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About Seaside signal. (Seaside, Or.) 1905-current | View Entire Issue (April 3, 2015)
April 3, 2015 • Seaside Signal • seasidesignal.com • 9A ‘Paddle Out’ celebrates life of longtime Cannon Beach resident A Paddle Out and Life Celebration for Cannon Beach 50-year resident Jack Brown was held on Sunday, Feb. 22, in the Seaside Cove at the bottom of Tillamook Head. About 200 of Jack’s community including his family, friends and surfers gathered to celebrate his life. Generations of surfers and residents of the North Coast gathered to feel the connec- tion Jack always brought to his community; one of inclu- siveness and love. It began with a service on the beach with nearly 100 surfers in wetsuits and their boards on the rocks, along with another hundred of Jack’s commu- nity who weren’t doing the “paddle out.” Long time Sea- side resident and director of NW Women’s Surf Camps Lexie Hallahan presided. “Sometimes in our lives we’re given a gem of op- portunity to meet and know an extraordinary person, one who changes our lives. Jack Brown was that gem,” said +DOODKDQ ³$ JUHDW VXU¿QJ EXGG\WRXVDOOKLVQHDUO\¿I- W\\HDUVRIVXU¿QJDORQJWKH Oregon Coast, crossed be- tween generations of us surf- ers. A mentor, who shared with us life’s lasting lessons, not only in his words and wonderful humor, but in how he lived his life; simply, ful- ly, with love and great gen- erosity. Jack was our hero, a man we all respected, loved and adored. Our world, both in and out of the water, was made more brilliant because of Jack Brown. It’s our turn QRZDVKLVVXU¿QJFRPPXQL- ty and friends to carry Jack’s great spirit of intention for- ward.” Local Seaside resident and surfer Joyce Hunt read a quote attributed to John F. Kennedy, spoken by the late president at the Australian Ambassador’s Dinner for the American’s Cup Crews on September 14, 1962, in Newport, Rhode Island. “I really don’t know why it is that all of us are so com- mitted to the sea, except I think it’s because in addition to the fact that the sea chang- es, and ships change, it’s be- cause we all came from the sea. And it is an interesting biological fact that all of us have in our veins the exact same percentage of salt in our blood that exists in the ocean, and therefore, we have salt in our blood, our Hyak project faces hurdle Hyak from Page 8A SUBMITTED PHOTO Jack Brown, avid surfer and longtime Cannon Beach resi- dent. sweat and our tears. We are tied to the ocean. And when we go back to the sea, wheth- er is is to surf (sail) or to watch it, we are going back from whence we came,” said Kennedy in capturing the spirit of what humans share with the ocean. %XQFKHVRIÀRZHUVZHUH passed around the communi- ty on the beach to throw into the shore break and into the center of the “paddle out cir- cle” once surfers made it out to the outer cove. Then the nearly 100 surfers all migrat- ed to the cove riptide to pad- dle outside together. The day had been blessed with warm east winds, sunshine and a long period four foot ground swells, perfect for the paddle out service. In the surfer’s parking lot on the west side of the Lanai Motel, while surfers were paddling out, Hawaiian music was played by local surfer and Hawaiian Hank Snell, which carried out over the waves to be heard both by them and the people on the rocky beach. Once to the outer cove, the surfers formed a large circle, holding each other’s hands in solidarity and community for their friend, Jack Brown. Local surfer Jon Leiter gave WKH¿QDOOLIHWRDVWLQWKHFHQ- ter of the circle recognizing the great person Jack was for how he was so inclusive in the community and encour- aged all of the surfers there to take with them and share that piece of Jack. Flowers were thrown into the middle of the circle followed by lots of cheering and splashing of the ocean, representative of energy being lifted from the ocean (water) to the air and spirit (ether). After the circle ceremo- ny, surfers paddled back into the waves for hours of party waves, followed by a large ERQ¿UH ZLWK VPRNHG VDOPRQ provided by the Tillamook Head Kopra brothers, Da- vid and John. That night, the moon’s shape was a perfect smile with the planet Venus, planet of Love, hanging right below the moon in the sky. At that time, the building was going to be renovated with a $500,000 grant that Oregon Housing and Com- munity Services awarded to the county authority. But the deal between Helping Hands and the county au- thority was thrown into lim- bo in December 2012 when the Clatsop County Board of Commissioners took over the county authority and dismissed the agency’s board, executive director and operations manager. The grant was put on hold, along with a loan to complete the purchase of the building. When Helping Hands Executive Director Alan Evans found out the monthly payment to lease the building would be $3,500 instead of $1,000, as he orig- inally believed, he backed off the deal completely. NOHA now administers the county authority, although the county commissioners continue to serve as the coun- ty housing authority’s board. NOHA applied with Oregon Housing and Community Services to sponsor the Hyak Building project, and the state agreed to that proposal and will grant the $500,000 in general housing account funds when the property is owned by NOHA. The agen- cy then will use the money to renovate the building. The agenda for Thurs- day’s meeting of the NOHA board of directors includ- ed the signing of a draft agreement with the county authority to take over the Hyak property. Public com- ments were also taken at that meeting. Last week, Johnston said WKH\¶YH ¿QLVKHG D FDSLWDO needs