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About Cannon Beach gazette. (Cannon Beach, Or.) 1977-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 9, 2016)
6A • September 9, 2016 | Cannon Beach Gazette | cannonbeachgazette.com Change could come to emergency Commission rejects short-term rental preparedness committee ordinance change Cannon Beach panel studies restructure Council could make inal decision on amendments By Lyra Fontaine Cannon Beach Gazette A proposed restructure of the Cannon Beach emergen- cy preparedness committee would make the city’s emer- gency manager, police chief, public works director, ire chief, Community Emergen- cy Response Team leader and Medical Reserve Corps leader permanent voting members. But will there be enough voices for residents? Committee chair Karolyn Adamson, who created the committee in 1999, said she strongly opposed the draft ordinance because it would reduce citizen input. “It’s ex- tremely important to keep this citizen advisory committee in effect as it is now,” Adamson said. “I think citizen commit- tees are the bedrock of democ- racy. People are starting to feel right now like they don’t have input in this city.” Three council-appointed community members and a nonvoting City Council liaison would complete the 10-mem- ber group, which would be renamed “emergency manage- ment committee” if the pro- posed ordinance is approved. At a work session last week, some members opposed the creation of one emergency management committee com- bining citizens and city staff. Others said bringing staff on board could beneit the com- mittee. Adamson said citizen in- volvement is key in neighbor- By Lyra Fontaine Cannon Beach Gazette LYRA FONTAINE/CANNON BEACH GAZETTE Paula Vetter, let, with Les Wierson, Police Chief Jason Schermerhorn and Karolyn Adam- son. hood outreach and recovery planning, as most city em- ployees do not live in Cannon Beach. City Manager and Emer- gency Manager Brant Kucera and Mayor Sam Steidel draft- ed the proposed ordinance. “If (staff) are going to have to carry out this work, we need to have input on the work,” Kucera said. “I have limited resources to do things. If we want to accomplish something, we need voices to say what we can or can’t accomplish.” Diferent views The committee — which provides evacuation planning, public education and advice to the council — has four com- munity members and Cannon Beach Rural Fire Protection District Chief Matt Benedict. “The way I see the restruc- turing is that it’s beneicial for the committee,” member Paula Vetter said. “We’ve gotten to a point where I think this com- mittee needs to grow. We have a lot of great ideas but we’re splintered.” Vetter said she would like the committee to have a long- term vision, and including city staff and the ire chief could help implement the commit- tee’s ideas. Member Herb Florer, a can- didate for City Council, said a “broad, general and long- range” citizen advisory com- mittee could coexist with the city’s emergency management command structure. “We’re looking at two dif- ferent things that are being combined into one and not very well,” he said, adding that residents will be crucial for education and long-term planning for the months and years after an emergency. “It does take citizen involvement for recovery and resiliency.” The committee would be “dead” if the changes are made, and the new group could be too large to effective- ly make decisions, member Les Wierson said. He suggest- ed splitting the committee into four divisions on emergency preparedness, incident com- mand, emergency preparations and recovery. “There are separate phases to disaster response,” Wierson said. “You can’t do everything in one committee.” Members pointed to the committee’s success in cre- ating evacuation routes and advising the council on topics like radios. Kucera said the city’s stra- tegic planning goals include a long-term disaster recovery plan, emergency response communications and water system resiliency. “It incorporates what all of you mentioned today,” he said. The proposed changes will be discussed again at a work session in late September. Gallery gets additional space Art Exhibit from Page 1A SUBMITTED PHOTO Aerial view of 532 N. Laurel St. in Cannon Beach. Nicholson gets green light Nicholson from Page 1A Harrison and others argued that the inal plan was incom- plete and failed to “indicate fully the ultimate operation and appearance of the devel- opment,” including what the constructed homes would look like, the inal opinion stated. The city’s lawyers and Nicholson described the de- tailed building plan, grading plan and landscaping measures. Petitioners also unsuccess- fully argued the City Council lacked jurisdiction to make a inal decision on Nicholson’s application, since the Plan- ning Commission denied the application. The appeals board af- irmed the council had author- ity to make a inal decision after holding a hearing on the application. The .57-acre property where Nicholson intends to rebuild the existing house and construct new homes, located at 532 N. Laurel St., has been for sale since April. Nicholson, who said he agreed to about 18 different conditions during the approv- al process, plans to build the driveway soon, then rebuild the old home. The timeline is uncertain due to costs from lawsuits by the Friends of Cannon Beach against the city, he said. natural world and personal- ity — one piece by Jacque- line Hurlbert is titled “Keep- ing Her Mischief in Check.” The works also include ig- ures of humans, animals and mythical creatures. Half of the artists are based in Oregon, and others hail from Washington and California. The exhibit will be on display until Oct. 16. Temporary