6A • May 1, 2015 • Seaside Signal • seasidesignal.com
Council takes second look at dispensaries
Certain residents allege discrimination against medical marijuana patients
By Katherine Lacaze
Seaside Signal
Several
community
members implored Seaside
City Council to help end the
discrimination of medical
marijuana patients during
a second public hearing
on the proposal to amend
Seaside’s Code in order to
allow and regulate medical
marijuana dispensaries in
the city.
The board members
demonstrated a change of
heart during council’s meet-
ing Monday by voting 6-1
to remove restrictions ap-
plying to parks and arcades
that were added last meet-
ing. Mayor Don Larson was
the dissenting vote.
The city is in the pro-
cess of amending the Code
of Seaside, which currently
prohibits any business that is
unlawful, illegal or prohibit-
ed by state and federal laws.
The proposed amendment
changes the business license
ordinance to include the sen-
tence: “Notwithstanding the
aforementioned provisions,
a license can be issued for
medical marijuana dispen-
saries that comply with the
additional licensing require-
ments in Chapter 118.”
In addition, a new chap-
ter regulating dispensaries
will be added to the code.
The chapter, as proposed,
requires all medical mar-
ijuana dispensaries to be
registered in accordance
with the Oregon Revised
Statutes and Oregon Ad-
ministrative Rule.
During the April 13
meeting, Larson proposed
adding two more restric-
tions that would not allow a
dispensary to operate within
1,000 feet from any local or
state park, unless it is phys-
ically separated by a river,
nor within 1,000 from any
property with an arcade that
has more than 10 arcade ma-
chines accessible to minors
that are in operation at the
time the ordinance
goes into effect.
At the April
meeting, the
board ap-
proved in
a 5-2 vote
to include
L a r s o n ’s
revision for
public com-
ment and ahead
of a second read-
ing. Councilors Jay
Barber and Seth Morrisey
voted against the amend-
ment.
After Monday night’s
public hearing, the board
again held a vote in which
the four other councilors
agreed to remove the amend-
ment before approving a sec-
ond reading of the ordinance
by title only. Larson also
cast the sole dissenting vote
against the second reading.
Seaside resident and
activist Angela Fairless,
Highway 420 owner Steve
Geiger and other speakers
drew a comparison between
medical marijuana dispen-
saries and the sale and con-
sumption of alcohol present
in Seaside. They questioned
what they see as hypocrisy
that people can consume
alcohol at multiple restau-
rants and locations, even
those attended by children,
but patients who need can-
nabis for medicinal reasons
are denied the ability to
even obtain it within city
limits and Seaside’s Urban
Growth Boundary.
The restrictions proposed
by Larson seem unneces-
sary, discriminato-
ry and stemmed
from
fear,
they said.
“I think
those fears
you have
are based on
old mental-
ities that are
going to the
wayside,” Fair-
less said.
Since the Seaside
Planning Commission did a
majority of the work on the
ordinance and did not see a
need to add restrictions out-
side of what the state has ad-
dressed, Geiger said, he did
not know why City Council
would then ignore the com-
mission’s recommendation
and add “unreasonable and
unfair” restrictions.
Mark Tolan, owner of
Seaside Vacation Homes,
was the only resident who
asked the council to be con-
servative about allowing
anything that makes people
not be “in their right mind.”
He said doing so was in the
interest of public safety and
keeping Seaside a “family
friendly” town.
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used to own a licensed dispen-
sary, responded “all medical
marijuana patients have fami-
ly. To me, that’s one more dis-
crimination we need to end.”
The restrictions already
placed by the state are “so in-
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every transaction being tracked,
recorded and caught on camera
24/7. Proponents of medical
marijuana are not asking for
Seaside to take on “a crazy,
Venice Beach atmosphere,”
she said. “We’re talking about
legitimate sick people that need
this medicine.”
Eric Saucedo, who grows
medical cannabis, requested
City Council also be lenient
on placing more restrictions
for growers in the city. The
Council responded they’re
not addressing that aspect
of medical marijuana at this
time.
Barber, who also voted
“no” last meeting, said he’s
thought a lot about this is-
sue and believes the Plan-
ning Commission “did a
great job of crafting an or-
dinance for exploring a new
area for Seaside.” The city
can amend its code at any
time, he added, to deal with
unforeseen problems that
might arise.
Councilor Dana Phillips
changed her vote to approve
removal of the amendment,
but she is against a medi-
cal marijuana dispensary
being established in Sea-
side’s downtown core. She
will vote against allowing
a marijuana business, medi-
cal or recreational, from op-
erating there, she said.
The council will bring
Necanicum Village sold to Avamere
By Mike Williams
back the legislation for a
third reading and possi-
ble adoption at its May 11
meeting.
In other news:
• The council held a pub-
lic hearing on an ordinance
extending the term of the
Downtown
Maintenance
District and maintaining
the rate of approximately
$8.84 per linear front foot.
7KHFRXQFLOKHOGD¿UVWDQG
second reading of the ordi-
nance by title only and will
readdress the topic at its
next meeting.
• The council unani-
mously approved to accept
a bid of $51,150.99 from
Kinney & Sons Excavat-
ing, of Astoria, for the
Quatat Park restroom reno-
vation project. The project
includes adding and replac-
LQJOLJKW¿[WXUHVUHSODFLQJ
broken and missing tiles,
repairing walls, removing
old siding and replacing it
and other items. The reject-
ed bid of $77,756 was from
Helligso Construction, of
Astoria.
