Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Cannon Beach gazette. (Cannon Beach, Or.) 1977-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 3, 2017)
NOVEMBER 3, 2017 • VOL. 41, ISSUE 22 WWW.CANNONBEACHGAZETTE.COM COMPLIMENTARY COPY Delays, controversy hinder pot shop openings City councilors to review rules, comprehensive plan By Brenna Visser Cannon Beach Gazette Almost a year has passed since residents narrowly voted to allow recreational marijuana sales . But as retailers apply to open stores , con- versations about appropriate loca- tions and procedure have unsettled the community . T hree marijuana retailers have submitted land use compatibility statements to operate . Each are at dif- ferent stages of the permitting process. But one — Five Zero Trees at 140 S. Hemlock St. — has been inspected by the Oregon Liquor Control Commis- sion and is expected to open within the next few weeks, pending the city’s approval of a business license. Earlier this year, controversy sur- rounding the Hemlock Street loca- tion led city councilors to reevaluate an ordinance that spells out where and how marijuana shops can op- erate . The issue came up after Matt Ennis, a resident at 140 S. Hemlock, told the city at a July meeting that his landlord planned to evict him to rent the commercial space under him to Five Zero Trees. Councilors voted 3-2 to maintain the ordinance, which prohibits mari- juana stores in mixed-use buildings to adhere to the community’s desire to keep marijuana out of residential ar- eas. The building meets the city code for a marijuana store because the res- idents have since moved out and the building is no longer mixed-use. Despite this, the Ecola Square Homeowners Association, spear- headed by David Frei, is still urging the city to deny a business license to Five Zero Trees, citing concerns about the application process and inconsistencies with the comprehen- sive plan. “By not informing the p lanning d irector of the apartments in the building, they led the p lanning d i- rector into saying that the property in question was in fact compatible with the city code and zoning when in reality it was not,” Frei said in an email. After hearing Frei’s concerns, city councilors decided at an Octo- ber work session they wanted to take another look at the comprehensive plan and put the marijuana ordinance back on the agenda. Interim City Manager Jason Schermerhorn said if any changes are made out of these discussions about the ordinance it would not affect Five Zero Trees. “I’d like to hear some kind of re- sponse to the claims that this is a vi- olation of the comprehensive plan,” City Councilor Mike Benefi eld said. “I’d like to have a discussion to know what our options are.” See Pot, Page 6A A hoppin’ Halloween Cannon Beach Academy kids celebrate school’s fi rst Halloween with costumes and games By Brenna Visser Cannon Beach Gazette K ids dressed as princesses, ninjas and superheroes all de- scended upon Tolovana Hall Monday night for Cannon Beach Academy’s fi rst Halloween party. Infl atable pumpkins, hacky sack games, witchy crafts and ghoulish cupcakes marked the season. Community members and parents donated bags of candy and watched as the students played in the infl atable bouncy house. The party also marked roughly two months since the charter school opened its doors. “It’s been wonderful,” said Emma Molyneux, a parent of two children enrolled. “At bigger schools you have to fi ght for volunteer time, but in a small classroom setting it’s easier to get to know all the kids.” The volunteering spirit is part of what Molyneux thinks makes the school special, working with the other parents to help serve lunch or to haul boxes of personal Halloween decorations for a party. “I suppose I’ve always been a Halloween person,” Moly- neux laughed. The Halloween party is one in a series of fi rsts for the acad- emy. In the past two months, students have taken their school photos, participated in a mock farmers market to learn about their food and where it comes from, and completed a collabora- tive art project for the Lower Columbia Hispanic Council to cel- ebrate Dia de los Muertos, Executive Director Amy Moore said. See Party, Page 6A AMELIA O’CONNOR Cormorants nesting at Cape Falcon Ma- rine Reserve. Tracking reserve’s cormorants Volunteers help collect data on bird colonies By Katie Frankowicz EO Media Group The cormorants always saw the eagles before he did. Jeremy Sappington would be at his spot- ting scope above Devil’s Cauldron in Os- wald West State Park, watching the sea birds as they cleaned, preened and clamored. Then, suddenly, the birds would go deathly still. Out of the corner of his eye, Sapping- ton would see an eagle cruise past the cliffs. Sappington, who lives in Manzanita, was one of over a dozen volunteers who spent the summer observing cormorants at the Cape Falcon Marine Reserve. One day each week, they set up their scopes and honed in on the colonies, recording the number of eggs in nests and keeping track of the chicks’ development from afar. The data they collected feeds broad, ae- rial surveys conducted by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service each year. While the agen- cy can collect general information about the number of birds present in a region, com- munity scientists are helping paint a more detailed picture of how the birds are faring. Doing this work without volunteers would be challenging, especially for agen- cies like Fish and Wildlife where there is less and less funding to go around, said Joe Liebezeit, avian conservation manager for the Audubon Society of Portland. “More and more, community science is going to be important for agencies and (or- ganizations) like Audubon,” he said. COLIN MURPHEY/EO MEDIA GROUP Citizen science The Cape Falcon Marine Reserve, lo- cated between the Falcon Cove natural area Jacob Carlsen attends a Halloween celebration at the Cannon Beach Academy on Monday. PAID PERMIT NO. 97 ASTORIA, OR PRSRT STD US POSTAGE See Birds, Page 6A Volunteer eff orts celebrated at HRAP party Haystack Rock Awareness Program promotes education, cleanup eff orts By Brenna Visser Cannon Beach Gazette Dozens of people dressed as creatures from the land and sea fi lled City Hall Saturday to celebrate Haystack Rock Awareness Program’s end of the season. The party, which featured an assortment of Hal- loween-themed treats and a silent auction, served as a way to say thank you volunteers who help edu- cate people on the beach and in the classroom about Haystack Rock and general environmental steward- ship, program coordinator Melissa Keyser said. Some of the highlights the program saw this year was the addition of more educational programs for children, as well as the expansion of a clean up event that fi lters microplastics out of Cannon Beach’s sand, Keyser said. This year alone, dozens from as local as Cannon BRENNA VISSER/CANNON BEACH GAZETTE Haystack Rock Awareness Program coordinator Melissa Keyser and education coordinator Lisa Habecker share a laugh at the program’s end-of- year party last Saturday, Oct. 28. Beach to as far away as Washington state donat- ed 2,560 hours of volunteers hours. In those hours, they helped remind 901 people to keep their dogs on leash around the tidepools, told more than 650 people to stop climbing the rock and overall talked with more than 87,000 people on the beach. Each year the volunteer who contributed the most hours is recognized, and for the fi rst time ever that award went to one of the program’s junior vol- unteers, Jacie Gregory, who clocked in 141 hours. “I’ve been volunteering for about two years ago, when my mom saw me not doing anything during the summer, she said ‘Hey, HRAP looks fun,’” Gregory said. “I love doing it now.” There’s lots to love in role, Gregory said — the people, the puffi ns, and when it happens, sunny days on the beach. While it started as a way for the Seaside local to spend her summers, being the beach has inspired a deeper interest in the marine sciences, which she hopes to pursue after high school. While overall volunteer hours dropped this year, Keyser said this year she had the highest number of volunteers under the age of 18 in the program’s history. “Jacie was always there, ready to do whatever we needed whenever. She brought such a positive energy to the offi ce,” Keyser said. “I don’t think people understand how much (volunteers) do to make all of this program work.”
