A6
THE ASTORIAN • THURSDAY, JULY 21, 2022
Parklet: ‘We might have to develop a code with some teeth in it’
Continued from Page A1
Lydia Ely/The Astorian
One city councilor wants to see tougher restrictions on parklets.
from also having a parklet. He felt like
he’d wasted months of time, eff ort and
money trying to go through the city.
He decided to go ahead with his plan.
“I felt like all I could have done at that
point, as a matter of courtesy, was tell
the city that I’m going to proceed with
the parklet anyway — but, you know,
why?” Lattek said. “Because they’re
going to have to deal with it like any
other violation at this point and I know
it’s a big one and it’s pretty prominent
and probably because I went through
offi cial channels fi rst they’re going to
— you know, instead of enforcing other
issues in town that aren’t up to code or
go without a permit — they’re going to
come after me fi rst.”
Lattek regrets going to the city. “I
wish I had just done it at this point with-
out ever involving the city in the fi rst
place,” he said .
City offi cials said Lattek and his con-
tractors received warnings on Saturday
from a city councilor passing by, the
city’s community development director
and fi nally the police chief that the par-
klet was not permitted. But Lattek con-
tinued anyway.
Gun measure: ‘Process is as important as the result’
Continued from Page A1
The gun measure would
limit ammunition magazines
to 10 rounds each. In addi-
tion to the limit, the mea-
sure would require peo-
ple to undergo classroom
and live-fi re training before
they obtain a fi rearms permit
and complete background
checks. Current law allows
a purchaser to obtain a gun
even if the check is incom-
plete after three days; the
measure would compel the
check to be completed.
Lift Every Voice Oregon,
the movement that sponsored
the measure , was way behind
at the end of May when an
initial round of 2,500 signa-
tures was submitted.
But two mass shootings
outside Oregon resulted in a
surge of petition volunteers
and signatures before the July
8 deadline.
Ten Black people were
shot dead May 14 in a super-
market in Buff alo, and 19
children and two teachers
were killed 10 days later at
Robb Elementary School in
Charles Krupa/AP Photo
A ballot measure would ban
high-capacity ammunition
magazines in Oregon.
Uvalde, Texas.
The Rev. W.J. Mark Knut-
son, the pastor of Augustana
Lutheran Church in Portland,
said those events helped pro-
duce more than 1,000 new
volunteers and 150,000 more
signatures.
“People were saying they
could not sit anymore, so
we had 1,000 new volun-
teers come forward to join
the 500,” Knutson said . “A
lot were parents with chil-
dren — it was pretty amaz-
ing. They are learning about
democracy.
“The process is as import-
ant as the result — demo-
cratic action by the people. In
this nation right now, we need
to see democracy at work.”
Movement
leaders
shelved a second ballot mea-
sure that would have banned
some assault weapons. Knut-
son said leaders hope to pres-
ent it as a bill to the 2023
Legislature, which opens in
January .
The measure joins three
others on the ballot.
The other initiative would
bar lawmakers from seeking
re election if they have 10 or
more absences not excused
by the state House speaker or
Senate president. That initia-
tive was put forth by public
employee unions and others
in response to walkouts by
Republicans in 2019, 2020
and 2021.
The measure would
change the Oregon Consti-
tution, which requires two-
thirds of lawmakers — 40
of 60 in the House, 20 of 30
in the Senate — to be pres-
ent for the chambers to con-
duct business. Most legisla-
tive chambers, and Congress,
require a simple majority of
members.
Oregon’s 2020 walk-
outs forced majority Dem-
ocrats to scuttle proposed
cap-and-trade legislation to
combat climate change and
shut down the short session.
Republican senators walked
out for one day in 2021;
Republicans in the House
were deterred from doing so
by a 2021 rule that set a maxi-
mum daily fi ne of $500 for an
unexcused absence.
The other measures,
both constitutional amend-
ments, were referred by the
2021 Legislature. One would
defi ne health care as a right;
the other would remove
slavery as a punishment for
crime.
State elections offi cials
will assign numbers to all
four measures. They will be
accomplished by explanatory
statements and fi scal analy-
ses — those are done by pan-
els — plus advocacy state-
ments submitted and paid for
by supporters and opponents.
The Legislature writes state-
ments for its own referrals.
The Oregon Capital
Bureau is a collaboration
between EO Media Group
and Pamplin Media Group.
Under the city’s rules, parklets can
no longer have covers, they must be
located at least 20 feet from a cross-
walk or street corner and they must be
a moveable structure. Street 14’s par-
klet is both covered and just one wide-
legged step away from a crosswalk. It
is also, city councilors noted, bolted to
the road.
“It’s a nice looking, stout structure
but it was done completely in violation
of city code and really in defi ance of the
City Council where he made the request
and was denied,” said Paul Benoit, the
interim city manager.
Benoit sees Lattek’s action as a one-
off moment and not necessarily a rea-
son to overhaul the entire parklet pilot
program.
