May 19, 2017 | Cannon Beach Gazette | cannonbeachgazette.com • 7A County won’t budge on Arch Cape committee dissolution County intends to disband panel BUSINESS DIRECTORY H EATING & C OOLING Expert Service, Repairs & Installation By Jack Heffernan Cannon Beach Gazette Testimony The hourlong hearing Wednesday night included tes- timony from five people who disagreed with county staff’s and most of the commission- ers’ characterizations of the design review committee. Residential & Commercial Gas, Oil & Electric Furnaces Ductless Systems • Fireplaces Locally Owned & Operated Water Heaters • Heat Pumps & AC Commercial Refrigeration Cannon Beach, Oregon 503-440-6975 coastheating@gmail.com LYRA FONTAINE/EO MEDIA GROUP P AINTING Residents in Arch Cape have fought to save a design review committee. Opponents have raised con- cerns about Arch Cape resi- dents losing power to review lands in their community. But neighborhood associations and amendments to the county de- velopment code could provide review in the absence of the committee, Community De- velopment Director Heather Hansen said. “The issue before you to- night is not whether citizen involvement is important to the Clatsop County Board of Com- missioners,” Hansen said. “It’s about the appropriate role for a county-appointed committee that advises on land use deci- sions.” County counsel Chris Cream said the county has been liable to legal ramifications be- cause the committee has not followed procedural or public meetings rules. Commissioner Lianne Thompson added she is one of multiple Arch Cape res- idents that has been confronted by members of the committee either in person or over the phone regarding various issues. ‘Insulting’ Michael Manzulli, an at- torney from Cannon Beach, said during public testimony that the committee is advisory in nature and makes no deci- sions. He called the charge that the committee did not follow legally mandated procedures “insulting.” “This council is drumming up all kinds of fear to get rid of us,” he said. “This is a staff-driven mission to dismiss us, and it’s really upsetting.” Tevis Dooley, a contractor from Arch Cape, presented commissioners with a petition in favor of the committee — formed in the 1970s — with 216 signatures and 94 com- ments. County Commissioner Kathleen Sullivan, who repre- sented the sole vote against the ordinance, said she hopes the county will find a way to keep the committee functioning. “This organization has been existing a long time, and people seem like they want to work it out,” Sullivan said. “I wish we could find a way to work it out.” Because commissioners did not reach unanimous agree- ment Wednesday, the commit- tee has staved off elimination for another few weeks. “The county is at fiscal risk,” Commission Chairman Scott Lee said. City proposes funding housing project Housing from Page 1A employees could benefit, Kucera said. “I think it’s important to have the sector that attracts this type of work help offset the cost for housing,” he said. But City Councilor George Vetter said in a work session May 9 that the cost to busi- nesses may outweigh the ben- efits. “I’m uncomfortable with this whole idea. We’re taxing such a tiny group of people, and not making that much money off of it,” Vetter said. “If there was more develop- able land in Cannon Beach, I could see this making a differ- ence.” City Councilor Mike SUBMITTED PHOTO The Cannon Beach affordable housing task force recom- mended installation of four park-model homes like this one shown from Woodburn.  Benefield said he saw Vetter’s point, but would consider the tax as one of many ways the city can support affordable housing. “It’s not our only option. It could help just supplement expenditures,” he said. Vetter suggested the pos- sibility of floating a bond in- stead. “Affordable housing is everyone’s problem, so ev- eryone should help solve it,” Vetter said. City councilors will have to vote to approve or deny the tax by the end of June be- fore the budget is submitted. Kucera said if the tax is not passed, there is discretionary money in the general fund to help make up the difference to ensure the four new units are built and operated. Residents to see 3 percent water rate hike Butting heads During a special meeting Tuesday, May 9, Grassick and members of the public works committee did find common ground on projects such as replacing brittle water lines, upgrading outdated pump sta- tions and fixing sand filtration systems. But there were clashes over the necessity and cost of a supervisory control and data acquisition system, called SCADA, that would automate data-point collection and give remote access to operators. “I think we should be cau- tious and take slow steps into this instead of all at once,” committee member Les Wier- son said. Grassick reminded the committee to think of the plan more like a 20-year wish list to work off slowly. The advantage of a plan like this is so that when it is submitted to the state, there is evidence to say the city has a plan to solve a known problem, Grassick said. That in turn helps keep a city’s insurance rates low. “You want to replace your system every 80 to 100 years,” Grassick said. “That is an in- dustry goal. It’s about resilien- cy.” While the committee agreed many of the projects were necessary, they didn’t feel comfortable recommend- ing to City Council a rate in- crease that committee member Carolyn Propst said felt prob- lematic. “For the past four years, the average amount of water used per household has been 4,270 gallons. But in the rate study, it was based on 3,270 gallons,” she said. “Funda- mental assumptions were not reconciled between actual us- age and that is my main con- cern. How can the amount of water we use be that different from one year?” Next steps The public works commit- tee will now spend the next week preparing what they will recommend to the City Coun- cil to adopt at the next coun- cil meeting. But in the long term the committee will need to spend time reviewing pri- orities and looping back with consultants about alternatives, Grassick said. “Those decisions will drive what rates may look like,” Grassick said. Some on the committee believe that many of the proj- ects included in the master plans should be paid for with a general obligation bond rather than revenue bonds from rates. “GO bonds are something the people can vote for,” Wi- erson said. “And it’s the best way to have second-home owners pay their fair share.” It’s a strategy that has worked in the past. In 2012 voters in Cannon Beach passed a bond to construct the wastewater treatment facility. SERVING LUNCH & DINNER OPEN AT 11:30 Tuesday’s Open at 4pm Delightful Beer Garden • Ocean View Deck Pool Tables • Darts Full Bar ( including Bill’s Tavern brews ) but that’s not all... Smoked Pork Ribs • Steak • Seafood and much, much more! Located in SOUTH Cannon Beach 239 N. Hemlock • Cannon Beach • 503.436.0208 3301 S. 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Box 2845, Gearhart, OR S erving the p aCifiC n orthweSt S inCe 1956 • CC48302 F LOORING CCB# 205283 y ou ou r r w ep alk ut o at n io n Flooring Water from Page 1A CCB#199205 Following a contentious public hearing, a decision to nix the Arch Cape Design Review Committee has been tabled, though its dissolution may be inevitable. The Clatsop County Board of Commissioners voted 4-1 on Wednesday, May 10, in fa- vor of an ordinance to dissolve the committee, but needed unanimous approval since the vote was called immediately following the public hearing. Another vote likely will take place at the board’s meeting later this month, which will re- quire a simple majority to pass. County commissioners pre- viously voted twice to dissolve the committee, and an appeal was filed with the state Land Use Board of Appeals. The appeals board sent the decision back to the county, saying it did not provide pub- lic notice of a previous hearing in a newspaper of general cir- culation. 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