January 16, 2015 | Cannon Beach Gazette | cannonbeachgazette.com • 3A
Proposal to pave streets causes dust-up
Councilors,
residents
worry about
maintaining
Cannon Beach’s
‘character’
By Nancy McCarthy
Th e Daily Astorian
A mild dust-up over a pro-
posal to pave some of Can-
non Beach’s gravel streets
occurred between city coun-
cilors during a work session
Jan 3.
Another work session will
occur to discuss the proposal,
and a public hearing will be
scheduled before any action
is taken on it, the council
promised.
Public Works Director
Dan Grassick hopes to en-
courage property owners
along the city’s abundant
gravel streets to pave those
that present ongoing mainte-
nance problems by having the
city pay 15 percent of the cost
of asphalt on projects initiat-
ed by local neighborhoods.
Projects initiated by the city
would be paid for by the city,
Grassick told the council.
The proposal also calls
for approval by 51 percent of
the neighborhood’s property
owners in projects initiated
by the neighbors before a lo-
cal street is paved. Residents
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posed street project by direct
mail; those not responding
within two weeks would be
considered in agreement with
the project. Payments from
property owners would be
due 30 days after the project
is completed, and those who
fail to pay would have a lien
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Before the project begins,
the public works department
would conduct a neighbor-
hood meeting to go over
designs, cost estimates and
schedule.
Grassick said he was
aiming at streets such as the
steep slope on North Lau-
rel Street between Fifth and
Sixth streets, a small portion
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curves or Viewpoint Terrace,
where washouts commonly
occur after heavy rains and
maintenance costs are high.
Other gravel roads in town
that are level and have rela-
tively few problems proba-
bly wouldn’t be targeted for
city-initiated projects, he said.
But Mayor Sam Steidel
and Councilor Mike Bene-
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They repeated what several
residents said in letters sent to
the city: Paved streets could
destroy Cannon Beach’s
character.
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ond homeowners who you
wouldn’t know if they got
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Instead of a simple ma-
jority of property owners, a
two-thirds majority would
be better, Steidel and Bene-
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Publisher
Steve Forrester
Editor
Nancy McCarthy
Reporter
Erick Bengel
Advertising Manager
Betty Smith
Councilor Mike Benefi eld
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teer movers — including
the Cannon Beach police
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well as Coaster Con-
struction — will meet at
the Cannon Beach Bible
Church, 264 Hills Lane,
at 9 a.m. that day, Edison
said.
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to help us, we’re more
than happy to accept
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be a good move for us,
so, hopefully, we will be
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she added.
Production Manager
John D. Bruijn
Circulation Manager
Samantha McLaren
Advertising Sales
Laura Kaim
Wendy Richardson
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However,
Councilor
George Vetter, said he enjoys
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don’t see that having a street
paved affects the town’s char-
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Councilor Melissa Cad-
wallader expressed concern
that paving a street would re-
quire widening it or removing
some of the neighborhood’s
landscaping and changing
many of the narrow, winding
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thoroughfares.
However, Grassick said
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would be maintained, even
if that meant winding around
a tree and maintaining a 12-
foot wide road.
Grassick added that few
residents have asked that the
city consider paving their
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he said.
‘This has the potential of creating
a lot of animosity’
Food Pantry plans
to open Jan. 28
The Cannon Beach
Food Pantry plans to
open in its new location,
the former library porta-
ble at the Cannon Beach
Elementary
School
property, Jan. 28.
The pantry will oper-
ate at its usual hours of
3 to 5 p.m., said Mol-
ly Edison, food pantry
manager.
Moving day is Jan.
24, and volunteers are
welcome to help the pan-
try move its food, shelv-
ing, tables, rolling carts,
freezers,
refrigerators
and other items into their
review board also should be
involved to give the commu-
nity a chance to discuss the
proposed paving of a local
street, the mayor added.
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to the city’s comprehensive
plan. The statement men-
tions the city’s gravel streets
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disrupting the character of
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MARNIE BEAMER PHOTO
Arch Cape residents and visitors prepare to celebrate New Year’s Day with the Polar Bear Plunge. Th is year, about 50
people took a quick, brisk dip in the ocean near south Arch Cape, just as they have for the past 50 years. A collection
of photos and news items commemorating the half-century of plunging will be published in 2015. Th ose interested
in learning more can contact Linda Murray at murraylapp@charter.net.
CANNON BEACH GAZETTE
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