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About Cannon Beach gazette. (Cannon Beach, Or.) 1977-current | View Entire Issue (April 20, 2018)
6A • April 20, 2018 | Cannon Beach Gazette | cannonbeachgazette.com Cannon Beach considers emergency manager City manager hopes position would improve continuity By Brenna Visser Cannon Beach Gazette Cannon Beach may hire a full-time emergency manager as soon as July. The position is part of a larger effort driven by City Manager Bruce St. Denis to restructure the way the city approaches emergency plan- ning. The city contracts emer- gency planning to consultant Stacy Burr. But St. Denis told the City Council Tuesday, April 10, the part-time con- sulting model is not deliver- ing the results the city needs to be prepared. “We are not where a lot of people think we are,” he said. After reviewing practic- es for the past four months, St. Denis is looking to retool the Emergency Manage- ment Team, as well as shift more of the focus to recovery plans. The emergency man- ager would conduct training, NANCY MCCARTHY Cannon Beach may hire an emergency manager to conduct training, follow up with logistics like cache supplies and co- ordinate preparation policies. follow up with logistics like cache supplies and coordinate preparation policies. St. Denis said the cost would be about $40,000 more than what the city is spending on consulting and a part-time emergency management posi- tion that was never filled this year. Burr could not be reached for comment about the poten- tial change. “Unless you have someone working all the time to focus Change will affect about 30 mixed-use buildings Pot from Page 1A “Instead of having the city make that decision, we should let the resident decide whether or not they want to live above a pot shop.” The City Council also de- cided to restrict a marijuana store from operating in “a purely residential building.” While uncommon, there are a few single-family homes in the commercial zone that could technically operate a pot store without this language. This change is what caused City Councilor George Vetter to cast the single “no” vote. He ar- gued prohibiting marijuana businesses from residential buildings in the commercial zone was “spot zoning” and a fruitless attempt to keep marijuana out of residential areas. Property owners could easily convert their property to be fully commercial by taking out any “cooking fa- cilities” in the home — the standard the city uses to as- sess whether a property is residential or not, Vetter said. “The problem I’m seeing is we aren’t saying you can’t have a commercial opera- tion, but really just that you can’t have a marijuana com- mercial operation,” Vetter said. “We’re not accomplish- ing much in my opinion. It’s the same way we lost those residents downtown. If it comes to the point where someone really wants it they can turn it commercial, and now it’s mixed use and our ordinance has no effect.” David Frei, a representa- tive from the Ecola Square Homeowners Association, also opposed the ordinance. In written testimony, Frei asked the city to accept more public comment before making the decision. The homeowners as- sociation, which has long opposed Five Zero Trees moving in across Hemlock Street, asserts the issue with the mixed-use aspect of the ordinance only involved Five Zero Trees, where the property owners, Bruce and Max Ritchie, did not dis- close the three residences in the building when filling out the land use compatibility statement. “The approval should not have been given, had that been known. But then that led to the evictions of the residents and the loss of three residences in afford- able-challenged Cannon Beach,” Frei wrote. The change will affect about 30 mixed-use build- ings in Cannon Beach. Ore- grown Inc. is lining up to be Cannon Beach’s second marijuana retailer on Hem- lock Street, where the cloth- ing store Purple Moon used to operate, but has yet to apply for a business license. on this, it doesn’t happen. I think it will upgrade the emer- gency management and resil- iency of the city,” St. Denis said. “It’s a relatively small investment with tremendous payback.” While Cannon Beach has the largest Community Emergency Response Team and Medical Reserve Corps in Clatsop County, St. De- nis said a lack of continuity in training and planning has slowed progress the city could be making. He used the exam- ple of a tabletop exercise held last month aimed at teaching hotels and vacation rentals to prepare for a tsunami. St. Denis took issue with how only a few from the hospitality industry attended, how short the