assessment and envi- ronmental report and were ready to get contractors to do the construction. He doesn’t foresee the project being stopped or moved, even in light of the complaints. “If the zoning has to be changed, or if the non-compli- ant use cannot continue, which we do plan to dispute or look into further, if that can’t be re- VROYHGWKHQZHIHHOFRQ¿GHQW we can still move the project forward using the current zon- ing regulations,” Johnston told the county authority board. “We still feel like it’s an im- portant project for the commu- nity, for that population and for the county.” Evans agreed the organi- zation would be willing to al- ter its plans to conform, if that is what the city of Seaside de- cides or if an appeal fails. “It’s still a workable proj- ect for Helping Hands and I believe that we can move for- ward with it,” he said. “We’re going to make this obstacle into an opportunity.” The county housing au- thority will have to pay attorney fees for a prelimi- nary investigation to review the zoning regulation con- cerns and form a response. County Commissioner Li- anne Thompson asked for an estimation of the cost before moving forward. Critics in a huff over timber harvest inside growth boundary harvesting is done within 200 feet from the edge of wetlands, as per the Forest Practices Act. Half the trees by species, as well as diame- ter class, must remain, along ZLWK WKH ¿UVW URZ RI WUHHV along the waterway. The proj- ect must also follow rules de- VLJQHG IRU ODUJH ¿VK VWUHDPV and estuaries. There are no regulations past 200 feet. The department didn’t re- quire replanting trees or any sort of growth since it was just a thinning, not a clear cut, and it “doesn’t make much sense to remove trees that could hit a structure and then replant,” Bond said. Lertora has conducted a post-harvest inspection and the project was found to be in compliance with the For- est Practices Act. On March 19, the Oregon &RDVW $OOLDQFH D QRQSUR¿W whose mission is to protect and restore coastal natural resources, wrote a letter to Mayor Don Larson and City Council members expressing the alliance’s “concern for recent actions taken by the city of Seaside which are di- rectly prohibited by Seaside ordinances and other actions, which raise questions about the city’s watershed man- agement policies.” The letter referenced McGrath’s com- mercial timber harvesting project, as well as the city’s recent commercial timber harvest in the South Fork Necanicum Watershed. The letter stated that, ac- cording to Seaside’s Zon- ing Ordinance, since timber harvesting is not listed as a permissible use in a subur- Project concerns ban residential zone, it falls under prohibited uses by de- expressed fault. Prohibited uses are all At the March 9 City those not permitted outright Council meeting, Daniel or as conditional uses under O’Neil, who lives by Mc- the zoning section. Commer- Grath’s property on North cial timber harvesting also is Wahanna Road, said timber not listed as a use or activity harvesting in a residential permitted with review nor a area along a sensitive creek conditional use or activity in makes no sense. In addition, aquatic conservation zones. he was never informed about “Since timber harvesting the harvest, and there was no is prohibited in the zones time to have his property line which apply to this proper- surveyed. O’Neil claimed ty, Seaside illegally permit- he could have owned some ted it,” the letter from the of the trees. McGrath dis- alliance claims. “An illegal agreed, saying the land was approval such as this one VXUYH\HG ZKHQ WKH\ ¿UVW makes the city vulnerable to bought the property. legal challenge. In the future, She did not notify the the city must not allow tim- neighbors of the project, she ber harvests on any proper- said. “I didn’t think it was ty in the city’s jurisdiction any of their business because when the zoning code pro- it didn’t interfere with them.” hibits such use.” The fact that the city’s Timber Management Plan has not been updated since 1983, combined with the city’s recent timber harvest on its Necanicum Watershed property and the city allow- ing McGrath’s commercial project, “shows a lack of understanding by the city of modern watershed and eco- system-based management principles – especially im- portant in a watershed that is the residents’ drinking water source,” the letter states. In the future, the alliance would like to collaborate with the city to protect its wetlands, forests and watershed. The alliance also rec- ommended the city work with the Necanicum Wa- tershed Council, the North Coast Land Conservancy and other interest groups to update the forest manage- ment plan, develop a water- shed management plan and create alternative funding methods for future water- shed purchases. City’s response Cupples disagreed with the alliance’s interpretation of the Zoning Ordinance, saying it does not “prohibit” timber harvesting, which is an activity not a use. Timber harvesting is only regulated under the coastal lake and Recreation district board votes to ask former general manager to step in as interim director By Katherine Lacaze Seaside Signal The Sunset Empire Park & Recreation Dis- trict Board is hoping to ¿QG DQ LQWHULP GLUHF- tor for the district as it continues its search for a new permanent execu- tive director. At a special meeting Tuesday, the board vot- ed unanimously to have the Special Districts Association of Oregon, the agency assisting in the executive director search on a contract, to ask Mary Blake, the district’s former general manager, to serve as in- terim executive director. It was unknown by press time if she accepted the offer. If she