Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Cannon Beach gazette. (Cannon Beach, Or.) 1977-current | View Entire Issue (June 30, 2017)
6A • June 30, 2017 | Cannon Beach Gazette | cannonbeachgazette.com Traffic, tsunami inundation zone considered By Brenna Visser Cannon Beach Gazette The Cannon Beach Acade- my is one step closer to open- ing this fall in the former Pre- school and Children’s Center building. The Planning Commission voted unanimously and with little discussion Thursday, June 22, to grant a conditional use permit to the kindergarten- through- second- grade charter school. Any exterior changes or modifications still need to be reviewed by the Design Re- view Board before the school can acquire a building permit to move forward with the project, City Planner Mark Barnes said. Although establishing the academy in Cannon Beach has been in the works for more than four years, the last-minute need to find a new location came when the board received an estimate of $150,000 over the $90,000 they budgeted for con- struction costs at the original location on Sunset Boulevard. SUBMITTED PHOTO The Cannon Beach Academy hopes to open a charter school at the former Preschool and Children’s Center. An almost identical request was approved by the Planning Commission in May 2015 and again in January at 171 Sunset Blvd. David Vonada, of Tolovana Architects, said at the meeting most of the work will be small safety improvements, like im- proving exit signs and making door handles Americans with Disabilities Act accessible, and expects few to no external changes. “This building was just meant to be,” Vonada said. While the city, which owns the property, did assess the building to be structurally sound and found that a charter school would not impact traffic significantly, the former Chil- dren’s Center is not without flaws. The site is technically with- in the tsunami inundation area, according to a map done in 2013 by the Oregon Depart- ment of Geology and Mineral Industries. However, this map has no regulatory power, mean- ing the school can choose to do with that information what it may, Barnes said. It is the 1995 tsunami inun- dation map, also prepared by the state, that rules schools can- not be built in the tsunami zone without a formal consultation with the state. The Children’s Center site is outside of the 1995 version of the zone, and therefore not bound by these restrictions. One of the reasons the origi- nal elementary school closed in 2013 was due to tsunami safety concerns. But neither Vonada, Planning Commission chair Bob Lundy or Barnes found this to be a high priority issue for the charter school because of the site’s proximity to evacu- ation routes and access to high- er ground. “With the old elementary school, it’s a 20 minute walk to higher ground, and you would have to cross a bridge,” Barnes said. Because the school has opted to use a parent rideshare system instead of a school bus, Commissioner Joe Bernt raised concerns about possible congestion in what is already a narrow parking lot with only one exit. “We will have a half-hour drop-off window to give stu- dents extra time,” Cannon Beach Academy Executive Director Amy Moore told the Planning Commission. Other aspects, such as ad- ditional ADA requirements or fire code improvements, are to be determined later by the city’s building official. Community input wanted on new city manager By Brenna Visser Cannon Beach Gazette The process to recruit to replace Cannon Beach City Manager Brant Kucera is now in full swing, starting with feedback from the community. Kucera announced his de- parture earlier this month to take another city manager job in Sisters, citing a need for a “change of pace.” The role of the city manager is to carry out policy, programs and proce- dures decided by the city coun- cil and supervising city staff. Police Chief Jason Scher- merhorn will act as interim city manager starting in July. Jensen Strategies, the re- cruitment firm hired by the city to conduct the nationwide search, has four months to de- velop a job profile with input from the community, staff and city councilors, advertise and conduct interviews. Schermer- horn can only act as interim for fourth months, otherwise the city will violate its charter. Interviews with city coun- cilors and staff will be closed meetings, but a community forum will be held 5:30 p.m. Thursday, July 6 at city hall for anyone who would like to offer suggestions of what qualities the recruiters should look for in the next city man- ager. “We want to find someone who fits the community,” Eric Jensen from Jensen Strategies said. The job posting from when Kucera was hired in 2014 list- ed experience with disaster preparedness, finance, news media, an appreciation for the arts and five years experience in public administration as preferable qualities in a can- didate. After collecting input from the community, the city coun- cil will vote whether or not to adopt the job description at the August 1 city council meet- ing. Final candidates will hold meet-and-greet forums later in the fall. When Kucera was hired, he was chosen from a pool of 47 applicants. Jensen said he anticipated the city will get a similar applicant pool this year, as well. BUSINESS DIRECTORY H EATING & C OOLING Expert Service, Repairs & Installation 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 CCB#199205 Planning Commission OKs Cannon Beach Academy site coastheating@gmail.com P AINTING