A2
THE ASTORIAN • TUESDAY, JUNE 28, 2022
IN BRIEF
County unemployment rate
declined in May
BEER HERE
Clatsop County’s unemployment rate was 3.9% in
May.
The seasonally adjusted rate was down from 4% in
April and down from 6.3% in May 2021.
The state’s unemployment rate was 3.6% in May,
the Oregon Employment Department reported, the
same as the national unemployment rate of 3.6%.
By BRANDON CLINE
Chinook Observer
County has new virus testing site
Clatsop County will soon have a new site for its
drive-thru COVID-19 testing clinic.
Starting Friday, the county Public Health Depart-
ment will administer tests at the household hazardous
waste facility at 1780 Williamsport Road in Astoria.
The clinic will operate from 9 to 11 a.m. Mondays,
Wednesdays and Fridays, the county said. Tests are by
appointment only.
Bat in Warrenton tests positive for rabies
The second bat to test positive for rabies in Oregon
this year was found in Warrenton last week, according
to the Clatsop County Public Health Department and
the Oregon Health Authority.
A bat in Deschutes County recently tested positive,
as well.
People who encounter a bat should not touch them,
the county said in a statement. They should also con-
tact the local offi ce of the state Department of Fish and
Wildlife, the county said.
Anyone who has contact with a bat should reach
out to the county Public Health Department.
Cutter Steadfast returns from patrol
After 55 days patrolling the eastern Pacifi c Ocean,
the U.S. Coast Guard cutter Steadfast has returned to
Astoria.
The crew did search and rescues and performed
counternarcotics operations off Central America. The
Steadfast returned on June 18.
The Steadfast coordinated with Mexican law
enforcement to intercept drug-smuggling vessels, seiz-
ing a total amount of cocaine worth more than $100
million, the Coast Guard said.
This was Steadfast Cmdr. Craig Allen Jr.’s fi nal
patrol. He has served in the role since July 2020 and
is slated to transfer command next month, the agency
said.
— The Astorian
DEATHS
June 25, 2022
In KNIGGE,
Brief
David
Scott, 56, of Warren-
ton, died in Warrenton.
Deaths
Caldwell’s
Luce-Lay-
ton Mortuary of Asto-
ria is in charge of the
arrangements.
STAGNER,
Rod-
ney Donald, 80, of Asto-
ria, died in Longview,
Washington.
Ocean
View Funeral & Cre-
mation Service of Asto-
ria is in charge of the
arrangements.
MEMORIAL
Saturday, July 2
STERLING, Ronald Derek “Ulcer” — Celebration
of life starting at 5 p.m., Sunset Beach in Warrenton,
just south of the access ramp. There will be a bonfi re
and stories.
Memorial
ON THE RECORD
Fleeing
DUII
On
the
Record
• Dakota
Mathew
•
Jonathon
Carras, 28, of Battle
Ground,
Washington,
was arrested on Sun-
day on U.S. Highway
30 east of Astoria and
charged with fl eeing
or attempting to elude
police offi cers, reckless
driving and two counts
of recklessly endanger-
ing another person.
Rhea
Hart, 37, of Astoria, was
arrested on Wednesday
on U.S. Highway 30 and
Bond Street in Astoria for
driving under the infl u-
ence of intoxicants, reck-
less driving, being a felon
in possession of a fi rearm,
a parole and probation vio-
lation and possessing a
criminal quantity of drugs.
PUBLIC MEETINGS
TUESDAY
Clatsop County Planning Commission, 10 a.m., (elec-
tronic meeting).
Astoria Planning Commission, 5:30 p.m., City Hall, 1095
Duane St.
Warrenton City Commission, 6 p.m., City Hall, 225 S. Main
Ave.
WEDNESDAY
Cannon Beach City Council, Planning Commission and
Design Review Board, 6 p.m., work session, City Hall, 163
E. Gower Ave.
THURSDAY
Clatsop County Recreational Lands Planning Advisory
Committee, 1 p.m., Oregon Department of Forestry Asto-
ria District, 92219 Oregon Highway 202.
