JANUARY 1, 2016 • VOL. 40, ISSUE 1
WWW.CANNONBEACHGAZETTE.COM
COMPLIMENTARY COPY
Planner deems Nicholson project ‘complete’
Residents blast
four-unit subdivision
By Andrew Tonry
Cannon Beach Gazette
Despite
critical
setbacks
including decisions by City Hall
and the state’s Land Use Board of
Appeals, the neighborhood group
Friends of Cannon Beach remains
opposed to Portland developer
Jeff Nicholson’s proposed four-
unit subdivision. Their words
deserve to be heard, planning
commissioners asserted Dec. 21,
as they left a public hearing on
the proposed developed at 532 N.
Laurel St. open for further com-
ment.
In an application process that is
entering its second year, Nichol-
son seeks to turn a 24,800-square-
foot lot with a 100-year-old cot-
tage into four family-sized homes.
Among those speaking in op-
position at the meeting was Rex
Amos, who drew laughs with the
assertion that Nicholson’s attor-
ney, Will Rasmussen, was “so
smooth he could slide on barbed
wire.”
Amos added: “The applicant
says he loves trees. He’s been
¿ ned for illegally limbing his
trees.”
“I would like to make a com-
ment about the retaining wall,”
resident Tommy Huntington said.
“The pictures that were submitted
make it look like the Berlin Wall.”
“I was there when they devel-
oped Chapman Point,” Hunting-
ton added. “That was all pile driv-
ing and that damaged the majority
of the homes.”
Mike Capper also spoke in
opposition, and of pile-driving.
Some years ago he developed
two houses directly abutting the
proposed development at 532 N.
Laurel St. Capper remembered
seeing those piles being pounded
into place.
“The piles disappeared into
that sand like toothpicks into
whipped cream,” Capper said. “I
saw all 17 of those pilings disap-
pear.”
Since his own development,
Capper said there are no known
problems with the current struc-
tural integrity of those buildings.
See Nicholson, Page 10A
Alliance urges
‘collaborative’
dune-grading
approach
CANNON BEACH DOWNTOWN
Wintry Nights,
Holiday Lights
Breakers Point homeowners
to ‘regroup’ in new year
By Dani Palmer
Cannon Beach Gazette
GEORGE VETTER/
FOR CANNON BEACH GAZETTE
Cannon Beach
celebrates the
holidays with lights
and greenery.
By Andrew Tonry
Cannon Beach Gazette
O
n the North Coast this time of year, the night sky
can almost appear as dark as a vacuum. But for
the month of December, Cannon Beach twinkled.
As a part of Cannon Beach in Lights near-
ly every downtown business strung up lines of colorful
holiday bulbs, as well as window displays and other
seasonally festive decorations.
Some really got into the spirit — it was, after all, a
contest.
As decided by a public vote, the Hallmark Resort
was awarded top honors amongst competing business-
es. Their multi-tiered installation included a glowing
snowman, piles of wrapped presents, wreathes, and an
animated display featuring reindeer and a jumping frog.
“I was delighted to hear that we won,” said Hallmark
General Manager Kirby Blankenship. “A lot of the staff
here really enjoy decorating for Christmas. We really
enjoy making the place as festival as possible.”
See Lights, Page 10A
ANDREW TONRY PHOTO/CANNON BEACH GAZETTE
Window detail of a holiday lights and a snowman at
Hallmark in Cannon Beach.
Cannon Beach has decided not to ad-
dress foredune grading for the moment,
but the battle over whether it should be
permitted or not continues.
In November, Frank and Janet Pat-
rick, along with multiple other Breakers
Point homeowners, ¿ led an application
to grade 75,000 cubic yards of sand
from the northwestern and southern
land boundaries of the property. In their
application, they stated land owners and
their guests “cannot access the beach
adjacent to the property due to impass-
able slopes created by drifting dunes ar-
ti¿ cially created through the planting of
invasive European dune grass.”
City Planner Mark Barnes sent the
homeowners a letter stating the appli-
cation was incomplete due to a number
of factors. These included the need to
address foredune grading in the ocean-
front management overlay zone stan-
dards, comprehensive plan polices and
to receive permission from other home-
owners if their request was the same as
a previous Breakers Point Homeowners
Association request.
Cameron La Follette, executive di-
rector of the Oregon Coast Alliance,
said her organization was disappointed
by the latest application.
“It’s important work. It should be
collaborative,” she said. “The new ap-
plication, that’s not working together.”
She and others in opposition have
said the city should be allowed to com-
plete more research and update its sand
management plan before any further
dune -grading projects are approved.
Cannon Beach’s last plan was com-
pleted in 1997 and expired in 2008. La
PAID
Taking care of community
PERMIT NO. 97
ASTORIA, OR
PRSRT STD
US POSTAGE
See Dunes, Page 10A
Cannon Beach American Legion Christmas Basket
program delivers food, toys to serve up holiday cheer
By Katherine Lacaze
EO Media Group
KATHERINE LACAZE/EO MEDIA GROUP
Volunteers Don Boehm and Heidi Lent, with the Cannon
Beach American Legion Post 168, unload boxes of food at
the Shorewood Apartments on Dec. 23 as part of the orga-
nization’s annual Christmas Basket Program.
Sometimes a lot of vol-
unteers show up to help
with American Legion Post
168’s Community Christ-
mas Basket Program; some-
times only a handful partic-
ipate. But without fail, they
get the job done, delivering
several dozen boxes of food
and toys to low-income
households
throughout
Cannon Beach to brighten
the holiday season.
Preparation for the annu-
al program started Dec. 20,
and during the next few days,
food and other supplies were
brought to the American Le-
gion and put into assembled
boxes, or the “Christmas
baskets.” At the break of
dawn Dec. 23, legion mem-
bers gathered to distribute the
boxes at the Elk Creek Ter-
race Apartments, the Shore-
wood Apartments and other
households throughout town.
Don Boehm, who has
participated since 1977 and
oversees the program, said
most volunteers “look for-
ward to” helping with the
program and come back time
and again. However, plan-
ning for how many volun-
teers will help deliver each
year “is a crapshoot,” he said.
“I’ve learned, whoever
shows up, just to make it
work,” he added.
In past years — the le-
gion has done the program
“for many, many years
now,” Post Commander
Dan O’Reilly said — Cub
Scout Pack 540, Cannon
Beach Fire and Rescue,
the Seaside Police Depart-
ment, Seaside High School
and other groups have sent
volunteers to help on distri-
bution day. This year, the
helpers were few, but all
the recipients got their box-
es ahead of Christmas Eve.
See Baskets, Page 7A