DECEMBER 1, 2017 • VOL. 41, ISSUE 24
WWW.CANNONBEACHGAZETTE.COM
COMPLIMENTARY COPY
Water rates may see a 40 percent jump
Recommendations
to come Dec. 12
By Brenna Visser
Cannon Beach Gazette
R.J. MARX/CANNON BEACH GAZETTE
Cannon Beach water, wastewater and storm-
water rates could increase up to 40 percent.
After months of deliberation,
the public works committee will
recommend to Cannon Beach city
councilors a combined 40 percent
increase for water and wastewater
rates for next fiscal year.
It’s the same rate that was pro-
posed earlier this year as a way to
finance projects in the water and
wastewater master plan. The 20-
year plan is required by the state,
and projects would focus on re-
habbing or replacing a variety of
systems, including brittle water
lines and water storage tanks.
Approving the plan, which out-
lines roughly $7 million in water
infrastructure and $2 million in
wastewater priority-one projects,
and the rate increase to fund it
stalled in May after committee
members raised concerns about
how projects were prioritized
and discrepancies within the rate
study.
Since May, committee mem-
bers worked with Public Works
Director Jim Arndt to evaluate the
benefits and drawbacks of fund-
ing the whole master plan versus
just a percentage, different rate
structures and payment phase-in
options.
But ultimately, the majority
of the committee voted to recom-
mend a proposal Tuesday similar
to the one made earlier this year,
which will keep the city’s current
rate structure and raise the average
homeowner’s water bill from about
$50 a month to $70 in the first year.
The committee will introduce
its recommendation to the City
Council at a work session Dec. 12.
“None of this is easy,” Arndt
said. “We have needs in this town,
and addressing them is going to
hurt for awhile.”
Fixing the problem
Cannon Beach has not had
a significant rate increase in 10
years. Because of this, the Public
Works Department has not been
able to fully cover operational
See Water, Page 6A
The bigger
picture
Developer proposes
code changes to foster
affordable housing
By Brenna Visser
Cannon Beach Gazette
COLIN MURPHEY/EO MEDIA GROUP
Pax Broder with the Cannon Beach Distillery conducts a tour during a Women’s Only Weekend event.
For every kind of woman
WOW! weekend events
draw visitors, benefit
Cannon Beach Library
By Brenna Visser
Cannon Beach Gazette
To Krista Tanner, it seemed like anytime
there was a woman-focused event, wine was
always the natural pairing to go with it.
Tanner isn’t a huge fan of wine. So when
she came to Cannon Beach for the WOW!
event, she was pleasantly surprised to so a
whiskey making tour at the Cannon Beach Dis-
tillery as a part of the itinerary. “It’s just nice to
have options,” said Tanner, a Portland resident.
“I prefer whiskey over wine, anyway.”
Adding a distillery tour is apart of a larger
strategy to rebrand Women’s Only Weekend,
which in the past has traditionally been a shop-
ping event hosted by independent shops and
hotels.
See WOW, Page 6A
It’s been almost a year since the Sea
Lark Apartments burned down, and the
owner, Mike Clark of Coaster Properties, is
looking to rebuild.
The fourplex on North Larch Street was
one of the city’s few affordable housing op-
tions. Clark hopes to maintain the afford-
able rent while expanding the complex to
eight units.
But there are some hurdles. Increasing
density would be easier with three stories,
which is hard to execute with the city’s
28-foot building height restriction. Clark
would also need a parking variance, since
there is not enough room on the property for
the parking the city requires for eight units.
It’s details like this that made Clark de-
cide to not only request a variance to re-
build the Sea Lark, but to propose a variety
of zoning or ordinance changes he believes
would make it easier for private developers
to build workforce housing, said Rainmar
Bartl, a former city planner who represents
Clark. “He’s been frustrated trying to get
something started,” Bartl said. “So he’s de-
cided to address the bigger picture.”
Bartl and Clark proposed the changes
to parking and landscaping requirements,
height restrictions and zoning at a Planning
Commission work session last week. Some
commissioners expressed reservations about
how the changes would affect “the character
of Cannon Beach,” but ultimately decided to
hold a public hearing in late January.
Proposed changes
COLIN MURPHEY/EO MEDIA GROUP
Visitors to the Cannon Beach Distillery during a Women’s
Only Weekend event were treated to samples of several va-
rieties of spirits.
City councilors named creating more af-
fordable housing the No. 1 priority last year.
A housing study commissioned by the
city found that second homes make up 60
percent of housing. Of the 722 homes occu-
pied by full-time residents, only 45 percent
were rentals. According to the study, the
city’s housing problem is a lack of afford-
able housing for the “missing middle.”
“These are nurses, police, firefighters,
city staff and other community profession-
als; they may be relatively highly paid and
make too much money to income quali-
fy for publicly subsidized housing but too
little money to afford market rate rental
units,” the report states.
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See Housing, Page 6A
Remembering Hamlet Fire Chief Bill Boone
‘A huge loss’ for the
community
By R.J. Marx
Cannon Beach Gazette
The firefighting community is
mourning the loss of Bill Boone,
who served as Hamlet’s fire chief
for many years.
Boone, 66, died Nov. 4 after a
battle with cancer.
Hamlet Fire Chief Matt Ver-
ley remembered Boone as a chief,
teacher, mentor and friend.
“Countless people are alive to-
day because of Bill’s efforts,” Ver-
ley said. “Even after decades on the
department, Bill was often the first
person to the station when the pager
sounded at 2 a.m.”
Boone spent most of his life in
Hamlet, running his general con-
tracting business and serving the
Hamlet fire department for more
than 30 years. He was the husband
of state Rep. Deborah Boone, who
represents House District 32.
“It’s a huge loss for Hamlet com-
munity and the county,” Gearhart
Fire Chief Bill Eddy said. “He did a
lot for the community. I’ve known
him for probably 15 to 20 years. He
never got excited, took everything
in stride, was proficient at what he
did and if he had a question, he’d
ask.”
Seaside Fire Chief Joey Dan-
iels battled many blazes alongside
Boone.
“He was a great man, and he was
a mentor to all of us, especially to
all of us fire chiefs,” Daniels said.
County Commissioner Lianne
Thompson, who represents Hamlet,
was a longtime friend.
“Bill Boone was salt of the earth,”
COURTESY HAMLET FIRE DEPARTMENT
Bill Boone on the job in Hamlet.
Thompson said. “Forty years with
the Hamlet fire department, staunch
supporter of Debby — he was a big
man you could absolutely trust. He
loved life and life loved him right
back. He was just a fine person.”
See Boone, Page 3A