• The council unani-
mously approved to give
publishing rights of the Sea-
side Visitor Guide to MEDI-
America, of Portland, for a
three-year period beginning
2016. The project should be
self-sustaining and require
no cost to the city, except
for polybagging copies to
PDLORXW7KHRWKHU¿QDOLVWV
for the project were EO Me-
dia Group, of Astoria, and
NW Travel & Life, of Gig
Harbor, Wash.
• The council unani-
mously approved a bid
of $32,984 from Jason
Kraushaar Contracting, of
Warrenton, to remodel the
Seaside Fire & Rescue fa-
cility. The rejected bid of
$47,967 was from Helligso
Construction.
• The council unani-
mously agreed to retain the
services of Oregon Fine
Foods to provide food and
beverage services at the
Seaside Civic and Conven-
tion Center for an addition-
al three-year period com-
mencing Nov. 21, 2015.
BUSINESS
DIRECTORY
F LOORING
2/3 of Showroom
ALWAYS ON SALE!
Window Treatments, Fabric, Wallpaper,
Flooring and Interior Design
2311 N. Roosevelt Dr., Seaside, OR 97138 • 503-738-5729
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Randall Lee’s Flooring Outlet • 3579 Hwy 101 Gearhart • 503-738-6756
EO Media Group
Warehouse pricing • Open to the Public • Hundreds of instock rolls & remnants • In House Binding
Necanicum Village has a
new name and a new admin-
istrator after the sale of the
facility to Avamere of Wil-
sonville.
K. C. Clark took over
administrator responsibili-
ties on April 1 when the sale
closed and the name changed
to Avamere At Seaside, said
Nicolette Merino, region-
al director of operations for
Avamere.
The company has had
its eye on the facility for a
while, she said.
“We want to be able to of-
fer a fuller range of services
in the markets we serve,”
Merino said.
Avamere also operates
the Suzanne Elise assisted
living community in Sea-
side. Necanicum’s secure
memory care unit adds an-
other service for the compa-
ny to offer.
L ANDSCAPING
Laurelwood Compost • Mulch • Planting MacMix
Soil Amendments
YARD DEBRIS DROP-OFF
(no Scotch Broom)
503-717-1454
34154 HIGHWAY 26
SEASIDE, OR
Avamere at Seaside
“We’re excited to be able
to put that in our portfolio,”
said Merino.
Avamere At Seaside has
41 apartments in the assist-
ed living community and 26
in the memory care. While
most apartments have just
one person in them, the facil-
ity is licensed for 104 people.
Seaside High students to
perform in music recital
Three students from
Seaside High School were
recipients of Friday Musi-
cal Club scholarships and
will be featured, along with
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schools, in a music recital
May 3.
The event, which is open
to the public, will start at
2:30 p.m. at the First Lu-
theran Church in Astoria.
Sophomore Adam Morse,
a baritone; freshman Ry-
anne Sunnell, a French horn
player; and freshman Fiona
Bonn, a clarinetist, will par-
ticipate in the recital. The
other musicians are from
Astoria High School, Asto-
ria Middle School and Ilwa-
co High School. A reception
for the musicians, hosted by
Friday Musical Club mem-
bers, will be held immedi-
ately following the recital.
The Friday Musical
Club scholarship program
consists of teacher recom-
mendations, student appli-
cations, instructor assign-
ment and private music
instruction from January to
May, according to a news
release. The program cul-
minates in a public recital.
There is no admission cost
but donations are accepted.
The Friday Musical
&OXE LV DI¿OLDWHG ZLWK $V
toria High School Scholar-
ships Inc. Donations to the
fund are tax deductible. For
more information, contact
Dr. Susan Buehler at (503)
436-0378.
P ra y er a nd H ea ling
E X PL O RE TH E CO N N E CTIO N S!
A L ecture w i th M a rk Sw i nney
It currently has 68 residents.
Merino said Avamere
ZLOO OLNHO\ EH DGGLQJ ¿YH
full-time staff in the coming
months, including clinicians
and support staff. Current
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In addition, the company
will be repainting, replacing
carpet and making other up-
grades to the physical plant.
Merino praised the staff
at Necanicum Village during
the transition to the new
ownership.
“We were very blessed
with the staff in building when
we acquired it,” she said.
“They were great. It makes
the transition a lot easier.”
Correction
Due to a reporters’
error, it was implied in
the April 17 edition of
the Seaside Signal that
Courtney Cram’s shop,
Timeless Treasures and
Furnishings, no longer
is in business. However,
she moved her shop to a
new location on Roos-
evelt Drive near Seaside’s
STUFF and business is
going well, she said. The
paper regrets this error.
Mothers Day Brunch
Sunday, May 10 th • 10am – 4pm
• Ho n ey G la zed Ha m
• Chicken M a rsa la
• Lem o n Peppered S a lm o n
• G a rlic M a shed Po ta to es & R ice Pila f
• Bro cco li w ith Cheese S a u ce
• S cra m b led Eggs & Ho m e Fried Po ta to es
• Ba co n & S a u sa ge Lin ks
• W a ffles w ith S tra w b erries
• Biscu its a n d G ra vy
• Fresh Fru it
• Asso rted S a la d s
• Ho m em a d e Desserts
A d ul
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o rs $ 23.95
$
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Regular M enu served from 7am – 11am and 4pm – 8pm
Buffet served from 10am -4pm • BUFFET O N LY 11am -4pm
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34154 H WY 26, S EASIDE , OR
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