The Columbia Press 1 50 ¢ Clatsop County’s Independent Weekly www.thecolumbiapress.com City signs up for e-permits, a boon to builders January 29, 2021 Crime rate drops, thanks to pandemic By Cindy Yingst The Columbia Press The Columbia Press Contractors who do work in War- renton will have an easier way of ob- taining building permits soon. The city is joining the state’s e-per- mit program. Clatsop County joined a year ago. In addition to making it easier for contractors, the program should also lessen the load for one of the county’s smallest planning departments. “The whole department is pretty ex- cited about the process,” City Manag- er Linda Engbretson said. “We wait- ed until the county had put it in place and worked out some of the bugs, so we’re ready to move forward.” The e-permit system was developed in 2008 and allows contractors to ap- ply for building permits online, there- by making the process more flexible and lessening the need for on-duty city staff at all hours. Nearly 50 cities and 29 of Oregon’s 36 counties use the system. “In my first term, I heard a lot of complaints about the planning direc- tor,” City Commissioner Rick Newton See ‘E-permits’ on Page 7 Vol. 5, Issue 5 Walmart accounted for 34 percent of Warrenton’s police calls. Walmart Fred Meyer Costco The pandemic likely contributed to a de- crease in crime during 2020, Warrenton’s po- lice chief said. There were fewer opportunities for bad be- havior, such as drunken driving, because eat- ing and drinking establishments were closed, fewer tourists were in town, and residents were asked to stay home. Traffic collisions and other infractions took a 34 percent dip, going from 2,461 in 2019 to 1,629 in 2020. “I see this as a direct effect of the pandemic, with fewer people on the roadways during the tourist season, a change in patrol tactics mak- ing fewer stops at the beginning of the pan- demic, moratoriums on expired plates, etc.,” Chief Matt Workman wrote in his annual re- port, which he presented to city commission- ers at their Tuesday night meeting. The department also was short-staffed throughout the year, which meant there were fewer officers handling traffic calls, he said. Instances of drunk or drugged driving dropped 35 percent, from 46 in 2019 to 30 last year. “Again, this can be attributed to the same reasons for the decrease in traffic events,” Workman said. Even drug offenses were down in 2020 See ‘Crimes’ on Page 4