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6A • April 6, 2018 | Cannon Beach Gazette | cannonbeachgazette.com Residents grumble about flood-control demands County changes a result of federal insurance requirements By Jack Heffernan Cannon Beach Gazette Clatsop County may make alterations to land use rules this year that would affect several hundred property owners in flood-prone areas, citing new federal insurance requirements. The county has participat- ed in the National Flood Insur- ance Program since the 1970s. For residents to remain eligi- ble for the 50-year-old pro- gram that guards against flood losses, the Federal Emergen- cy Management Agency has required that the county adopt updated flood-hazard maps and make revisions to its land use rules. As a result, roughly 700 property owners in unincor- porated areas of the county may be required to, among other things, pay for a permit when developing their land or seek approval before altering structures. FEMA has required the county to make the revisions by June 20. The agency first released the updated maps and flood-insurance require- ments in 2016. The county Planning Com- EDWARD STRATTON/EO MEDIA GROUP Some residents are unhappy about potential county land use changes to comply with fed- eral flood insurance demands. mission voted 4-1 on March 20 — with Commissioner Thomas Merrell the sole op- posing vote — to recommend the changes to county commis- sioners, who will have the final say. Prior to the vote, several people spoke in opposition to the changes during a packed public hearing at the Judge Guy Boyington Building. In addition, county staff have fielded more than 200 com- plaints from residents since notices of the changes were mailed out in February. Seeking safety for city’s visitors Prep from Page 1A preparedness, Althea Riz- zo of the Oregon Office of Emergency Management took a hard look at the hotels she stayed at after her pre- sentations. Some hotels had evac- uation information for a tsunami in the room. Oth- ers didn’t. Some had signs showing an escape route. Many didn’t. When she would chat with front desk clerks about what to do in a disaster, some thought there was nothing to do to prepare. “It’s very hit and miss along the coast,” Rizzo said. “And we have a long way to go.” Rizzo, a state geohazards program coordinator, urges hotels to train staff on the basics of tsunamis and to take specific steps to pre- pare, such as food storage and evacuation drills. She also suggests hotels share evacuation information with guests through emails that confirm room reservations. But engaging with the hospitality industry has not always been easy. Out of 20 sessions she conducted, only one member of the industry showed. Some of the reluctance stems from a lagging fear that talking about tsunamis could deter tourism, she said. But often what keeps hotels from being prepared is a lack of time and resourc- es. “We can tell hotels they should have resources, but then those supplies need to be maintained and pur- chased — another cost in an already difficult industry,” she said. Tiffany Brown, the emer- gency coordinator in Clat- sop County, said she thinks attitudes are slowly chang- ing locally. “We’re seeing a shift. As the community gets their head around this threat, the mindset is shifting. It’s shift- ing from, ‘We don’t want to deter them from coming to the coast,’ to, ‘because awareness is growing, we have an obligation to edu- cate them,’” she said. “This is important because they come in contact with our most vulnerable population, which in this instance means people not familiar with the area.” Local efforts Greg Swedenborg, the general manager of The Waves Ocean Front Lodging in Cannon Beach, always COLIN MURPHEY/EO MEDIA GROUP An employee at The Waves hotel in Cannon Beach holds up an example of the tsunami evacuation infor- mation in guest rooms. knew tsunami danger was present on the coast. But his journey to start preparing got kicked into high gear after The New Yorker published a piece in 2015 about the threat of a Cascadia Subduction Zone earthquake. Between community discussion and seeing increased tsunami safety signs around town, preparedness was brought to the forefront. “There was definitely a spike in community inter- est after that article. I think that’s when (hospitality) started really getting proac- tive,” he said. Swedenborg reworked the emergency protocol with his employees and started putting evacuation maps and information in guest books — a practice that has become standard in most ho- tels in the city. Some, like Beck-Swee- ney, have gone further by providing go-bags for her employees, as well as en- couraging homeowners to purchase go-bags to put in vacation homes for guests. Communication and more consistent em- ployee training are areas Beck-Sweeney and Sweden- borg cited for improvement. “We’re so spread out, there is no way to immedi- ately reach everyone in an emergency,” Beck-Swee- ney said. “But we knock on doors. We know how to track people down.” Preparing has a cost, whether it be in the time it takes to evaluate procedures or in emergency supplies for guests. “Being a small busi- ness, we just have to make the time to get this done. There’s always a million things to do, and it has to be a priority,” Swedenborg said. “We are doing better than we were, but we still have a long way to go.” Throughout the hearing, Bruce Francis, the Planning Commission’s chairman, re- iterated that he sympathized with the residents but felt it was necessary to maintain access to the flood-insurance program. “We’re confronted with a problem that has been placed upon us to make a decision for the overall good of the majority, hopefully, to obtain flood insurance,” Francis said while addressing the crowd’s disapproval. “Maybe it is that we need to be attacking the political angles of this, rather than making that request here at this hearing.” A few of the residents sug- gested the county break away from the national insurance program altogether. “They’ve got you by the throat on the insurance as- pect, but I would suggest that you think about altering an approach on insurance,” said Henry Willener, who owns property south of Seaside. “Maybe get Washington and Idaho — forget California — and form a consortium to have your own insurance group.” Along with the recommen- dation for county commis- sioners to approve the rule changes, the Planning Com- mission advised that coun- ty legal experts explain the changes and work with the federal agency to roll back some of the regulations. The most unpopular change discussed at the meet- ing