VOL. 42, ISSUE 19
WWW.CANNONBEACHGAZETTE.COM
SEPTEMBER 21, 2018
Council
considers
rental rule
changes
By Brenna Visser
Cannon Beach Gazette
A HOMECOMING
More than 30 juvenile seabirds are released
back to the wild by Haystack Rock
A public hearing will be held to review
and receive comment on possible changes
to the city’s short-term rental regulations.
In a July work session, city councilors
began re-evaluating the town’s short-term
rental ordinance, which regulates where va-
cation rentals can operate, how often houses
can be rented, off-street parking and safety
inspections.
Substantive proposed changes that came
from these discussions include possibly ad-
justing the 14-day rule, which limits prop-
erty owners to one renter in a single 14-
day period, and ending, through attrition,
a lottery system that allows some vacation
homeowners the chance at a five-year, un-
limited rental permit.
Changing the 14-day rule would allow
a homeowner to rent to two parties any-
time within the month. This would simpli-
fy enforcement for rental owners who are
not professionally managed — the group
of people who tend to see more violations,
City Planner Mark Barnes said. The City
Council decided last September to send this
draft proposal to the October planning com-
mission meeting for review and to receive
public feedback.
See Rentals, Page 6A
By Brenna Visser
Cannon Beach Gazette
Candidate
forum in
Cannon
Beach
M
ore than 30 juvenile
common murres were re-
leased back into the wild
at Haystack Rock Friday
morning. The baby sea-
birds were ones that had washed
ashore and rescued by beachgoers
over the course of the summer. The
Wildlife Center of North Coast re-
habilitated the birds and facilitated
the release.
“The hardest part is getting the
birds past the surf,” rehabilitation
specialist Pauline Baker said.
Seeing juvenile birds wash
ashore is normal starting in late
summer, when the fledgling com-
mon murre jumps from nests
to learn how to forage for fish.
Through the process, some birds
will always struggle, and those ar-
riving on shore are often coming
into the wildlife center malnour-
ished and hypothermic, Baker said.
This year has seen more juvenile
bird rescues than in previous years,
which scientists believe could point
to a healthier bird colony with a
more successful reproduction rate.
In poorer years, fewer chicks
would even reach fledging stage,
and adults would likely be stressed
and thinner, meaning surveyors
could see relatively more adults
washing ashore, according to a re-
port from the Coastal Observation
and Seabird Survey Team.
Cannon Beach Gazette
TOP Lary Lipe and Lisa Habecker move a carrier containing common
murres into position near Haystack Rock.
CENTER Volunteers with the Haystack Rock Awareness Program and the
Wildlife Center of the North Coast prepare to release common murres
back into the wild.
BOTTOM A young common murre prepares to navigate the waves near
Haystack Rock.
PHOTOS BY COLIN MURPHEY
The Cannon Beach Gazette and Daily
Astorian present a candidate forum at the
Coaster Theatre on Thursday, Oct. 4, at
7 p.m.
The event will introduce City Council
candidates Mike Benefield, Robin Risley
and Greg Swedenborg, who are vying for
two open seats. Mayor Sam Steidel, who is
running unopposed, will be featured.
Oregon House District 32 candidates
Brian Halvorsen, an Independent; Vineeta
Lower, Republican; and Tiffiny Mitchell,
Democrat, will also be in attendance. The
district encompasses all of Clatsop County,
most of Tillamook County and a western
portion of Washington County.
State House District 32
The region’s marquee election will bring
the two candidates for House District 32,
the seat vacated by the retirement of Deb-
orah Boone.
Tiffiny Mitchell handily won a compet-
itive primary against challengers John Orr
PAID
PERMIT NO. 97
ASTORIA, OR
PRSRT STD
US POSTAGE
See Forum, Page 6A
School builds opportunities in Cannon Beach
Language learning
at the fore
By Katherine Lacaze
For Cannon Beach Gazette
KATHERINE LACAZE/FOR CANNON BEACH GAZETTE
Leticia Campos leads a Spanish class for kindergarten and first-grade stu-
dents at the Cannon Beach Academy on Wednesday, Sept. 12. As part of its
charter, the academy provides Spanish language instruction to all students.
As the Cannon Beach Academy
embarks on the 2018-19 school year,
the addition of third-grade education,
more robust Spanish instruction and
a focus on increasing enrollment and
volunteerism are a few of the devel-
opments parents, students and the
community can look forward to.
“We’re excited to see what this year
brings,” said Kellye Dewey, president
of the academy’s board of directors.
From hosting new events to having
students sing for Cannon Beach’s holi-
day candle-lighting service downtown
as they did in years past, the school
plans to continue ”being involved in
old traditions and starting new ones
down here,” she added.
The academy offered kindergarten
through second-grade education last
school. As was part of the institution’s
strategic plan from the start, a new grade
level will be added each school year until
a full elementary education is provided.
For the 2018-19 school year, about
15 kindergarten and first-graders are
in one combined class, and approxi-
mately 18 second- and third-graders
are in another.
Another change is the extension of
the school day by a half-hour so Span-
ish class can be offered to all students
five days per week, as opposed to only
one weekly 30-minute class.
“At the end of last year, we real-
ized that’s not effective for teaching
a language,” Cannon Beach Academy
Director Amy Frederickson said. “In
order to actually give the students the
skills they need to acquire a second
language, they need it every day.”
See Academy, Page 7A