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About Cannon Beach gazette. (Cannon Beach, Or.) 1977-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 26, 2016)
February 26, 2016 | Cannon Beach Gazette | cannonbeachgazette.com • 5A LETTERS Rename Broadway I think Broadway in Sea- side should be renamed Jason Goodding Way. It’s where he patrolled, it’s where he gave his life, it’s the heart of the city, it’s where he will be re- membered now and forever. Jim Spurr Cannon Beach In support of cottage homes As a broker and resident of Cannon Beach, I would like to compliment the Can- non Beach City Council on taking a stand supporting the development of cottage style homes on the Nicholson property on Laurel. The City of Cannon Beach has been able to maintain its charm and property values because of its uniqueness. By not allowing big box stores and corporate retail places like Starbucks we have attracted visitors and property owners who wish to escape to a distinctive village atmosphere on the coast. What does not make sense is why it is taking two years and hundreds of thousands of dollars to be allowed to build normal size cottage style homes in a R2 residen- tial zone. Is it not simpler and less costly to simply follow the Comprehensive Plan? The City Council could send a positive message to the community in support of maintaining our quaint cot- tage style homes by having a method in place for property owners to get approvals in R2 zones for normal sized houses. It is extremely unfortunate to have a Planning Commission who wants to limit the options for property owners to only be able to build a McMansion style dwelling, which does not follow the City of Cannon Beach’s Comprehensive Plan. Furthermore, it promotes the disturbing long-term trend of the destruction of historic scale cottages to only be re- placed with sprawling estates — completely out of touch with what has made Cannon Beach the most desired des- tination on the Oregon coast. Ted Wood Cannon Beach Homeowner has met requirements I have had property in the north end of Cannon Beach for 25 years. I love Cannon Beach and will retire fulltime there someday. About two years ago, I saw 532 N. Lau- rel St. come up for sale. I had noticed that property since I was a child with the two gigantic, old-growth spruce trees and the stately old cot- tage that you see from the beach. Some of my acquain- tances in town told me that the people making offers on the place planned to replace the 101-year-old home with a gi- gantic new house. This didn’t make any sense to me because the property totals 25,000 square feet in an R2 zone that calls for 5,000-square- foot lots. In fact, the property was already platted in 1890 with 5,000-square-foot lots. I called the city and was told that the new purchaser could build a single 15,000-square- foot house anywhere on the property within the normal setbacks with no variance or public process whatsoever. One can easily see the devas- tating effect a home like that would have on the neighbor- ing properties. My own beach house being only two blocks away. Too many family-sized homes have been replaced with “McMansions” in Can- non Beach over the last 20 years. I do not like that word, but I don’t have a better one to describe the phenomenon. You see an old house on the block disappear and a new house pop up that is many times larger than any other house on the block. I decid- ed to buy 532 N. Laurel and put three normal-sized homes on the existing historic lots and rebuild the 101-year-old place. This ¿ts in perfectly with the neighborhoods of Cannon Beach and with the feel that I like about Cannon Beach. Since buying the property, I have been in the land use process for over a year and a half. This seems excessive since a 15,000-square-foot home is permitted on the site with no public process. How- ever, I have gone through every step of the process and provided the city with ev- erything required under the city’s code. The City Coun- cil approved a four-home planned development for the site last year, which Oregon’s We have a fabulous patio where you can enjoy the weather and your meal. “TO-GO” Orders Welcome 156 N. Hemlock • Cannon Beach 503.436.9551 TWO LOCATIONS SEASIDE & HILLSBORO FREE CONSULTATION • Dentures for all ages, New, Partials and Custom Dentures • Dentures for implants • Relines & Repairs • Denture repairs done same day! • Personal service and attention to detail P.S. Also enjoy a wave cleanse steam shower and saltwater pool access on us! *Please bring your North Coast ID. Is published monthly by the City of Cannon Beach ')QYGT5VTGGVr|21$QZr%CPPQP$GCEJ14 r|(CZr|66; %KV[%QWPEKN4GIWNCT/GGVKPI RO %KV[%QWPEKN9QTM5GUUKQP RO &GUKIP4GXKGY$QCTF RO 2NCPPKPI%QOOKUUKQP RO CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING, February 2, 2016 • Approved a new bank account with Columbia Bank; • Approved the Parks & Trails Master Plan Services Agreement; • Approved the Water Master Plan Services Agreement; • Approved the Wastewater Master Plan Services Agreement. CITY COUNCIL TEAM BUILDING SESSION, February 6, 2016 Facilitator Jan Carothers