March 18, 2016 Seaside Signal seasidesignal.com 9A
Brew pub plan gets conditional go-ahead
Beer, cooking odors, said
to be contained
By R.J. Marx
Seaside Signal
Despite questions about
potential odors from a meat
smoker and beer-making op-
eration, a plan to convert the
Gearhart grocery into Gearhart
Station, a brew pub and deli,
won Planning Commission ap-
proval Thursday, March 10.
The ¿ nal verdict The pro-
posal ¿ lls a need in the com-
munity and meets the goals of
the comprehensive plan.
Planning Commissioner
Virginia Dideum was one of
the four who voted to grant
approval to the plan. “I’m
one of those people who go to
Fort George,” she said. “I go
to Buoy Beer. I would love to
have some place to get dinner.
This would be good for the
community.”
The transition is motivated
by slow sales at the grocery
store, according to the owners
Molly and Terry Lowenberg.
The grocery store has been for
sale for over two years and has
struggled to compete with re-
gional grocers north and south
of Gearhart..
“I go into that store,” Dide-
um said. “I go into that store
lots of times. And I’m the only
person in that store.”
The Paci¿ c :ay property,
located in a commercial zone,
is considered a café under the
city’s code.
Commissioners considered
public need, hours of operation
and a requirement the business
operate at least 11 months per
year.
Commissioners also stud-
ied parking, traf¿ c patterns and
septic, which has won condi-
tional approval from the county.
Residents voiced concern
about potential odors from
smoked meats and the brewing
process.
A system that size is more
kept inside than out, Seaside
Brewing co-owner and brewer
Vince Burg said. “Inside the
walls, smell,” Burg said. “Out-
side the walls, pretty minimal.”
Most brewing is done
during the day, especially for
a smaller brewery like the one
proposed, he added.
Beer would be sold for cus-
tomers within the store, and
available for takeout in con-
tainers, engineer Mark Mead
of Mead Engineering said on
behalf of the applicant. The food
area would be separated from
SUBMITTED PHOTO
Gearhart Grocery has been a gathering place for many years.
the bar by a short wooden wall
and families would be served at
the nine tables, with a 40-seat
area. The brewing area would be
visible through a glassed area.
Mead said the owner felt the
brew pub was needed “because
Gearhart group tackles rules
governing short-term rentals
Septic concerns play key
role in discussion
By R.J. Marx
Seaside Signal
GEARHART — Even as
the wind whistled and howled
:ednesday night, March , a
full contingent of Gearhart City
Council and Planning Com-
mission members gathered
at City Hall to hammer out a
proposed short-term rental or-
dinance. They hope to have the
policy in place by summer.
“:e need to look at the big
picture,” Planning Commis-
sion er David Smith said. “:e
need to look at where we are
and where we need to go.”
Mayor Dianne :iddop
added, “:e don’t want to
have a hotel on a residential
street .” .Minimum night stays,
number of guests, registra-
tion, licensing and inspection
procedures all ¿ gure in plans
to regulate Gearhart’s short-
term rental properties.
It’s about the septic
But before of¿ cials at-
tacked those issues, they
received a lesson in septic
systems, as Clatsop County
Public Health Environmen-
tal Health Supervisor Mike
McNickle provided an over-
view of the city’s septic sys-
tems, cesspools and gravity
waste -treatment systems.
Many septic tanks, partic-
ularly steel ones installed 40
or 50 years ago, are disinte-
grating, he said. Others are
overloaded or inef¿ cient.
Since Gearhart residents
use groundwater as their
drinking supply, more short-
term rental visitors could play
a role in the public’s clean wa-
ter supply, he said.
Tanks for two people
should be pumped every
¿ ve to seven years, McNick-
there wasn’t one in Gearhart
itself.”
“He thought about doing
just a restaurant, but a restau-
rant alone needed something
else with it,” Mead said. “By
adding craft beer, you’re add-
ing something that isn’t there.
