January 2, 2015 | Cannon Beach Gazette | cannonbeachgazette.com • 5A
Rocky roads may get smoothed out
Council considering
‘joint-venture’
program to pave
over gravel roads
By Erick Bengel
Cannon Beach Gazette
Residents who live in Cannon
Beach neighborhoods with gravel
streets may soon be able to get their
streets paved — with the city foot-
ing a portion of the bill.
The City Council is considering
a “gravel street renovation policy”
(still in draft form) that would set
up a joint-venture paving program
between residents and the city. The
policy would allow property owners
to petition the public works depart-
ment to pave their streets, pro-
vided that all of the property
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ly contribute to the paving
project agree on how to cover
their end of the costs.
Conceivably, “if you had
eight to 10 people on a block,
you could have one or two
property owners pay for the whole
thing under this kind of a construct,”
Public Works Director Dan Grass-
ick said.
More than 50 percent of the af-
fected property owners, however,
would need to consent to the project
as well. “They don’t all have to pay,
but they have to agree that they want
to have their streets paved,” he said.
For its part, the city would con-
tribute between 15 and 25 percent
of the contractor costs for laying the
asphalt.
Until 1993, the city had a similar
“fair share” program, built into its
comprehensive plan, where the city
paid 50 percent of paving costs. The
council decided to discontinue the
program because of “funding lim-
itations,” Grassick wrote in a staff
report.
Since then, gravel streets have
been paved in town only
during new development or the ex-
tension of subdivisions, like in the
Haystack Heights neighborhood, he
said.
The council discussed an early
draft of the policy at its Dec. 9 spe-
cial meeting and will continue dis-
cussion at its work session Jan.13.
If the council approves the pol-
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mented as early as February, Gras-
sick said.
North-end proposal
Property owners in the north end,
midtown and Tolovana have already
approached the city, asking what it
would take to pave their streets,
Grassick said. A few live in sloped
areas where gravel roads present
some danger to drivers.
In the north end of town, Les
Wierson is one of two homeowners
on Eighth Avenue — a gravel road
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proposing to have the avenue paved
between the intersections of Oak
and Ash streets.
If their plan comes to pass, Wi-
erson and his neighbors may see
Eighth Avenue become a 15-foot-
wide, two-lane asphalt road, he said.
Having a paved street in place
of a gravel one will likely reduce
instances of gravel plugging up cul-
verts and storm drains in the area, he
said.
Wierson’s engineering career
taught him that “it’s more costly to
maintain a gravel street than it is to
maintain an asphalt street,” he said.
He and the other homeowner
involved in spearheading the north-
end paving project plan to discuss
the proposal with their neighbors on
Eighth Avenue and Oak Street “to
make sure they’re OK with it,” he
said.
The policy objective is not to pave all of the city’s remaining gravel
streets. ‘There are a few gravel streets that are perfectly fi ne.’
Public Works Director Dan Grassick
Maintenance headaches
The public works department car-
ried out a complete road evaluation
in summer 2013. Of the 26 miles of
streets in Cannon Beach, about 4.5
of those miles are still gravel roads,
Grassick said.
The policy objective is not to pave
all of the city’s remaining gravel
streets. “There are a few gravel streets
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during the winter or dust up during
the summer will probably be left
alone, he said.
The paving policy is for the grav-
el streets that, from a maintenance
standpoint, are “a constant headache
for us.” For example, a short, uphill
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Street at the bottom of the S-curves
spreads rocks across Hemlock Street
every time it rains.
Paving projects are intend-
ed “to solve localized prob-
lems,” Grassick said. A newly
paved street “will connect
to existing pavement, and it
would be an extension of ex-
isting asphalt network.”
Swigart land parcel would ‘augment the reserve’
Ecola from Page 1A
money will become avail-
able next November or De-
cember, he said.
The city has not yet done
an appraisal on the Swigart
property. And, though City
Manager Brant Kucera has
received the Swigarts’ per-
mission to apply for the grant,
the parties have not discussed
the price or terms of the land
purchase, Barnes said.
The property’s assessed
value hovers at around
$60,000, he added.
The 29-acre L-shaped
parcel, on the east side of
U.S. Highway 101, abuts
the 1,040-acre forest reserve
and spans Ecola Creek in the
lower watershed area. The
property would “augment the
reserve” and connect it to the
15-acre wetlands area of the
city’s old treatment plant, said
Mayor Mike Morgan.
The grant program re-
quires a 25 to 32 percent
match from the city, which
can be met using local funds
and/or funds from the wa-
tershed board, according to
the staff report. Much of the
Ecola Creek Forest Reserve
Property was purchased with
assistance from the watershed
board, Barnes wrote.
The city estimates a six-
month time frame between
receiving the funds and clos-
ing the sale on the property,
according to the letter of in-
terest.
utary to Ecola Creek) that no
longer functions and is a bar-
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ner Mark Barnes said. Part of
the grant would pay for the
culvert’s removal.
“Removing these pipes
is as much about restoring
proper channel function as it
is about guaranteeing long-
term passage for migratory
salmonids,” the stewardship
plan says.
The city anticipates being
able to remove the culvert and
beginning other restoration
work within 18 months of
purchasing the property. The
Fish passage barrier
restoration will involve work-
The Ecola Creek Forest ing with U.S. Fish and Wild-
Reserve Stewardship Plan life and its state counterpart;
LGHQWL¿HV WKH 6ZLJDUW SDUFHO undergoing a permitting pro-
as “an area of real interest,” cess through the U.S. Army
Morgan said.
Corps of Engineers and the
Within the parcel lies Oregon Department of State
an old steel double-culvert Lands; and coordinating with
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of the few privately owned
parcels between the high-
way and the reserve, he
noted.
He added that the parcel
would provide more imme-
diate access to the reserve,
allowing people to cross the
highway and walk into the
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wildlife viewing and other
activities, he said.
“Cannon Beach’s forest
reserve is becoming a mod-
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want to protect water quali-
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Manzulli said.
Though the city had
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the city should look into ac-
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Swigarts had expressed in-
terest in selling it and were
amenable to the idea. The
property does not include
the Sea Ranch RV Park or
the stables, which also are
owned by the Swigarts.
Attempts by the Gazette
to reach the Swigarts were
unsuccessful.
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management company).
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city listed as a stakeholder
and one of its key partners
in managing the watershed,
“wholeheartedly
supports
the proposed 29-acre acqui-
sition,” council Chairman
Mike Manzulli said.
“Any time you can ac-
quire riparian areas and set
them aside for protection, it
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pecially the endangered coho
salmon,” he said. “Anything
(the city) can do to protect
its habitat will ensure (the)
health of the species.”
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