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THURSDAY
JULY 21
2022
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LIBERTY THEA
150TH YEAR, NO. 9
DailyAstorian.com // THURSDAY, JULY 21, 2022
$1.50
City hears
feedback on
homeless
camping
locations
Triggered by a lack of
adequate shelter beds
By NICOLE BALES
The Astorian
Lydia Ely/The Astorian
A parklet outside of Street 14 Cafe was declared a nuisance by the city.
City orders cafe owner
to remove parklet
Improperly installed
outside Street 14 Cafe
By KATIE FRANKOWICZ
KMUN
W
hat goes up must come down.
A covered parklet complete
with chairs and a bar top that
was built over a parking space next to
the Street 14 Cafe downtown on Satur-
day has been declared a nuisance. At a
meeting Monday night, the Astoria City
Council said it was not authorized by the
city and needs to be taken down.
Contractors hired by cafe owner
Micha Lattek to build the parklet have
told the city they will disassemble the
structure.
Parklets were a lifeline for some
downtown businesses amid restric-
tions on indoor dining at the height of
the coronavirus pandemic. The city
launched a parklet pilot program in
2015 and loosened the rules around out-
door seating options because of the pan-
demic. Some of the allowances made
during the pandemic — such as cover-
ings so the parklets would be comfort-
able to customers even on rainy days —
went away when the city’s emergency
declaration over the pandemic ended.
Picnic tables already sit on the side-
walk outside of Street 14 Cafe at Com-
mercial and 14th streets, but Lattek
said that as the pandemic continues and
shifts, his business needs more outdoor
seating options in order to survive.
He said he’s seen changes in cus-
tomer behavior and an increased desire
for outdoor seating. He argues that
restaurants operate on slim margins
and he needs to be able to accommo-
date the fl ood of customers that typi-
cally descend on the cafe on summer
weekends.
Current guidelines outlined in the
city’s parklet pilot program set limits
of one parklet per block. When the City
Council reviewed the pilot program in
March, councilors heard a recommen-
dation from the Astoria Downtown His-
toric District Association to deny Lat-
tek’s request given that there is already
a parklet in front of Curry & CoCo Thai
Eatery, just across the street from the
cafe.
“It’s really unfortunate that the busi-
ness owner willfully took this action not
that long after we clearly explained why
we would not support a second parklet
on the block,” City Councilor Joan Her-
man said Monday.
But Lattek said he felt like he received
mixed messages from the city before
the overall conversation, in his words,
“just ended,” and the city decided to
stay with some of the guidelines in the
pilot program that would prevent him
See Parklet, Page A6
Astoria leaders heard public feedback
Monday night as the city crafts a home-
less camping ordinance and details places
people can and cannot sleep outdoors.
Local governments across Oregon are
adjusting camping ordinances to respond
to federal court rulings and state legis-
lation that prohibit police from enforc-
ing illegal camping on public property
unless there are adequate shelter spaces
available.
Cities, like Astoria, that do not have
adequate shelter space, have the option
to regulate camping by detailing the time,
place and manner people can sleep out-
doors so camping can be enforced every-
where else.
The City Council approved a homeless
camping ordinance in June that estab-
lished the time and manner provisions,
but the city chose to take on the place
component separately to allow for more
public feedback.
Under the ordinance, people can set up
temporary camps overnight from 9 p.m.
to 7 a.m. with bedrolls or sleeping bags,
See Camping, Page A6
Voters
to decide
on gun
measure
A proposed ban on
high-capacity magazines
By PETER WONG
Oregon Capital Bureau
Katie Frankowicz/KMUN
Oregon voters will decide in Novem-
ber whether to require fi rearms train-
ing and ban high-capacity ammunition
magazines.
The ballot initiative qualifi ed for the
general election after t he state validated
the required signatures submitted by
sponsors.
Voters will see four statewide measures
on the ballot, two initiatives that qualifi ed
by petition and two constitutional amend-
ments referred by the Legislature.
The owner of Street 14 Cafe defi ed city offi cials as the structure was being built on Saturday.
See Gun measure, Page A6
Veterans clinic moving into Astoria
A shift of service
from Camp Rilea
By ABBEY McDONALD
The Astorian
The North Coast Veterans
Administration Clinic plans to relo-
cate from Camp Rilea in Warren-
ton to a newly-renovated building
in Astoria.
In early July, the city approved
design plans from the VA Portland
Health Care System for the remodel
of a building off Marine Drive —
near Safeway — formerly occupied
by the Northwest Regional Educa-
tion Service District . The health sys-
tem is part of the U.S. Department
of Veterans Aff airs.
The plans to turn the building
into an outpatient clinic involve
remodeling a portion of the building
and some exterior alterations, such
as new lighting and adding accessi-
ble ramps and stairs at every door.
The clinic at Camp Rilea off ers
primary care, mental health care,
laboratory and pathology services
for veterans. The clinic is available
to around 1,300 veterans in the area
and has over 7,000 appointments
annually.
The hope is to improve the
patient experience with a more cen-
tral location and a more modern
facility, Daniel Herrigstad, a public
aff airs offi cer for the health care sys-
tem, said in an email .
Veterans face long wait times
at the Camp Rilea location, Josh
Davis, the veterans service offi cer at
Clatsop Community Action , said in
an email.
“Any increase in services for vet-
erans in our community is a good
thing. I wholeheartedly support the
increase in availability for appoint-
ments and specialized care for vet-
erans,” he said .
The VA Portland Health Care
System plans to open the new loca-
tion to patients in the fi rst half of
2023.
A veterans clinic is relocating from Camp Rilea to Astoria.