T he C olumbia P ress
August 31, 2018
Public Safety Calls
Continued from Page 2
M ediCal Calls
• Male having seizure, 11:25 a.m.
Aug 20, 800 block Russell Drive.
• Male lift assist, 9 p.m. Aug.
20, 100 block Southwest Cedar
Avenue.
• Male with diabetic emergency,
2:08 a.m. Aug. 21, 0-100 block
East Harbor Drive.
• Female child having seizure,
8:16 p.m. Aug. 21, 0-100 block
Southeast First Street.
• Male with chest pain, 9:04 p.m.
Aug. 21, Fort Stevens State Park.
• Female with self-inflicted cuts
to arm, 3:14 a.m. Aug. 22, 900
block Lake Drive.
• Female who fell and hit head,
12:19 p.m. Aug. 23, 1700 block
Southeast Ensign Lane.
• Male who fell and can’t remem-
ber, 3:03 p.m. Aug. 23, 1000
block Iredale Street.
• Male with diabetic problem,
4:08 p.m. Aug. 23, 200 block
Southwest Alder Avenue.
• Female with breathing difficul-
ty, 10:21 p.m. Aug. 23, 100 block
Northwest Date Avenue.
• Female possibly not breathing,
10:10 a.m. Aug. 24, 200 block
Southwest Second Street.
• Male with difficulty breathing,
2:45 a.m. Aug. 24, Air Station
Astoria.
• Stand by at football game, 6
p.m. Aug. 24, Warrenton High
School.
• Female with unknown medical
problem, 8:17 p.m. Aug. 24, 900
block Fifth Avenue.
• Male who fell and is bleeding
from arm, 1:28 a.m. Aug. 25,
0-100 block Northeast Harbor
Court.
• Female with loss of conscious-
ness, 10:12 a.m. Aug. 25, 400
block Fleet Street.
• Male having seizure, 11:14 a.m.
Aug. 25, 400 block Fleet Street.
• Suicidal female, 6:53 p.m. Aug.
25, 500 block Iredale Street.
• Male with back pain, 12:03
a.m. Aug. 26, 1700 block Ensign
Lane.
• Male with third-degree burns
to hand, 1:50 p.m. Aug. 26, 1700
block Ensign Lane.
3
City struggles to craft policy on home-stay residences
The Columbia Press
There are more than a doz-
en Warrenton homes listed
with Airbnb, an online com-
pany that matches travelers
with available rooms in resi-
dents’ homes.
All those listings are illegal
in the city of Warrenton; cur-
rent city codes do not allow
them.
Finding a solution has cre-
ated a quandary for the City
Commission, which held a
workshop on home stays
Tuesday evening.
“We’re trying to be ahead of
the game -- pre-emptive – how-
ever you want to say it,” Com-
missioner Rick Newton said.
Other coastal communities,
including Cannon Beach,
Lincoln City and Manzani-
ta, have dealt with housing
problems after they’ve sur-
faced, he said.
Two Warrenton proper-
ty owners spoke about their
current and future plans
and what they hope to see
in the city’s home-stay rules,
should the city adopt them.
“I’m wondering what you’re
so concerned about,” said
Krista Bingham, who now
lives in Costa Rica but owns a
five-bedroom house in War-
renton. “If you’re already re-
ceiving room tax and bed tax
… (do you need) fines, inspec-
tions, approvals? I think the
city is biting off more than it
can chew. You’ll have to hire
someone to do those inspec-
tions.”
Lisa Lamping, who rents a
portion of her Main Avenue
property to visitors about 130
days per year, wanted to see
more dialogue and involve-
ment from residents.
“I really wish we could back
up the whole train,” Lamping
said. “My concern is that one
size does not always fit all.”
Commissioners agreed the
new rules would require those
offering home-stay rooms to
obtain a city business license,
provide adequate off-street
parking and have a designat-
ed person in charge on the
premises.
While Warrenton hasn’t
had the problem of other cit-
ies, allowing home stays with-
in the city requires the des-
ignation to be added to city
codes with enforceable rules
in place, City Manager Linda
Engbretson said.
Setting limits on vacation
and home-stay properties is
important because there is
an available housing crises
in Clatsop County, Commis-
sioner Tom Dyer said.
“When we can’t find housing
for people and we’re trying to
draw businesses, we have to
have places for them to live,”
Dyer said.
“If we don’t license it some
way, … it becomes a problem
for all the neighbors and the
city,” Commissioner Mark
Baldwin said. “I don’t want
to control anybody. I want to
know what’s going on with
my neighborhood.”
The policy on home-stay
residences will return to the
City Commission at a future
meeting.
Tax appeals board needs members
The Clatsop County Board
of Commissioners seeks ap-
plications from people inter-
ested in serving on the Board
of Property Tax Appeals for
the 2018-19 term.
The board hears petitions
from taxpayers who want to
decrease the real market or
assessed value of their real
and personal property.
Applicants should have a
working knowledge of the lo-
cal real estate market, both
residential and commercial,
be willing to participate in
public hearings and be able
to make reasonable decisions
with the parties in attendance.
Those with mediation skills
or backgrounds in real estate
appraisal, financing or relat-
ed are especially sought.
Applicants must be county
residents, but can’t be em-
ployees of the county or of
any of its taxing districts.
The Clatsop County Com-
mission makes appointments
to a pool, from which the
County Clerk selects three
people to serve on BOPTA.
Training is provided in Jan-
uary. The committee holds
several meetings beginning
the first Monday in February
to hear petitions. The com-
mittee adjourns no later than
April 15, with the term ending
June 30, 2019.
Applications, due Sept. 13,
are available on the coun-
ty website or at the County
Manager’s Office, 800 Ex-
change St., Suite 410, Astoria.