PUBLIC MEETINGS
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Long Beach puts
pause on vacation
rental permits
Buoy Beer Co./Facebook
Buoy Beer Co. has opened a pop-up pub in downtown
Astoria. The new location at the Astoria Food Hub off
Marine Drive allows Buoy to have a public presence
through summer. The airy space, designed with a café in
mind, features a commercial kitchen. A Buoy Beer building
along the waterfront partially collapsed earlier this month.
LONG BEACH, Wash.
— City councilors voted
unanimously this month
to place a moratorium on
allowing new vacation rent-
als after city staff said they
had received a signifi cant
increase in permit requests .
Ariel Smith, the city’s
deputy administrator and
community
development
director who handles vaca-
tion rental permits , asked
for the pause — which can
remain in eff ect for up to six
months — to give the city
time to revise its code and
develop new regulations .
Smith specifi cally cited
28th Street and Sea Crest
Avenue as seeing a “huge”
increase in the number of
applications for conditional
use permits to operate vaca-
tion rentals in areas zoned for
residential use. The uptick
has been noticed by neigh-
bors, who have submitted
complaints to the city about
the rising number of rentals .
“I’ve worked here for six
years, and I’ve had more in
June ( this year) than I’ve had
in two years put together,”
Smith told the council.
She clarifi ed that enacting
a moratorium does not cre-
ate any new rules on how the
city regulates vacation rent-
als, “it just simply puts a stop
to what’s currently happen-
ing. There’s no new permits
being issued during this time
period.” She added that the
fi ve completed permit appli-
cations currently being con-
sidered will not be aff ected
by the pause.
Under state law, a pub-
lic hearing on the issue must
be held within 60 days of
the moratorium going into
eff ect, which took place at
12:01 a.m. on June 17.
The moratorium, Smith
said, will give city staff time
to conduct research, allow
the council to hold pub-
lic workshops, and develop
amendments to the city code
that must be reviewed by the
state Department of Com-
merce. The moratorium
cannot exceed six months,
unless extended for good
cause as dictated by state
law.
Ilwaco RV park owners moving
forward with eviction attempt
By BRANDON CLINE
Chinook Observer
ILWACO, Wash. — The
dispute between landlord and
tenants that has been play-
ing out over the past several
months at the Beacon Char-
ters and RV Park is headed to
court.
On June 16, the new own-
ers of the RV p ark at the Port
of Ilwaco fi led residential
unlawful detainer lawsuits
against 13 remaining tenants
in Pacifi c County Superior
Court.
The lawsuits allege that
unsafe conditions at the RV
park pose a threat to remain-
ing tenants, that their presence
impedes park staff ’s ability to
complete the necessary repairs
and that the new owners’ lease
with the p ort invalidates any
rental agreements that the ten-
ants had under the previous
ownership.
The lawsuits had long been
expected since the new own-
ers, Michael and Denise Wer-
ner, took it over from Mayor
Mike Cassinelli earlier this
year . The Werners’ intent is
to turn the park into an RV
resort, after it largely served
as long-term housing for local
residents during Cassinelli’s
ownership.
Filed by Vancouver-based
attorney Mark Passannante on
the new owners’ behalf, the
lawsuits make three claims
that they argue should allow
the Werners to terminate the
tenancy of the RV park’s
remaining occupants, or con-
stitutes an unlawful detainer
Chinook Observer
New owners have started a legal eff ort to evict the remaining tenants from the Beacon Charters
and RV Park on Port of Ilwaco property.
and allows for the eviction of
the tenants.
The fi rst claim alleges that
the defective condition of the
park is so substantial that it
is unfeasible for the landlord
to remedy within the allowed
time under a provision of
the state’s manufactured and
mobile home landlord-tenant
act.
The lawsuit cites a separate
provision of the act that says
if a court or arbitrator deter-
mines a defective condition
is so substantial and that the
tenant should not remain on
the mobile home space in its
defective condition, then the
court or arbitrator may autho-
rize the termination of the ten-
ancy and set a reasonable time
for the tenant to vacate the
premises.
The lawsuit cites a notice
in late February that was
delivered to tenants that
allegedly advised them of the
issues and off ered the tenants
rental space in a diff erent park
owned by the Werners.