He’s put a lot of thought and
research what to put in that
building so it just doesn’t sit
empty.”
Commissioners
David
Smith, Terry Graff and Jeremy
Davis voted against the plan;
Dideum, Carl Anderson, Rich-
ard Owsley and Russ Taggard
voted for it.
Mead said after the meet-
ing a changeover date has not
been set.
Monthly Craft Fair coming to community center
By Katherine Lacaze
For Seaside Signal
The Bob Chisholm Com-
munity Center will be hosting a
Craft Fair every third Thursday
of the month to highlight the
talents of local artisans.
The monthly fairs, spon-
sored by the Northwest Senior
and Disability Services and the
Sunset Empire Park & Rec-
reation District, will be from
100 a.m. to 120 p.m. at the
center. The next event is sched-
uled for March 17.
Holly Burns, the nutrition
and health promotion coordi-
nator, is lining up vendors, who
will demonstrate their craft and
sell their products. Proceeds
from sales will go to bene¿ t the
center and its future remodel.
“Anyone with a talent can
come,” she said.
The community craft fairs,
open to the public, will coin-
cide with senior lunches, which
are served each week day cour-
tesy of Northwest Senior and
Disability Services, a local in-
tergovernmental agency. The
agency is trying to get more
people involved with the meal
site, Burns said.
“:e want to keep seniors as
independent as possible for as
long as they can be,” she added.
The lunches, held at 1145
a.m. Monday through Friday,
are designed for residents 60
years and older, but anyone
can join, though a donation of
$6.75 is suggested, Burns said.
Hot meals are served
Mondays, :ednesdays and
Fridays, and salad, soup and
sandwiches are served Tues-
days and Thursdays. The
agency also offers a Meals-on-
:heels program, which deliv-
ers hot meals — in addition to
a frozen meal — on Mondays,
:ednesdays and Fridays. Both
programs are volunteer-driv-
en and serve residents from
Gearhart to Cannon Beach and
in between. :ithout the vol-
unteers, Burns said, “this pro-
gram couldn’t function.”
For many of the seniors who
attend the lunches, “they come
really to socialize with their
friends,” Burns said.
The center hosts other ac-
tivities and classes for seniors
throughout the week; they of-
ten are held before or after the
lunches.
R.J. MARX/SEASIDE SIGNAL
Russ Taggard listens as Mike McNickle gives a presentation
on septic concerns for short-term rental properties.
le said, and a family of four
should pump every three to
¿ ve years, depending on us-
age. Five loads of wash could
put a home at 75 percent of
the 275-gallon daily water -us-
age average.
Homeowner limits
The number of bedrooms
rather than the size of the
bathroom determines a home-
owner’s limit , he added.
City Planner Carole Con-
nell recommended a maxi-
mum of 10 people per short-
term rental stay, including
people sleeping in tents or
RVs on the property, because
“those people use the facil-
ities,” she said. “It has to do
with the water usage.”
Septic inspection would be
required and cesspools would
be prohibited from licensing
at transient rental properties,
of¿ cials agreed.
In addition to septic mon-
itoring, of¿ cials addressed
parking concerns, garbage
pickup and emergency safety.
Adequate parking should be
ANSWERS ON :
Efficiency
a consideration, commissioners
suggested, and could be limited
to one car per rental bedroom.
Property owners could be
required to provide sideyard
garbage pickup and informa-
tion about recycling for their
guests.
Rules may mandate emer-
gency go-bags and ensure a
National Oceanic and Atmo-
spheric Administration radio in
case of tsunami and earthquake
scenarios.
Commissioner Terry Graff
urged an occupancy cap and
minimum -length -stay require-
ment.
“If you’re going to do
something to control the rental
problem, the only way you’re
going to do it is with an occu-
pancy cap and minimum rental
stays,” Graff said.
“That’s the most important
reason we’re here,” Councilor
Paulina Cockrum said.
The Planning Commission
will continue meeting to devel-
op short-term rental licensing
guidelines, with a public hear-
ing April 14.
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