led a team building session for the City Council and City Manager. CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION, February 9, 2016 • City Manager introduced the new Receptionist/Court Clerk, Samantha Palmieri; • HRAP Coordinator Melissa Keyser introduced the new Haystack Rock Awareness Program summer staff; • Finance Director Laurie Sawrey presented the second quarter FYE 2016 financial report; • City Planner Mark Barnes presented an update on the Ecola Creek Forest Reserve; • City Planner Mark Barnes presented information regarding a forestry grant; • City Planner Mark Barnes proposed some Planning Department ‘house keeping’ measures that need to be made; • Public Works Director Dan Grassick led a (14;174+0(14/#6+10 /#;145CO5VGKFGN %170%+.1459GPF[*KIIKPU /GNKUUC%CFYCNNCFGT/KMG $GPGƂGNF)GQTIG8GVVGT %+6;/#0#)'4$TCPV-WEGTC NOTICE OF VACANCIES CITY COMMISSIONS, BOARDS & COMMITTEES MARCH 2016 See Letters, Page 6A 503-436-0366 | elementsbythesea.com M U N I C I PA L M E M O MEETINGS On March 1, the Cannon Beach City Council will make a ¿nal decision on Jeff Nichol- son’s proposal to build a four unit Planned Unit Develop- ment on the north end of Can- non Beach. As neighbors of his property and members of the Friends of Cannon Beach, we believe it is imperative that the council uphold the applica- ble city codes and consider the clear and decisive recommen- dations of the Planning Com- mission. Because city codes gov- erning steep slopes prevented the applicant from developing this small, half-acre parcel as a regular development, Mr. Nich- olson threatened the city with legal action. He was then of- fered the chance to resubmit his plan as a PUD. Unfortunately, he doesn’t want to follow those rules, either, and is still trying to gain approval as though this were a regular housing devel- opment. It isn’t. He applied as a PUD. As planning commis- sioner Lisa Kerr stated, “This doesn’t comply with the pur- pose and intent of the Planned Unit Development code in the least… it’s just a housing devel- opment in disguise.” In order to deal with Mr. Nicholson’s threats and assist him with his PUD request, pub- lic records show that the city has already spent approximate- ly $30,000 of taxpayer money to compensate the city’s land Get 20% off any treatment at Elements Spa! 740 Ave H • Ste 2 • Seaside 232 NE Lincoln • Ste B • Hillsboro February 2016 Group against development Live Local? 45 Years of Experience Open Wednesday and Friday • 9-4:30 • 503-738-7710 Owned and Operated by the Cleary Family the City of Cannon Beach Comprehensive plan. Below are provisions from the Cannon Beach Compre- hensive Plan Vision State- ment: “Cannon Beach will con- tinue to be a small town where the characteristics of a village are fostered and pro- moted. Both the physical and social dimensions associated with a village will be integral to Cannon Beach’s evolution during the next two decades.” The elements of the town’s physical form, which the plan will foster are: “Buildings that are gener- ally small in scale and appro- priate to their setting,” and “A rustic streetscape that permits informal private landscaping and irregular lines to roadway improvements.” As you can see, the building of normal, cottage-sized homes on 50-by-100-foot historic lots are just like the other existing homes in the neighborhood and they would ¿t in exactly with what is called for by the Com- prehensive Plan. My proposal meets ev- ery code requirement as pre- viously determined by the council and LUBA. Nothing has changed in my proposal from the plan that was previ- ously approved. I do not ask for any special treatment from the city, but I do hope and ex- pect that the City Council will follow its code in reaching its ¿nal decision on my applica- tion. Jeff Nicholson Portland ROBERT CAIN LD, Experience Family Dining in a Relaxed & Friendly Environment Serving Seafood, Pizza, Sandwiches, Espressos, Beer, Wine, Ice Cream and our Homemade Desserts Land Use Board of Appeals LUBA af¿rmed. I am now in the third and ¿nal stage of the approval process. It was disappointing that the Plan- ning Commission recently disregarded both the City Council’s and LUBA’s prior decisions on the project and recommended that the coun- cil deny my application at this very last stage. I have been delayed for almost two years and spent a half of a million dollars in order to build nor- mal-sized homes at a lesser density than exists in most of this R2 residential neighbor- hood. The City Council and LUBA previously rejected many of the reasons offered by the Planning Commission for recommending denial. It truly borders on the ab- surd to think of the amount of resources that were spent — by both the city and my- self — to simply build a normal-sized home in an R2 residential zone in complete accordance to the City of Cannon Beach Comprehen- sive Plan. The Planning Commission and the small group called “Friends of Cannon Beach” are anything but that. They would limit homeowners’ options for historic lots such as these to a single, large Mc- Mansion. What is the motive of these misguided groups? They certainly