exercise was and how there appeared to be no arrangement for following up or reaching beyond this group of people. Red flags were also raised when a tsunami watch prompted by an Alaska earth- quake was issued earlier this year. The protocol for how the city was supposed to respond to a tsunami watch, versus a tsunami warning, was not clear, St. Denis said. “I think sometimes we assume we’re ready (for an emergency) because we’ve talked about it once before,” he said. St. Denis said there are deficits in recovery and how the city plans for lower-impact scenarios like wind storms or small-to-medium sized tsuna- mis. Most recent efforts have centered around evacuating people for a worst-case scenario. If approved by the city’s budget committee, St. Denis would want the emergency manager to focus more on contracts that would help the town recover after a disaster — like clearing and disposing debris from the roadways. “I think we can have a better, clearer message … re-evaluate some assumptions made in the past,” he said. “Right now we tell everyone to walk to South Wind. Well, that’s not likely to be built for a long time. But maybe if we look at the most recent (tsuna- mi run-up projections) from (the Department of Geology and Mineral Industries), may- be we could find some new lo- cations for shelters for smaller events and prepare for that.” St. Denis draws his ap- proach from his time as a city manager in Florida, where he was responsible for recovery efforts after hurricanes. “No one prepares for a Category 5 hurricane — you can’t. But even if there is a Category 5, unless you get hit right at landfall, you’ll be fac- ing a Category 4, 3 or 2 and you can prepare for those,” he said. In general, city councilors were supportive of the idea of an emergency manager but questioned how it fit with other budget priorities like af- fordable housing. “We’re actually making some progress with emer- gency preparedness,” City Councilor George Vetter said. “The reason we’re not mak- ing progress with affordable housing is because we’re not putting away any money to- ward it.” But Les Wierson, an emer- gency preparedness commit- tee member, and Lila Wick- ham, the head of the Medical Reserve Corps, both spoke about how the continuity of a full-time emergency manager would be helpful to communi- ty preparedness. “I still don’t know my re- dundant communication plan. I still don’t know where I’ll be treating injured people,” Wickham said. “I think this would be helpful.” The City Council gave St. Denis to go-ahead to ten- tatively start looking for job candidates, but will ultimately decide whether the position is created during budget com- mittee hearings next month. “I think with $40,000 more we’ll be getting a bang for our buck,” St. Denis said. Construction expected to begin June 1 Campus from Page 1A Commissioners considered plans for elementary school play areas, a track and athletic practice field, a secondary ac- cess drive, stormwater treat- ment, expanded parking areas and bus access. The district also identified areas that could be used for a future water storage reservoir and pump station. Planning commissioners and school district officials agreed to negotiate a propor- tional payment when cost de- tails are available. A memorandum of under- standing between the city and the district will detail the dis- trict’s financial responsibility for improvements. Road impacts Commissioner Bill Car- penter sought a commitment from the school district to re- pair roads that could be sub- ject to damage during the con- struction process. According to a revised construction management plan, more than 11,000 heavy trucks will be used in con- struction. This represents the damage done by the equiv- Experience Family Dining in a Relaxed & Friendly Environment Serving Seafood, Pizza, Sandwiches, Espressos, Beer, Wine, Ice Cream and our Homemade Desserts We have a fabulous patio where you can enjoy the weather and your meal. alent of nearly 75 million passenger car trips on Spruce Drive during the 14-month period of heavy construction, Carpenter said. Repairs to Spruce Drive could come from Seaside’s urban renewal funds, school district attorney Kelly Hos- saini said. “We are committed to doing what is necessary in respect to Spruce. The district is not planning to walk away from that. I think the district and staff will be able to work something out.” Conditional OK Commissioners unani- mously voted to grant the permit with the condition that any major changes be brought before the commission or staff. Major changes identified by the staff or the district will