accepts, she likely would serve until a permanent replacement is found. If she were to turn it down, the board will schedule another meet- ing to choose a differ- ent option. The decision came after Bill Ander- son, the SDAO repre- sentative working with the recreation district, looked for alternatives within the communi- W\ EXW FRXOG QRW ¿QG DQ appropriate person who was available. Since former General Manager Justin Cutler resigned in March, the department managers have absorbed various duties and responsibili- ties. While the board is grateful for staff being willing to step up, Board Chair Mike Hinton said, the board believes it’s LPSRUWDQW WR ¿QG DQ LQ- terim director to oversee and provide continuity of the various departments. About 40 people re- sponded to advertise- ments for the executive director position. The board narrowed the pool down to six primary can- didates and three alter- nates. A committee of Anderson and two board members was sched- uled to conduct phone interviews with the can- didates this week and Monday before inviting a number of the candidates for in-person interviews. The board has asked Jan Barber and Diane Somers, of the Sunset Park & Recreation Foun- dation, to be contact people for the Special Districts Association of Oregon to help facilitate the interview process DQG ¿QG PHPEHUV IRU D community panel and a technical panel, both of which will interview the candidates. C all F or A free IN -H O M E C O N SU LT AT IO N ! S hutters, D rap eries, W ood B lind s, C ellular S had es, S oft S had es, Vertical B lind s, Valances, W oven W ood & m ore! Oregon Coast 503-738-5242 freshwater wetlands, or A-3, zone, he said. The A-3 section of the Zoning Ordinance states: “Within the Urban Growth Boundary, occasional selec- tive harvesting of timber is not considered to be a pri- mary use and the use will be subjected to rigorous re- quirements should a permit be applied for and granted.” The harvesting can only take place, the ordinance contin- ues, with a conditional-use permit from the city. The Comprehensive Plan does not address timber har- vesting except to say “there are no commercial forest lands in the Seaside Urban Growth Boundary.” The phrase, Cupples said, was “simply pointing out the lands owned by commer- cial timber companies were located outside” the Urban Growth Boundary. “No timber company would argue that Mrs. Mc- Grath is a commercial timber grower,” he said. “She had some clearing done on the property. And the fact that she disposed of the trees by selling them, that’s not a vio- lation of our ordinance.” Since some trees in the riparian area were cut down, the city will require McGrath to put in some vegetation or growth, Cupples said. 2 5 % Lincoln City 541-994-9954 SAVE on Select Signature Series Financing Available SW Washington 503-738-5242 www.budgetblinds.com *Offer not valid with any other offers. Offer good at time of initial estimate only. Offer good at participating franchises only. Each franchise independently owned and operated. CCB# 177717 and a wildlife biologist met on-site, they checked for any protected resources and en- dangered species, but found none, nor anything of concern to prevent the project, Bond By Katherine Lacaze said. Seaside Signal The only reason McGrath wanted to harvest trees, she A commercial timber har- said, was because there were vesting project on private some she felt could potential- property in Seaside’s Urban ly cause damage. The proper- Growth Boundary has caused ty contains three houses and if a stir among private citizens one of the several 90-foot trees and the Oregon Coast Alliance. had fallen down, it could have A couple weeks ago, Wan- endangered the buildings and da McGrath thinned about people’s lives, she said. half of a small one-acre for- Some people have argued est on her property on North the city should have inter- Wahanna Road. The property, vened on the project. The which sits along the Neawan- city has jurisdiction over ar- na Creek, is outside city limits eas within the Urban Growth but inside the Urban Growth Boundary, according to a Boundary. It is partially zoned joint management agreement suburban residential, and the adopted in 1995 and amended section abutting the creek is in 1996. zoned conservation aquatic. The city did not know The operator who was about the project until it was hired to do the cutting, Den- too late, Seaside Planning nis Larson of Astoria-based Director Kevin Cupples said. Dennis Larson Excavating, 8VXDOO\WKHFLW\LVQRWL¿HGE\ VXEPLWWHG D QRWL¿FDWLRQ RI the Department of Forestry operation for the project to the before a project like this oc- Oregon Department of Forest- curs, he said, as it would have ry in January, which was more required erosion control and than 15 days in advance, as land clearing permits, neither required by the state to allow of which were obtained for time for cooperative discus- this project. The department sions before activities begin. did not notify the city, which Neal Bond, a protection was an oversight, Bond said. unit forester with the Oregon Cupples said it didn’t mat- Department of Forestry, said ter, as they would have de- the agency did a pre-inspec- ferred to the Department of tion to make sure the activi- Forestry anyway. ty complied with the Forest “It’s not as if it was some- Practices Act rules. thing that would have been Neawanna Creek, which is denied,” he said. DODUJH¿VKVWUHDPLVLQFORVH proximity to the area. When The harvest process The Department of For- Ashley Lertora, a stewardship forester with the department, estry restricts how timber Project approved by Dept. of Forestry but did not have permits from city