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November 16, 2018
T he C olumbia P ress
Pacific Seafood: Housing idea worries neighbors
Continued from Page 1
Last month, the city’s Plan-
ning Commission unani-
mously approved the idea.
On Tuesday, the City Com-
mission held a public hearing
for it.
“This doesn’t solve our
problem with short-term
housing,” resident Loren
Gramson said. “This only
benefits Pacific Seafood in-
stead of the community (and
would be) a return to the days
of the company store.”
Dixie Dowaliby, who lives
nearby, questioned the plan’s
compatibility with nearby
homes and whether it would
affect the safety of neighbor-
hood children.
“What are we not think-
Peggy Yingst/The Columbia Press
The Pacific Fabricators building off Northwest Warrenton Drive
near 17th Place could be converted into an Alaska-style bunk-
house for Pacific Seafood employees.
ing about that we should be
thinking about,” she asked.
“We should think outside of
the box before we’re stuck in
a box we can’t get out of.”
Gil Gramson, who lives in
a housing development he
built adjacent to the pro-
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posed project, suggested the
city make it a conditional use
in the zone instead of an out-
right use.
“Restaurants, hotels, they
need housing too,” he said.
“This would set a precedent
in any zone.”
Commissioners agreed to
continue the public hearing
and requested the applicant
spell out details of their plan,
which would be posted on the
city’s website and Facebook
page. The company would
create a partnership agree-
ment with neighbors.
A town hall meeting, in
which residents can get infor-
mation from the city and Pa-
cific Seafood representatives,
would be set shortly after
Thanksgiving followed by a
final hearing before the com-
mission a few weeks later.
“We’re building (houses)
quicker than any other com-
munity and still we can’t keep
up,” Mayor Henry Balensifer
said. “This is bold experi-
mentation. Just because it’s
new and scary doesn’t mean
we shouldn’t try it.”
In the past, cannery work-
ers were longtime residents
able to buy houses in town,
Commissioner Pam Ackley
said. Changing demographics
requires a new way of looking
at housing.
“We just need more infor-
mation about how this will
look in our community,” Ack-
ley said.