information in
the preliminary review, it
does not appear that New-
ton engaged in a prohib-
ited use of offi ce or used
his position to get special
treatment, Myers said .
However, under state
law, no public offi cial may
receive any gift more than
$50 from a single source
that could have a legis-
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