new space Cannon Beach Gallery will also be temporarily expanding, using an addi- tional space in Sandpip- er Square for education, workshops and additional displays during October through December. “The space will give us an education area, studio Friday, Sept. 30 Cannon Beach Rural Fire Protec- tion District, 6 p.m., Fire-Rescue Main Station, 188 Sunset Ave. Cannon Beach Emergency Pre- paredness Committee, 10 a.m., City Hall, 163 E. Gower St. Tuesday, Sept. 13 Tuesday, Oct. 4 Cannon Beach City Council, 5:30 p.m., work session, City Hall, 163 E. Gower St. Cannon Beach City Council, 7 p.m., City Hall, 163 E. Gower St. Thursday, Sept. 15 Cannon Beach Parks Committee, 9 a.m., 163 E. Gower St. Experience Family Dining in a Relaxed & Friendly Environment Serving Seafood, Pizza, Sandwiches, Espressos, Beer, Wine, Ice Cream and our Homemade Desserts We have a fabulous patio where you can enjoy the weather and your meal. Cannon Beach Public Works Committee, 9 a.m., City Hall, 163 E. Gower St. Thursday, Sept. 22 Cannon Beach Planning Commis- sion, 6 p.m., City Hall, 163 E. Gower St. improper traps and drains. To minimize the smoke entering your house, pour water into all drains prior to the testing. The smoke is non-toxic, non- staining, non-lammable and is harmless to people, ani- mals, and plants. If you notice smoke in your house or on your prop- erty please report it immedi- ately to the personnel con- ducting the test or call the City of Cannon Beach Public Works Department at 503- 436-8068 or 503-0436-8048. Dining on the North Coast PIG ‘N PANCAKE 223 S Hemlock 503-436-2851 7AM - 3PM Daily From hashbrown potatoes ground fresh daily and award-winning sourdough pancakes to homemade soups and clam chowder, you’ll fi nd delicious family friendly dining at the Pig ‘N Pancake. Over 35 breakfast varieties and a complete lunch menu, too. Our dining area overlooks a beautiful wetland area and downtown Cannon Beach. 20 N. Columbia, Seaside 503-738-4331 Since 1976 discriminating diners have sought out this Seaside landmark. There’s a chalkboard fresh catchlist, exclusively natural Angus beef and a great regional wine list as well as local microbrews. From Steak & Lobster to Fish & Chips (and Chowder to die for) - this is worth the drive! 11am-10pm daily. Visit www.normasseaside.com 156 N. Hemlock • Cannon Beach 503.436.9551 Owned and Operated by the Cleary Family Cannon Beach’s Largest Selection of Oregon and Washington Wine! UPCOMING TASTINGS Monday, Sept. 19 Tuesday, Sept. 20 The City of Cannon Beach has contracted with Civil West Engineering Services to perform smoke testing of the sewer lines. Smoke testing is sched- uled to occur from Sept. 14 through Sept. 16. Smoke testing is a way to identify system leaks and locations where unwanted storm water is entering the sewer lines. During testing, residents may notice smoke entering the house through faulty or “TO-GO” Orders Welcome Cannon Beach Design Review Board, 6 p.m., City Hall, 163 E. Gower St. Ecola Creek Watershed Council, 4:30 p.m., City Hall, 163 E. Gower St. Sewer smoke-testing ahead NORMA’S SEAFOOD & STEAK PUBLIC MEETINGS Monday, Sept. 12 and workshop space and develop what we’ve tried to do in the gallery but ha- ven’t had space for,” Brum- ield said. “It’s exciting.” The arts association will organize a series of talks that will take place in the annex, which could be available for other arts-fo- cused events. “We want to have it as a vibrant, active space,” Brumield said. “If anyone needs to have a space for a workshop or demonstra- tion, that would be the kind of extra activity we would like to see there.” Later this fall, the space will host numerous work- shops aimed at helping art- ists share their experience in areas such as printmak- ing, photography, gallery representation, the arts market, art appraisal and more. The City Council hopes to make short-term rental regu- lations “clear and understand- able” by the end of the year. The city is working on code amendments to streamline permitting processes. A proposed change would stop short-term rental deci- sions from being considered land-use issues, shifting re- view from the Planning Com- mission to the City Council. The amendment seeks to make the permitting and ap- peals process smoother for property owners and admin- istrators, City Planner Mark Barnes said Tuesday. Appeals would likely go to Circuit Court instead of the Land Use Board of Appeals. Planning commissioners considered the change at their Aug. 25 meeting. “I believe that it would have a serious adverse effect on due process rights of local citizens on what is a very im- portant issue,” said Commis- sioner Lisa Kerr, who made a motion to deny the ordinance change. “I think the whole commu- nity should be more involved in that decision and you’re eliminating one of the steps,” Commissioner Robin Risley said. During public testimony, resident and City Council candidate Herb Florer said the consequences of the proposed change are uncertain and could “remove local avenues for hearings and appeals.” “Without full knowledge of the potential ramiications of the change, we feel that this is unnecessary,” Florer said. “I think there’s some value in streamlining and simplify- ing this process,” Barnes said at the meeting. Short-term rentals are more similar to business li- censes than planning or zon- ing decisions, he said. The Cannon Beach Plan- ning Commission voted to keep short-term rental regula- tions in the zoning ordinance. The council could reject the recommendation. The City Council will likely hold a work session in October to discuss more sub- stantive changes to the city’s short-term rental program. 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