be brought to the Planning Commission for review. After the meeting, Noelle Idehara of Hoffman Con- struction Co., said the com- mission’s decision allows the district to move forward. “We still need to work through our permitting for the site work piece of this, but this will allow us to start moving for- ward,” she said. Idehara said construction is expected to begin with erosion control measures. “You’ll see some fencing going up, then you’ll see mo- bilization of getting equipment on the site,” she said. “Then you’ll see stump removal and chip grinding for those erosion control measures. Then we start earthmoving.” R.J. MARX Noelle Idehara of Hoffman Construction Co. and Sea- side School District Super- intendent Dr. Sheila Roley after receiving conditional approval for construction of the district’s new campus. Five out of the top Ten Brokers in Sales volume in the Clatsop Multiple Listing Service in 2017 were Windermere Brokers. Windermere to work for you. NEW LISTING NEW LISTING ARCADIA OCEAN FRONT OCEAN FRONT, OCEAN VIEW 80622 Highway 101, Cannon Beach 1216 S Pacific, Cannon Beach NEW LISTING MAGNIFICENT SURROUNDINGS 628 Oak St, Cannon Beach Originally built in 1979 and completely rebuilt in 2011 by Coaster Construction, this 6 bedroom, 4 bath contemporary and stylish home was designed for a large home or duplex. Perfectly located, & superbly orientated, this 3 bedroom, 3 bath home draws in the natureís grandeur with it’s open, light & bright charm, character & style. CMLS#18-320 $1,899,000 Karen Meili 503-440-5806 CMLS#18-57 $1,595,000 Kate Merrell 503-739-2324 NEW LISTING NEW LISTING NEW LISTING ARTISAN STYLE BEACH HOME 1331 Pacific St, Cannon Beach GO BIG, LIVE LARGE 547 Antler Rd, Cannon Beach OCEAN AND FOREST RETREAT 79209 Ray Brown Rd, Cove Beach This expansive gem delivers stunning panoramic ocean views from every window, exquisite clear vertical grain fir walls, rich walnut floors, two master suites and so much more. CMLS#18-253 $2,145,000 Kate Merrell 503-739-2324 “TO-GO” Orders Welcome 156 N. Hemlock • Cannon Beach 503.436.9551 Owned and Operated by the Cleary Family One of the area’s premier high-end builders designed and built this home for his per- sonal residence to showcase many unique features. FOR DETAILS CALL 1-800-784- 9541 EXT 728. CMLS#18-221 $979,000 Jackie Weber 503-440-2331 This massive 5 bedroom, 5 bath home is also supremely flexible as a single dwelling or share it as two units upstairs and down- stairs, as each bedroom has its own bath with covered porches. CMLS#18-463 $675,000 Kate Merrell 503-739-2324 CMLS#18-464 $659,000 Kate Merrell 503-739-2324 NEW LISTING NEW PRICE VINTAGE BEACH COTTAGE QUIET SOUTH LOCATION 3748 Coho Place, Cannon Beach 31913 E Shingle Mill, Arch Cape Kick back on your expansive deck, enjoy the views & sounds of the waves on at- tractive double lot. FOR DETAILS CALL 1-800-784-9541 EXT 711. CMLS#17-469 $499,900 Jackie Weber 503-440-2331 From the moment you enter, you are surrounded by all of natureís wonders, the hypnotic sea, whispering trees. The sound and fury of civilization vanishes. Sited on a large sunny lot, this home has tons of vintage charm from yesteryear, but without sacrificing todayís conve- niences such as heated floors, cozy pellet stove and remodeled bathroom. CMLS#18-251 $375,000 Kate Merrell 503-739-2324 NEW LISTING GREAT LOCATION 160 E Siuslaw #3, Cannon Beach Just one block to the beach, this 3 bedroom condo has 3 fireplaces and a carport. Seller will pay one year HOA fees for buyer at closing. Zoned for nightly vacation rentals. CMLS#16-1644 $291,500 Craig Weston 503-738-2838 Dana Weston 503-738-2839 NEW LISTING ARCADIA BEACH LOT 81090 Arcadia Rd, Cannon Beach HIGH ABOVE THE TSUNAMI LINE 3801 E Chinook Lot 364, Cannon Beach Property has ocean frontage and beautiful ocean view, power on prop- erty, needs water, septic has not been applied for. CMLS#18-163 $250,000 Angie Huntsman 503-739-2131 Located at the end of a quiet cul-de-sac, with great ocean views & spectacular sun- sets, and just a short walk to the beach, it’s a perfect time to build that beach home. CMLS#17-1664 $155,000 Tina Chapman 503-440-9957 A GREAT PROJECT VL Cannon St, Arch Cape This .19 acre lot is located on the west side of Highway 101 between Maxwell and Cannon and very close to the ocean. CMLS#18-448 $99,000 Karen Meili 503-440-5806 CANNON BEACH OFFICE GEARHART OFFICE 255 N. Hemlock, Ste. B1 • Cannon Beach, OR 97110 800/676-1176 • 503/436-1027 cannonbeach.withwre.com 588 Pacific Way • Gearhart, OR 97138 800/275-7773 • 503/738-8522 gearhart.withwre.com Serving the Entire North Oregon Coast