But City Councilor Tom Hilton
thinks otherwise. He noticed the work
happening on Saturday and alerted
other offi cials. He said Lattek’s actions
were a “blatant display and disregard of
the city and citizens of the community.”
He wants to revisit the parklet program.
“We might have to develop a code
with some teeth in it,” he said.
This story is part of a collaboration
between The Astorian and Coast Com-
munity Radio.
facebook.com/DailyAstorian
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Camping: Draft includes a number of safeguards
Continued from Page A1
tarps, or small tents. The
City Council reviewed a
draft detailing places peo-
ple can and cannot sleep on
Monday night, along with a
map identifying the areas.
Interim City Manager
Paul Benoit said city staff ’s
focus has been to strike a
balance between the varying
interests and issues related
to homelessness and liva-
bility in the city while also
responding to the mandates.
“As we work through
this challenge, it is clear that
whether you are a person
experiencing homelessness,
an advocate of the homeless
or concerned Astoria resi-
dent, there’s no perfect solu-
tion that satisfi es all parties,”
he said. “And whatever we
do now will likely need to be
refi ned and adjusted as we
move forward in the future.”
‘The goal is not
enforcement’
Former Police Chief
Geoff Spalding, who moved
into a temporary, part-time
role since retiring, noted the
ordinance must be objec-
tively reasonable and take
into account details such as
proximity for a person to
get to and from services and
other necessities.
Spalding presented a
draft outlining two com-
ponents: camping on pub-
lic property and camping on
private property.
The draft lists public
places people cannot sleep,
which include parks, city
owned and maintained park-
ing lots, public restrooms,
residential zones, areas
underneath roads or bridges
that are not open to the pub-
lic and sidewalks where
6 feet of space cannot be
maintained.
People would also have
Lydia Ely/The Astorian
The city is evaluating potential locations for homeless camping.
to maintain at least 10 feet
of distance from building
entrances and stairwells.
The exclusions make
up the vast majority of the
city, leaving public rights of
way in commercial areas as
options.
Spalding said places
could be added or removed
from the exclusion list, but
it would require approval
by the City Council. He said
changes after adoption of the
ordinance would be done
through a more nimble pro-
cess that could be approved
by the council through a
resolution.
The second component
deals with camping on pri-
vate property. The City
Council has an option to
include a regulated camping
program that could allow
camping in parking lots of
churches, nonprofi ts and
businesses, and potentially
in vacant or abandoned com-
mercial or industrial proper-
ties with owner permission.
An earlier draft would
have allowed homeowners
to take part in the program,
but that has been taken off
the table.
Up to six people in three
vehicles or tents in any com-
bination could sleep on
the property. The property
owner would have to pro-
vide sanitary facilities, gar-
bage services and storage
areas. They would not be
allowed to collect payment.
The draft includes a num-
ber of safeguards, includ-
ing an appeal process and
the ability for the property
owner and city manager to
revoke permissions.
Spalding said commu-
nication with the homeless
population has started and
will continue after the ordi-
nance is adopted.
“My experience has been
— and I know will con-
tinue to be — we always
will use the most lenient,
compassionate and humane
approach to addressing these
issues,” he said. “There will
always be a grace period,
there will be an opportu-
nity to educate the individu-
als most likely impacted by
this ordinance and with the
goal of getting people into
services.
“The goal is not enforce-
ment,” he said. “The goal is
to reduce the calls for ser-
vice, make the community
feel safe and get individuals
the assistance they need.”
‘This isn’t a solution’
During public comment,
business owners asked ques-
tions and raised concerns
about camping on sidewalks
downtown in front of busi-
nesses. Some said it would
put a burden on business
owners.
Lisa Morley, a resident,
argued that it is not safe for
people to sleep outside and
on sidewalks along rights of
way. She said the compo-
nent detailing private camp-
ing puts property owners at
risk. She called for the city
to create a gated campsite
within city limits.
Teresa Barnes, the exec-
utive director of the Asto-
ria Warming Center, echoed
Morley’s comments. She
argued that the city has
shuffl ed the problem and
that instead of spending
money on creating the ordi-
nance, the resources should
be devoted to developing
housing.
“This isn’t a solution.
T his is a lack of a solution,”
she said. “And there are
solutions out there.”
Others argued that hous-
ing is the solution and that
the community cannot con-
tinue to turn down lower-in-
come housing projects like
the workforce housing pro-
posal at Heritage Square
earlier this year.
City Councilor Roger
Rocka addressed some of
the comments.
“I know that you are frus-
trated by homelessness,” he
said. “And I would say that
us sitting up here are prob-
ably at least as frustrated,
if not more, because it’s
our job to try to do some-
thing about it. And we can
feel so helpless in not being
able to make something big
happen.
“So we’re trying to do
what we can do. We’re nib-
bling at it around the edges,
because that’s what we got
for right now.”
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