MAY 5, 2017 • VOL. 41, ISSUE 9
WWW.CANNONBEACHGAZETTE.COM
COMPLIMENTARY COPY
Charter reaches enrollment target Arch Cape
Cannon Beach Academy
will open in the fall
By Brenna Visser
Cannon Beach Gazette
The Cannon Beach Academy is offi cially
set to open this fall almost four years after the
town lost its elementary school.
The charter school had until May 1 to en-
roll at least 17 kindergartners and 17 fi rst and
second graders combined. As of Friday, April
28, 18 kindergartners are enrolled and the fi rst
and second grade class has been maxed out
with 22 students , board member Phil Sim-
mons said.
“We as a team, and as a community, have
been working on this for years,” Simmons
said. “When they fi rst closed the elementa-
ry school, some families had to move, and I
was a little concerned there wasn’t going to
be enough interest. But in my heart I knew
that there was, and this victory supports this
interest.”
Cannon Beach Elementary School closed
in 2013 due to tsunami safety concerns and
budget shortfalls . Now the academy has se-
cured the lease for a temporary space on Sun-
set Highway and has hired a director to lead
the school into its fi rst year.
See Academy, Page 8A
still hopes
for design
review
Technicality sends
appeal back to county
By Brenna Visser
Cannon Beach Gazette
Arch Cape residents fi ghting to retain
oversight of key development decisions
saw a victory last week at the state level.
For the second time, the Land Use Board
of Appeals has sent the decision to dissolve
the Arch Cape Review Design Committee
back to Clatsop County , leaving county
commissioners to either keep the committee
in place or vote to dissolve it again.
The design committee makes recommen-
dations on development within the unincorpo-
rated town south of Cannon Beach . C ommis-
sioners have deemed the group unnecessary,
time-consuming, expensive and a potential
legal liability, voting to dissolve it twice.
Supporters of the 34-year-old committee
challenged the move , citing the state’s obli-
gation to have citizen involvement in land
use decisions as a primary reason.
Community engagement
Cameron La Follette, who helped repre-
sent the petitioners from Arch Cape through
the Oregon Coast Alliance, said the county
shouldn’t expect every community to col-
lect input in the same way.
“If Arch Cape wants more opportunities
to review, the county should honor that,” La
Follette said. “In my experience, the more
engaged a community is, the better. Land is
an absolute — there’s only so much of it.”
County Manager Cameron Moore said
the decision to remand the decision back
to the county boiled down to a technicali-
ty. The county did not publish a separate,
specifi c notice of a public hearing. Moore
said he will take time to review the decision
before taking a next step.
“This was simply an oversight on the
part of county management,” Moore said in
an email.
The Arch Cape committee is the last of
its kind in Clatsop County. Supporters ar-
gue the county should honor the communi-
ty’s decision to keep the committee active.
“The county has been looking for a way
to get rid of our committee for some time,”
Tod Lundy, who was chairman of the Arch
Cape Design Review Committee, said in
February 2016. “It’s a burden for them to
come down to Arch Cape and review every
sizable remodel and new building.”
Harding’s Trading
Company transitions
from coff ee shop to
rustic French cuisine
By Brenna Visser
Cannon Beach Gazette
t Harding Trading Company, ev-
ery part of the restaurant is for con-
sumption.
No, it’s not all edible. But as long as
it has a price tag, a restaurant goer can
buy one of the many vintage items that
line the walls and adorn the tables of
the new French rustic-style restaurant
— even some of the tables and chairs
themselves.
Whether it be the colorful, antique
cookware and glass chandeliers, the
cuisine or a space light exclusively by
candlelight, every aspect of the restau-
rant is important together co-partner
Jane Harding said.
“You are coming for more than just
dinner. You are coming for an experi-
ence,” she said.
The restaurant on Beaver Street
transitioned from an organic coffee
shop into casual French cuisine mid-
April and is managed by Harding, her
husband and the Becklund family.
Part of the inspiration came from
her French heritage, and a lot from the
building itself.
Quasi-judicial
See Food, Page 10A
Harding Trading Company in Cannon Beach
One issue for the county is that the Arch
Cape committee is quasi-judicial, requiring
extra staff time to keep minutes and send
notices for each meeting. County Commis-
sioner Lianne Thompson said this week
there is a way to have Arch Cape neighbors
participate without a formal committee.
She is recommending the town funnels de-
velopment recommendations and reviews
through a neighborhood association, which
would allow for more voices to be heard
rather than a few on a committee, she said.
“I believe in neighborhood livability. I
am a neighbor,” Thompson said. “Account-
ability can be used as a tool or a weapon,
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See Arch Cape, Page 7A
Chamber hosts celebration ‘about saving the beach’
Historic Beach Bill
celebrates 50th
anniversary
By Brenna Visser
Cannon Beach Gazette
50 years ago, former Governor Tom Mc-
Call fl ew his helicopter onto the beaches on
Cannon Beach to declare a simple statement.
Keep Oregon beaches public.
On May 13, 1967, that publicity stunt
helped drive public support to pass the Ore-
gon Beach Bill — the legislation that estab-
lished public ownership of Oregon Coast.
To celebrate this, the Chamber of Com-
merce is hosting the 50th anniversary of sign-
ing the Beach Bill on Saturday, May 13, with
a host of activities, music and possibly a visit
from Governor Kate Brown.
See Beach, Page 6A
CANNON BEACH HISTORY CENTER AND MUSEUM/SUBMITTED PHOTO
An important fi gure in Oregon’s Beach Bill was Bob Straub. Straub stands on a van parked on the beach
in Cannon Beach promoting the Beach Bill.