do not come close to representing what the vast majority of Cannon Beach wants and they certain- ly are not in alignment with discussion of proposed changes to the City Hall building and parking lot. EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT - • The City has hired a new Receptionist/ Municipal Court Clerk. Samantha Palmieri began work at City Hall on Monday, January 4, 2016; • City Councilors participated in a Team Building session which took the place of the annual goal setting. Goals will be set at the Strategic Planning scheduled for later in the spring; • The Citizen Survey will be mailed to every household in Cannon Beach soon. The results of this survey will help the City draft its Strategic Plan. DESIGN REVIEW BOARD - At their February 18, 2016 meeting the DRB discussed: • DRB 16-01, City of Cannon Beach application for installation of a hand carved “welcoming pole” in the northwest corner of NeCus’ Park. Approved with Conditions • DRB 16-02, City of Cannon Beach application for landscape modifications adjacent to the pump station building located at the southwest corner of Spruce and Second Streets. Approved with Conditions PLANNING COMMISSION - Scheduled to meet February 24, 2016 at 6:00pm The City of Cannon Beach is seeking applications for the following vacancies: EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS COMMITTEE: THREE (3) vacancies The primary responsibility of the Emergency Preparedness Committee is to plan emergency response on a city-wide basis and make recommendations to the City Council. The Emergency Preparedness Committee holds its regular meetings on the last Friday of each month at 10:00 a.m. and may schedule work sessions as needed. PLANNING COMMISSION: ONE (1) vacancy The seven-member Planning Commission’s primary responsibility is to review and consider land use matters and make determinations and recommendations regarding appropriate and orderly physical development of the City through the application of accepted standards and criteria. The term of office is four years. The Planning Commission holds its regular meeting on the fourth Thursday of each month at 6:00 p.m. and work sessions are scheduled monthly as needed. TOURISM & ARTS COMMISSION: One (1) vacancy. The seven-member Tourism and Arts Commission develops grant guidelines and procedures and distributes and accounts for the monies in the “Tourism and Arts Fund” which are to be used by local non-profit groups to promote tourism and the arts in Cannon Beach. Each member shall have experience in one or more of the following areas: public relations, marketing, advertising, tourism, lodging, promotions, events promotion, art and/or publicity. The Tourism and Arts Commission holds its meetings as needed. Note: Tourism and Arts Commission applicants are not required to reside in Cannon Beach and are eligible if he or she has worked, at least part-time, within the City of Cannon Beach for at least one year immediately preceding appointment. To be eligible to serve on a City committee, applicants must have resided within the city or its urban growth boundary during the one year immediately preceding appointment; or at the time of appointment, shall have owned real property located within the city or its urban growth boundary for at least one year immediately preceding appointment. Applications are available at City Hall, 163 E. Gower Street, Cannon Beach, by email addressed to riggs@ ci.cannon-beach.or.us, or on-line at www.ci.cannon-beach.or.us. Applications should be returned to Colleen Riggs, City Recorder, Cannon Beach City Hall, and P.O. Box 368, Cannon Beach, OR 97110. For more information, please contact Colleen Riggs by email or phone at (503) 436-8052. Community Grants Community Grants Applications are available at Cannon Beach City Hall or online at www. ci.cannon-beach.or.us Community Grants are available for Non-profit organizations providing programs/projects in arts, educational, recreational, environmental, community, or social services in Cannon Beach. Applications must be received at City Hall no later than 2:00 p.m. Wednesday, April 20, 2016. For more information contact Jennifer Barrett at (503) 436-8048. Tourism & Arts Fund Grants Tourism and Arts Fund Grant Applications will be available at Cannon Beach City Hall or online at www.ci.cannon-beach.or.us beginning March 2, 2016. Non-profit organizations providing programs/projects that further tourism and the arts in Cannon Beach are invited to apply. Applications must be received at City Hall no later than 2:00 pm, Wednesday, May 4, 2016. For more information contact Colleen Riggs at (503) 436-8052. Focus on Preparedness Forum The City of Cannon Beach and the Oregon Office of Emergency Management urge you to attend this forum on Thursday, March 3, 2016 at the Chamber of Commerce Community Hall: 5:30pm to 7:00pm. It is free. Local and state guest speakers will help you understand how you can be ready in the event of a major disaster. Also, you find out how you may be able to help others through the newly established Cannon Beach Medical Reserve Corps. See you at the forum!