Randy Anderson Licensed • Bonded • Insured CCB# 89453 36 Years Experience Anderson Painting (503) 738-9989 • Cell (503) 440-2411 • Fax (503) 738-9337 PO Box 140 Seaside, Oregon 97138 www.andersonpainting.biz “Custom Finishing” L ANDSCAPING Laurelwood Compost • Mulch • Planting MacMix Soil Amendments YARD DEBRIS DROP-OFF (no Scotch Broom) 503-717-1454 34154 HIGHWAY 26 SEASIDE, OR Laurelwood Farm C ONSTRUCTION B oB M c E wan c onstruction , inc . E xcavation • u ndErground u tiitiEs r oad w ork • F ill M atErial s itE P rEParation • r ock owned and operated by M ike and C eline M C e wan 503-738-3569 Council paves way for continuing parking discussion Parking from Page 1A Parking petition Cannon Beach Police Chief Jason Schermerhorn said the city decided to post- pone installing signs and enforcing the rule until it is discussed again at the July 10 City Council meeting. “There’s been a lot of citi- zens upset by it,” said Scher- merhorn, who will soon be the interim city manager. “(City councilors) are going to give citizens an opportunity to write to them or come to offer any different ideas.” A petition outlining griev- ances with the plan started cir- culating about a week ago. As of Monday, the petition had 114 signatures, though many who signed live outside of Cannon Beach. The petition, started by Voyages Toy Co. owner Jer- emy Clifford, argued that timed parking would “neg- atively impact the relaxing atmosphere” of the town, “in- crease traffic congestion when cars need to be moved,” and “not allow visitors enough time to enjoy the restaurants and browse through the local shops.” Clifford said there hasn’t been any evidence to show that higher turnover would lead to higher sales in a town like Cannon Beach. “We want people to come out to the beach and then come into town to shop and eat in our restaurants. Three hours isn’t enough time to do that,” Clifford said. “Be- lieve me: I want to make more BRENNA VISSER/CANNON BEACH GAZETTE Cannon Beach has postponed a pilot program on timed parking downtown. money. And if I thought for one minute I thought the time limit would bring more cus- tomers in my store I’d support it, but I don’t believe it.” In a year where sales across all businesses have been down due to an unusual- ly harsh winter, Clifford said business owners object to ex- perimenting during the city’s busiest season. “The summer here is our Christmastime for other re- tailers,” Clifford said. “Best practices tells us you don’t do tests like this during your busiest season. If there are going to be negative impacts, you don’t want them to be huge.” Clifford and others who signed the petition are pleased the city is postponing the plan to get feedback from the community. Ultimately, Clifford said he fears timed parking signage and an in- crease in parking tickets from violations would negatively impact the quaint, small-town visitor experience — as well as their desire to ever return. “If (employees parking on Hemlock) is the problem you are trying to solve, then that’s a different problem to solve. Let’s all agree on that because I want the customers to have easy access to my stores,” Clifford said. “But the parking problem in Cannon Beach is larger than that. It’s connected to housing, commuting, city infrastructure — it will take many years.” Clearing up confusion In an effort to clear up con- fusion about the city’s inten- tion with timed parking, City Councilor George Vetter spent last week walking, measuring and counting all the parking within a five-minute walk of the corner of Morris’ Fireside at Hemlock and Second. In total, Vetter counted spaces for 835 cars the size of a Dodge Grand Caravan. Of those spaces, about 100 are affected by timed parking, he said. Since his experiment, he said he has been speaking with some concerned business owners about what he found. “My goal was to present the facts,” Vetter said. “The negative reactions from peo- ple seemed like they were fearing something they didn’t know all the facts about. So I wanted to inform them and let them decide.” Vetter said that having a higher turnover rate would give more people a chance to park downtown, which in turn would increase the number of possible customers for busi- nesses. The City Council vot- ed unanimously for the pilot program in May. “Everybody likes conve- nience. And the most con- venient place is Hemlock,” Vetter said. “This is a way to have more people use down- town for parking to shop and eat downtown. And employ- ees and beachgoers who use parking for eight to nine hours a day have 735 other options. “It’s not easy to make money in this town,” he add- ed. “You’ve got to maximize whatever you can.” powered by MOBILE KARAOKE WITH KJ/DJ • Weddings • Receptions • Reunions • Birthdays • Anniversary Parties • Private Parties • Entertainments • Corporate Events Tom.w.Cozart@gmail.com 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 Installation 3470 Hwy 101 Suite 102 • Gearhart, Oregon 503.739.7577 • carpetcornergearhart.com M INI -S TORAGE SPACE AVAILABLE CANNON BEACH MINI-STORAGE Units Available 5’ x 10’ • 10’ x 10’ Contact Jill at 503-436-2235 C ONSTRUCTION “Helping shape the character of Cannon Beach since 1973” Residential • Commercial • Remodeling New Construction • Storm Damage Repair Full Service Custom Cabinet Shop 503.436.2235 www.coasterconstruction.com • CCB# 150126 MOONLIGHT KARAOKE 971.386.7369 34154 Hwy 26, Seaside, OR P.O. Box 2845, Gearhart, OR music fi rst BUSINESS DIRECTORY