That letter, which has been
reviewed by the Chinook
Observer, claimed to residents
that they were being provided
with a 30-day notice to vacate
the property due to the park
being sold, “and the new own-
ership will need to start imme-
diately on improvements to
the park” — with a target
completion date of September.
That letter, signed “Man-
agement,” has been the cen-
ter of much controversy, after
Cassinelli, while he was still
the RV park’s owner, wrote
to tenants in March that it had
not come from him and to dis-
regard it.
The second claim essen-
tially makes the same alle-
gations as the fi rst claim, but
instead cites similar language
in the state’s residential land-
lord-tenant act that gives a
court or arbitrator the author-
ity to terminate the tenancy
and set a reasonable time
for the tenant to vacate the
premises.
The third claim alleges
that Cassinelli terminated the
lease he had with the P ort of
Ilwaco for the premises of the
RV park’s location, and that
Cassinelli had sent a notice
to the residents of the park in
February advising them that
the term of the lease expired.
That February letter to ten-
ants, as reviewed by the Chi-
nook Observer, makes no
mention of Cassinelli’s lease
with the port having expired,
only mentioning that the prop-
erty has been sold. And Cassi-
nelli, in a letter to tenants sev-
eral weeks later, said that
notice had not come from him
and was not authorized by
him, and told tenants to ignore
it.
Matt Gagliasso, the CEO of
Deer Point Meadows Invest-
ments, which is owned by the
Werners, told the Observer
in May that he had received
explicit approval from Cassi-
nelli to deliver the February
notice to tenants, and that he
was shocked to see Cassinelli
disavow it.
Oregon seeks community voices for climate equity committee
By MONICA SAMAYOA
Oregon Public Broadcasting
The Oregon Department
of Environmental Quality is
looking for members for its
new climate equity advisory
committee.
The department is look-
ing for about a dozen mem-
bers from around the state to
provide feedback and hold
the agency accountable for
its goals under the newly
implemented Climate Protec-
tion Program. The program
is designed to reduce green-
house gas emissions from fos-
sil fuels used in transportation,
residential, commercial and
industrial settings by 50% by
2035 and 90% by 2050.
The Climate Protection
Program was developed by
the Department of Environ-
mental Quality under orders
from Gov. Kate Brown. It
includes new administra-
tive rules that cap and reduce
greenhouse emissions over
time.
Companies can comply
by volunteering in the Com-
munity Climate Investments
program.
Nicole Singh, the depart-
ment’s senior policy climate
advise r, said companies pay
a certain amount of money to
get credits that fund projects
to reduce emissions across
the state. She said that’s
where the new committee
comes in.
“What we’re doing dif-
ferently in Oregon is we’re
saying, it’s not the compa-
nies that are going to make
the decisions about how
these monies are invested,”
she said. “We tried to cre-
ate a program where Orego-
nians, communities, decide
where the money should be
invested, and we have priori-
tized that those monies should
be invested in environmental
justice communities.”
Singh said the program is
not just about reducing bur-
dens in environmental justice
communities, but ensuring
that the benefi ts fl ow across
the state, including to com-
munities of color, low-income
communities, communities
with less access to infrastruc-
ture for renewable energy and
communities that have been
historically marginalized.
One of the fi rst orders of
business for the committee
will be reviewing applica-
tions from nonprofi ts seek-
ing funds. Singh said that can
range from installing solar
panels to electric water heat-
ers that make homes more
energy effi cient.
But this can also present
some challenges, she said.
Since this is a new program,
working with companies
might make it diffi cult for the
committee to decide where
the funds should be invested.
“Some challenges are
going to be just learning to
work with each other,” she
said. “They have to basi-
cally make decisions about
how they’re going to make
decisions. That’s going to be
something I think that’s new.”
The Department of Envi-
ronmental Quality is look-
ing for people who have lived
experience or interests in
environmental justice, climate
change and health impacts.
“Since the program does
prioritize investments in envi-
ronmental justice communi-
ties, of course, we do want to
hear most from people from
environmental justice com-
munities or people who have
served environmental justice
communities,” she said.
Those interested should
provide a statement before
the July 8 deadline.