would be an expansion of the definition of developments that would require property owners to pay an $85 permit fee. Previously exempt activ- ities — including minor re- pairs to a structure that don’t alter its size, new driveways that don’t change the topogra- phy of the land or signs placed by local public agencies — would require the permit once the rules go into effect. “They come up with these ideas. They force it on the lit- tle guy,” said Edwin Owen, a farm owner. “I’m just afraid that you start changing the rules, not only do I have to go beg for a permit, but then you start talking about, ‘Oh, you can and can’t do this,’ you know, on a farm. It just both- ers me.” But it’s unlikely FEMA will buckle on the expanded permit requirements, Com- munity Development Direc- tor Gail Henrikson said. She called the permit requirements “non-negotiable,” along with mandates to seek permission for structure updates in cer- tain areas. “Frankly, staff isn’t any more enthused about having to go through this process and working language changes into the code any more than you want to see them there,” Henrikson said. She said staff has worked with FEMA to determine how much latitude the county has in reworking the changes, citing an email the agency sent to the county earlier this month. “FEMA’s stand is that the exclusions that Clatsop Coun- ty has offered in their defini- tion of development makes their definition of development noncompliant with the Nation- al Flood Insurance Program,” wrote Roxanne Pilkenton, a flood plain management spe- cialist for the agency. “FEMA takes the definition of develop- ment seriously and, currently, push back from the state of Idaho has them facing suspen- sion if they continue to allow exemptions that are expressly included in the definition of development.” County commissioners are tentatively scheduled to hold a public hearing on the subject in April. If that hearing is con- tinued, commissioners would hold another hearing in May, when they would potentially adopt the changes. How tiny homes could help beat crunch Tiny from Page 1A “It makes sense if it can pay for itself at a rate that makes sense for someone who works here,” St. Denis said. “But if the rent is going to be $1,700 to make it break even? That’s not any help.” There could also be new costs on the horizon. A state law that went into effect in January required the development of building codes for tiny homes. One of the changes reclassified tiny homes on wheels so they would no longer be consid- ered RV’s, creating additional challenges for how they could be transported into the city. Keeping tiny homes mobile was never part of the city’s original vision. But acquiring special permits and trailers could influence the overall cost of the project. Questions about whether tiny homes no longer classified as RVs can be placed in the RV Resort will also need to be answered. “Tiny houses were able to be moved at one point easily. Now it’s less easy to move,” St. Denis said. “Is that viable? If so, what are the costs asso- ciated?” Regulatory challenges have raised similar obstacles in communities across Ore- gon looking at tiny homes as a housing option. Before moving forward, St. Denis is recommending that Cannon Beach have a formal financial analysis done by a housing specialist. “I think folks are trying to make something happen,” he said. “As we’re getting closer to it, we’re just asking, ‘Did you think of this?’” With interest in tiny homes growing, John Morgan, the ex- ecutive director of the Chinook Institute for Civic Leadership, organized a symposium to ad- dress some of the issues. “Over the course of this last year, I kept getting pep- pered with questions about tiny houses,” Morgan said. “One of the things that became evident to me was there wasn’t a lot of good knowledge about what tiny houses even are.” While the symposium’s purpose was to help cities and other interested agen- cies understand land use and the affordable housing crisis, Morgan said confusion about building code changes quick- ly became the theme of the event. Sarah Stebbins, state chap- ter leader of the American Tiny House Association, said no longer classifying tiny homes as RVs has had “huge” effects. “Well over half of the tiny homes being constructed are COLIN MURPHEY/EO MEDIA GROUP Cannon Beach is looking at tiny homes at the RV Resort off of Elk Land Road. ‘Let’s say you are in the process of building a tiny house on wheels. Because your house is no longer considered an RV, you will not be able to get the same RV financing or insurance.’ Sarah Stebbins, State chapter leader of the American Tiny House Association on wheels. Builders are threat- ening to leave the state. Some have done so,” Stebbins said. “Let’s say you are in the pro- cess of building a tiny house on wheels. Because your house is no longer considered an RV, you will not be able to get the same RV financing or insurance.” Dan Bryant, project direc- tor for SquareOne Villages in Eugene, is one tiny home ac- tivist and manager feeling the impact of other changes. His project came out of a need to address a growing homelessness issue in Eugene COLIN MURPHEY/EO MEDIA GROUP The tiny home project is on hold. in 2012. His organization, which now manages three tiny home communities, was large- ly supportive of the new state law because it helped create safety and building standards conducive for homes less than 400 square feet. But recent changes from state building and fire offi- cials don’t allow sleeping lofts in tiny homes due to fire safety concerns. Bryant ar- gues such changes are too re- strictive and affect overall af- fordability. He and other tiny home advocates are pushing for the codes concerning lofts to be amended next legisla- tive session. Eliminating lofts as an op- tion reduces the number of people who can be housed, af- fecting the homes affordabili- ty, he said. “When you look at it in those terms, there is a true hu- man cost,” Bryant said. While several aspects about tiny homes remain in flux, city councilors in Cannon Beach still believe the small units could help with the housing crunch. “It’s not a solution,” Mayor Sam Steidel said. “It’s a tool in the toolbox.” Cannon Beach’s Best Selection of Oregon and Washington Wine! UPCOMING TASTINGS Shack Hours Sunday - Th ursday 11am to 5pm Friday & Saturday 11am to 5:30pm Tasting Room Hours Daily • 1 to 5pm Apr 7 • Spring Wines Apr 14 • Puffi n & Friends! Apr 21 • Wine Shack Favorites Apr 28 • Highly Rated and Local! “Best Wine Shop” - 2016 & 2018 Reader’s Choice Award 124 N. Hemlock, Cannon Beach - 503.436.1100 - www.thewineshack.wine