6A • October 19, 2018 | Cannon Beach Gazette | cannonbeachgazette.com
Candidates talk rentals, rabbits in Cannon Beach
Issues debated
at election
forum
By Brenna Visser
Cannon Beach Gazette
Candidates for City Coun-
cil generally share a common
vision: preserve the character
and charm of Cannon Beach.
But when asked at an elec-
tion forum Thursday, Oct. 4,
about how they would manage
key issues which define that
character — vacation rentals,
parking and how to contain a
growing bunny population —
their views diverged.
City Councilor Mike
Benefield, Greg Swedenborg,
a hotelier and Cannon Beach
Chamber of Commerce board
president, and Robin Risley,
a real estate agent and plan-
ning commissioner, are vying
for two seats on the council
in November. Mayor Sam
BRENNA VISSER
City Council candidates Mike Benefield, Robin Risley and
Greg Swedenborg speak at an election forum in Cannon
Beach.
Steidel is running for his seat
unopposed.
They were joined by state
House District 32 candidates
Tiffiny Mitchell, a Democrat,
and Brian Halvorsen, an Inde-
pendent. Republican Vineeta
Lower was invited but did not
attend. The forum was spon-
sored by The Daily Astorian.
On some issues, like the
bunny infestation frustrating
neighbors in Tolovana, candi-
dates were equally stumped.
“But I think the problem
lies in the eye of the behold-
er,” Benefield said. “You ei-
ther love them or hate them.”
But on others, like regu-
lating vacation rentals, the
candidates disagreed on ap-
proaches.
Benefield advocated for a
proposal about to go before
the Planning Commission that
would eliminate the five-year
rental permit that allows some
homeowners nightly rentals.
“It’s putting a commer-
cial business in a residential
neighborhood,” he said.
Risley instead felt the city
should do more to crack down
on illegal rentals, which she
believes will happen once the
city hires a code enforcement
officer.
Swedenborg,
however,
feels the number of rentals
registered with the city is fair.
Only about 30 homes have the
five-year unlimited permit,
and the revenue generated
from those rentals benefits the
city significantly, he said. In-
stead, he would propose rais-
ing the annual fee for the per-
mit from $350 to $3,000 and
suggest using the revenue to
fund more affordable housing
solutions.
“These houses we’re
talking about are designed to
be rentals. We can’t turn back
the clock on that,” Sweden-
borg said.
Candidates also differed
on how they would address
parking during the city’s peak
tourism season.
“A flashing sign that says
we’re full?” Benefield joked.
“Unfortunately we’re a beau-
tiful place, and the rest of the
world is finding out. I’m not
sure what to do about that.”
Benefield supports creat-
ing a shuttle system between
town and the U.S. Highway
26 junction, as well as parking
at South Wind. Risley leaned
more toward creating a com-
mittee to study the issue, as
well as leveraging underuti-
lized parking lots at busi-
nesses like the Cannon Beach
Community Church or banks
while they are closed.
Swedenborg said he wasn’t
sure of the solution, but advo-
cated for paid parking in city-
owned parking lots. By his
estimates, the three lots could
raise about $500,000 a year
to fund whatever option the
council decides.
Mitchell and Halvorsen
also chimed in about the im-
pact of tourism in the region,
saying each would work on
the state level to rework the
way lodging tax revenue gets
distributed to cities.
“A lot of people already
know we’re here,” Mitchell
said. “So let’s cut back a lit-
tle on promotion and reinvest
in things like our roads, our
schools … which would not
only be a benefit to the com-
munities, but would ease the
tax burden on those who live
here.”
Officials may request a bond measure to make City Hall repairs
City Hall from Page 1A
Issues surrounding City Hall
have been documented for more
than a decade.
Multiple renovation plans
to fix problems with air ven-
tilation and structural defects
have been drawn up, but
shelved due to high costs and
lack of feasibility.
Conversations about re-
placing City Hall resurfaced
at the urging of City Manag-
er Bruce St. Denis, who has
concerns about the building in
a tsunami or earthquake. The
building would be vulnerable
to a minor seismic event or a
medium-to-large sized tsuna-
mi, St. Denis said.
Making the building re-
sistant to a major earthquake
would be a priority no matter
which location is chosen. But
some, like City Councilor
George Vetter, see placing the
new City Hall at South Wind
as the gateway to finally devel-
oping the property that has sat
vacant since 2013.
Higher costs associated
with developing South Wind,
such as buying highway ac-
cess and installing new utilities
from scratch, could be offset
by selling the land on where
City Hall sits on Gower, Vetter
argues — land that could be
priced at a premium given its
proximity to Hemlock Street.
Installing utilities for a City
Hall at South Wind could be
the catalyst for other devel-
COLIN MURPHEY
Damage can be seen to the foundation of the City Hall building in Cannon Beach.
opment, such as a new school
building, he said.
“I think if we keep (City
Hall) here, we are abandoning
the South Wind site,” Vetter
said. “The City Council needs
to take the lead to go up there.
I don’t see how we could get
a bond measure here and then
get another for development
at South Wind. We’re turning
our backs on South Wind if we
don’t take this opportunity.”
St. Denis said he under-
stood Vetter’s argument, but
cautioned that no matter the
location, a City Hall serving a
town the size of Cannon Beach
will never be big enough to be
considered a long-term shelter
after a disaster.
“I don’t want to give the
impression to people that they
can go there and stay there for
two weeks,” St. Denis said.
Others, like City Council-
or Mike Benefield and Mayor
Sam Steidel, believe there’s an
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inherent value in keeping City
Hall in the heart of town. Most
of the structural issues could
be addressed at the existing
location for the majority of
seismic and tsunami events,
they believe.
“What we do needs to
be accessible to the public,”
Steidel said. “It’s important
to town character to have City
Hall at the center.”
Benefield also fears mov-
ing City Hall to South Wind
had the possibility of being “an
uneconomic decision made
just because we happen to own
the land.”
Steidel is asking the archi-
tecture firm to study a third
option — placing the police
station at South Wind. Critical
supplies and services could be
stored and conducted while
keeping City Hall accessible
in town.
“Having police up there fits
better for what we purchased
the 55 acres for,” Steidel said.
No decisions will be made
until after the City Council re-
ceives SRG’s price estimates
for each scenario. A public
comment period will be open
in January before city coun-
cilors make the final location
decision mid-February to meet
the May ballot deadline, St.
Denis said.
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