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About Cannon Beach gazette. (Cannon Beach, Or.) 1977-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 2, 2016)
DECEMBER 2, 2016 • VOL. 40, ISSUE 25 WWW.CANNONBEACHGAZETTE.COM COMPLIMENTARY COPY South County clash over Oregon timber lawsuit Former mayor wants county to say no to joining By Lyra Fontaine Cannon Beach Gazette Former Cannon Beach Mayor Mike Morgan wants the City Council to encourage Cannon Beach awaits fi rst pot retailer Retail ban is defeated by only 10 votes By R.J. Marx Cannon Beach Gazette Inquiries yes, but appli- cations have yet to be fi led in Cannon Beach for a retail cannabis outlet. Voters knocked down a re- tail cannabis prohibition at the polls on Election Day. By vot- ing “no” to prohibition, they green-lighted the retail licens- ing of cannabis dispensaries in Cannon Beach. The vote was 446 against prohibition and 436 in its favor. Cannon Beach voters also approved a 3 percent local tax on recreational marijuana sales to support public safety. City Recorder Colleen Riggs said there were no retail license applications fi led yet, but she had received calls for information. Applications would be fi led through the Planning Department, “which would determine whether or not it meets the intent of the zon- ing,” City Manager Brant Kucera said, followed by a land-use compatibility pro- cess. The Cannon Beach City Council voted in July to re- strict marijuana sales to three separate commercial zones. Under the ordinance, retailers could operate downtown from Ecola Creek south to Wash- ington Street, midtown from Harrison Street south to Elliot Way and in Tolovana Park from Delta Street south to the Sandcastle Condominiums. In 2014, marijuana-legal- ization Measure 91 passed with 63 percent of the vote in Cannon Beach. In July, a group of residents gathered 155 certifi ed signatures and successfully brought forth Measure 4-179, asking vot- ers whether recreational sales should be banned. PAID PERMIT NO. 97 ASTORIA, OR PRSRT STD US POSTAGE See Pot, Page 3A Mike Morgan Lianne Th ompson the Clatsop C ounty Board of Commissioners to opt out of a $1.4 billion lawsuit against the state over timber revenue . Morgan also plans to ap- proach Seaside and Gearhart with resolutions against coun- ty involvement in the lawsuit. The class action suit, fi led by Linn County on behalf of 15 counties, including Clat- sop, claims the state has not maximized revenue from tim- ber harvests on land it manag- es for the counties. “From an environmental standpoint, I think it’s un- wise,” Morgan said. Morgan’s draft resolution states that the lawsuit, if suc- cessful, “could undo the exist- ing forest management plan, with the intent of permitting more intensive timber harvest- ing to generate additional reve- nue for taxing districts.” The Northwest Oregon State Forest Management Plan is based on structure-based management, which is de- signed to “produce and main- tain an array of forest stand structures across the land- scape” that provide social, economic and environmental benefi ts. It was adopted in 2010 after a public involvement process and two scientifi c reviews. “An adopted plan is a plan,” Morgan said. “It’s not just a negotiating tool. It should be taken seriously.” Morgan served as mayor when Cannon Beach acquired a parcel from the state Depart- ment of Forestry that added 800 acres to the Ecola Creek Forest Reserve. See Timber, Page 9A COASTAL EDGE Conservancy group signs a deal to buy 3,300 acres on the North Coast By R.J. Marx Cannon Beach Gazette W hat could be the largest private land preserva- tion deal in western Oregon was signed Friday, Nov. 18. The Seaside-based North Coast Land Conser- vancy and private investment equity fi rm Onion Peak Hold- ings took the fi rst steps toward the acquisition of 3,300 acres of timberland from Stimson Lumber Co . as the conservancy raises funds to meet the costs over a fi ve-year period. For the purchase price, “We’re looking somewhere about $10 million,” Jon Wickersham, board president of the North Coast Land Conservancy, said . Conservancy Executive Director Katie Voelke called the deal a “monumental act of preservation.” The property is in the heart of what the conservancy char- acterizes as the “Coastal Edge,” an area between Tillamook Head and Nehalem Bay. Together with Oswald West State Park and Cape Falcon Marine Reserve, the acquisition would create a conservation corridor of more than 29 square miles linking land and sea. According to the conservancy, the property will be the fi rst place in Oregon, and one of the few in the world, where an entire coastal watershed is permanently conserved from the headwaters to the ocean. The purchase would mark the larg- est single private acquisition of land for conservation in west- ern Oregon. The property is part of 5,000 acres sold by Stimson, which has owned the property since 2004, to Onion Peak Holdings. The agreement gives the North Coast Land Conservancy an opportunity to arrange funds from public agencies and pri- vate donations to acquire the property in phases within the next fi ve years. The conservancy intends to transition the property to long-term, local, conservation-oriented ownership and man- agement. In the interim, the property will be managed by Ecotrust Forest Management on behalf of Onion Peak Hold- ings. During this period Onion Peak Holdings and the conser- vancy will collaborate on a management plan to return the forest to late old -growth conditions. The land will be man- aged with a recreation component, allowing people to enjoy the property while protecting the sensitivity of the site. If the conservancy can’t raise the funds to buy the land , there is a “high probability” that the property would be re- turned to an industrial timber farm. If the sale is completed, Stimson will reinvest the funds raised from the sale in other timberlands in Oregon and other regions. Scott Gray, Stimson’s director of w estern r esources, said in a statement that the lumber company was “compelled by the uniqueness of the property and the Coastal Edge vision and the potential long-term benefi t to the public through the re- alization of this vision.” NORTH COAST LAND CONSERVANCY Onion Peak may become part of North Coast Land Conservancy’s “Coastal Edge” vision of the coast. Defi ning the region’s artistic vision Behind the scenes of the Portland Art Museum By Lyra Fontaine Cannon Beach Gazette Understanding the Northwest arts scene is a lifetime study. Few are more at the center than Bonnie Laing-Malcolmson. In 2010, she became the Portland Art Muse- um’s c urator of Northwest a rt, where she was re- sponsible for curating and building the museum’s collection of regional art from the late 19th centu- ry to the present. She presented exhibitions and a biennial group show by artists in Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington state and Wyoming. “Everything I did really prepared me for work- ing with artists in the Northwest,” she said. The Cannon Beach Arts Association’s “Art- ists Talk” series kicked off this month with a talk from Laing-Malcolmson . The recently retired arts professional answered questions from audience members about curating shows, unique museums and her background. Laing-Malcolmson grew up in Seattle among Northwest art, taking art classes and frequenting the Seattle Art Museum and galleries. After learn- ing that she could study with artists she admired at the Pacifi c Northwest College of Art, former- ly located at the Portland Art Museum, she en- rolled and began studying sculpture and painting in 1970. “It was really interesting going to school and learning about the insider art scene in Portland,” she said. “It was an interesting time being a wom- an going to art school because it was still pretty sexist.” After leaving school, Laing-Malcolmson spent time on the Oregon C oast. Back in Portland, she formed a house-painting business with other art- ists. Then she wound up back at the Pacifi c North- west College of Art, this time as director of aca- demic affairs and admissions. “That was my fi rst arts administration job, and I really enjoyed it,” she said. See Curator, Page 7A LYRA FONTAINE Bonnie Laing-Malcolmson, former Curator of Northwest Art at the Portland Art Museum, dis- cussed her work and answered questions at the Cannon Beach Arts Association’s Creative Coast Project Space.
