OCTOBER 6, 2017 • VOL. 41, ISSUE 20
WWW.CANNONBEACHGAZETTE.COM
COMPLIMENTARY COPY
RV park plan rouses Arch Cape residents
Concerns about traffi c,
environment
By Brenna Visser
Cannon Beach Gazette
R.J. MARX/CANNON BEACH GAZETTE
Site of a proposed RV park in Arch Cape.
Dozens of disgruntled residents voiced their
environmental and safety concerns Thursday,
Sept. 28, about a developer’s plan to build an
RV park across from Arcadia Beach in Arch
Cape.
James Smejkal, the owner and developer of
the 17.6-acre parcel of forested land, sought
temporary road access to the parcel earlier this
year with the intent to build an upscale RV park
— mostly because it is one of the only types of
development allowed with the land’s zoning, he
said.
Chamber head
Court Carrier
steps down
Smejkal’s consultant, Leonard Waggoner,
conducted the n eighborhood meeting Thursday.
Smejkal was required to invite everyone within
300 feet of the project to a public presentation
before submitting a development permit appli-
cation. “The idea is for the community to give
feedback to the developers,” Clatsop County
planner Will Caplinger said.
But many outside of the 300-foot radius
packed the Cannon Beach Fire Hall, some as far
north as Astoria and south as Netarts. Organiza-
tions such as the Audubon Society of Portland
and the Haystack Rock Awareness P rogram
came out to denounce the project. Concerns
about adding traffi c to an already populated
stretch of U.S. Highway 101, threats to water
quality and the property’s proximity to threat-
ened m arbled m urrelet habitat all were echoed
by multiple residents.
The community’s desire to protect the area’s
old growth forests, however, was the room’s
unifi ed plea.
“The Oregon Coast is like one big back-
yard,” Netarts resident Shelly Reeder-Lueth
said. “We believe it’s worth fi ghting for the last
5 percent of old growth forests. Otherwise, what
do you have left?”
The vision
The land was owned by the Oregon Parks
and Recreation Department before it was trad-
ed to Smejkal in 2002 in exchange for land he
owned in Columbia County. In 2009, Smejkal
attempted to develop the property as housing,
which was ultimately denied by the county
Planning Commission.
See RV Park, Page 6A
Oswald West
rides again
Carrier resigns due to
medical issues
By Brenna Visser
Cannon Beach Gazette
Court Carrier, the e xecutive d irector of
the Cannon Beach Chamber of Commerce,
will leave his position in November due to
medical issues.
Jim Paino, the chamber’s e xecutive a s-
sistant and m embership c oordinator , will
serve as the interim director as the cham-
ber’s board searches for a replacement.
Carrier started with the c hamber in 2014
after a 27-year tenure as the program direc-
tor and instructor for the Mt. Hood Commu-
nity College h ospi-
tality and t ourism
p rogram. Before
then, he spent 20
years in the hospi-
tality industry .
“It has been a
joy to work here,”
Carrier said. “I’ve
been blessed to
live in this heav-
R.J. MARX/EO MEDIA GROUP
enly place and
Court Carrier has make signifi cant
resigned as exec- progress. I’m dis-
utive director of appointed, but it’s
the Cannon Beach what I need to do
Chamber of Com- to take care of my-
merce.
self.”
The decision
came after the chamber board was already
evaluating Carrier’s three-year contract.
Chamber President Greg Swedenborg said
Carrier didn’t feel he was in a position to
extend the contract past the c hamber’s fi s-
cal year because of “personal and extended
family health reasons.”
“Through discussions with Court, (the
b oard) felt the timing was right to make the
change rather than postpone the inevitable
for a few quarters,” Swedenborg said in a
statement. “Court graciously offered to stay
on past his contract date, which will help in
the execution of our succession plan.”
Carrier will depart on Nov. 20.
Carrier will be moving back to Portland
with his wife to pursue his own medical
treatment as well as help take care of other
family members facing illness.
Gov. Oswald West ‘returns’
to greet CoastWalkers
Story and photo by Brenna Visser
Cannon Beach Gazette
North Coast Land Conservancy, headquartered in
Seaside and one of Oregon’s leading nonprofi t land
trusts, hosted the second annual CoastWalk Oregon
event from Sept. 22-24.
The 75 people registered for the walk were greet-
ed by a Gov. Oswald West re-enactor, Cannon Beach
local Bob Wayne, dressed in 1900s attire with his
horse on the beach. The purpose was to pay an hom-
age to the horseback ride West took in 1911 from
Ecola Creek to Neahkahnie Mountain that inspired
the former governor to declare Oregon beaches as a
public right-of-way, conservancy communication co-
ordinator Bonnie Henderson said.
Wayne, who has lived in the area for 40 years, saw
this as a way helping an organization that helps pro-
tects the land he has enjoyed for so many years.
“I think the NCLC is fabulous, and I just wanted
to support them,” Wayne said. “Also I like showing
off my horse — look at him, he’s a beauty.”
The group will walk from Ecola Creek in Cannon
Beach through Arch Cape, Oswald West State Park
and all the way to Nehalem Bay State Park.
The walk originated as a way for Oregonians and
visitors to the state to see some of Oregon’s natural
wonders while also raising money for the North Coast
Land Conservancy. At $350 a ticket, participants are
helping support general operations, Henderson said.
“Having our event sold out two years in a row I
think mean people are willing to support conserva-
tion and want an adventure,” Henderson said.
PAID
PERMIT NO. 97
ASTORIA, OR
PRSRT STD
US POSTAGE
See Carrier, Page 6A
B. Boutique opens
in Cannon Beach
After 14 years,
women’s
clothing store
moves from
Seaside
By Brenna Visser
Cannon Beach Gazette
Dozens gathered to cel-
ebrate the grand opening of
the women’s clothing store
B. Boutique Thursday, Sept.
21, at its new location in Can-
non Beach at 232 N Spruce St.
The store, which the
owner Jenny Becker de-
scribes as “fun and different
styles for all women,” oper-
ated in Seaside for 14 years
before moving to Spruce
Street .
“When we opened in Sea-
side, we wanted to be closer
to the schools for our kids,”
Becker said. “But now my
kids are out of school, and it
was time to come back home
to Cannon Beach.”
Becker, who has lived in
Cannon Beach for the past 25
years, operates the store with
her mother and daughter. It
replaces Primary Elements
Gallery, which closed earlier
this year.
“I’ve always loved this
building and the fact it had
a view of the park,” Becker
said. “When I saw it come
available, I didn’t hesitate.”
BRENNA VISSER/CANNON BEACH GAZETTE
Owner Jenny Becker celebrates the grand opening of her clothing store B. Boutique with a
ribbon-cutting Th ursday, Sept. 21.