SEASIDESIGNAL.COM • COMPLIMENTARY COPY
OUR 110th YEAR • April 15, 2016
City to consider convention center renovation
After 25 years, director says the
center must grow to compete
By R.J. Marx
Seaside Signal
SUBMITTED PHOTO/STEELE ASSOCIATES ARCHITECTS LLC
Proposed renovation plans for the exterior
of the Seaside Convention Center.
Seaside Civic and Convention Center Gen-
eral Manager Russell Vandenberg went before
the Seaside City Council Tuesday to present a
nearly $15 million dollar renovation plan.
Another plan at more than twice the cost
fell À at last year after residents and business-
es objected to a proposed sales tax to fund its
purchase. A sales tax is “off the table,” accord-
ing to Vandenberg, who said funding options
would be discussed at future meetings.
The need for a renovation is a result of the
center’s age and to keep up with the times, he
said.
The center, which holds 1,200 people, was
built in 1971 and renovated in 1991.
“We have a 45-year-old building, built in
1971, and it’s a little tired,” Vandenberg said.
A
BALANCING ACT
“But she’s done her job, provided economic
impact for 45 years.”
The majority of convention centers reno-
vate or increase size about every 15 years, ac-
cording to Vandenberg. “We’re now going on
25 years since that time .”
Vandenberg and Jon Rahl of the Seaside
Visitors Center said the renovated center
would signi¿ cantly increase capacity, urgently
needed to accommodate regional events.
See Center, Page 6A
Cannon Beach
Academy still
¿ ghting for a
fall opening
Charter school claims district set
‘artifi cial barriers’
By Lyra Fontaine
EO Media Group
Hobby becomes a phys ed activity
By Katherine Lacaze | For the Seaside Signal
W
hen thinking about physical education at elementary school, one practice that likely will
not come to mind is unicycling. An exception can be found, however, in the Seaside
School District.
Each ¿ fth-grade physical education class at Gearhart Elementary School and Seaside
+eights Elementary School recently completed a ¿ ve-week unit focused on the unicycle.
Cannon Beach Academy representatives
said they were “extremely disappointed” by
the Seaside School District’s decision to with-
draw approval for the charter school’s opening
this fall.
They say the district erected unreasonable,
“arti¿ cial barriers” to the academy’s operation
and should reconsider the decision.
E ight academy board members objected in a
letter received by the school district last week . The
school district withdrew approval last month based
on the acade-
my’s failure to
meet ¿ nancial,
enrollment and
English as a
Second Lan-
guage require-
ments agreed
upon in Octo-
ber.
The condi-
tions, which
were to be The Cannon Beach Acade-
met by March, my’s logo, designed by Crow-
were intended erks of Cannon Beach.
to ensure that
the academy would be “¿ nancially, structural-
ly and academically ready” to open in the fall.
While acknowledging these conditions
had not been met, academy board members
asked the school district to “accept a certain
level of uncertainty” relating to enrollment
and staff.
The academy board offered to meet with the
district to “further discuss how we can move
forward to commence Cannon Beach opera-
tions for the 2016-17 school year.”
The public charter school is prepared to ap-
peal the district’s decision and seek sponsor-
ship by the Oregon State Board of Education if
an agreement is not reached by April 11, board
members wrote. An appeal has not been ¿ led
to date.
Long road
In 2013, community residents sought to
bring a charter school to Cannon Beach, with
the goal of hosting kindergartners through
¿ fth-graders.
PAID
PERMIT NO. 97
ASTORIA, OR
PRSRT STD
US POSTAGE
See Unicycles, Page 10A
See Academy, Page 7A
Short-term rental owners fear impact of rules
Vacation homeowners say it’s
a matter of ‘survival’
By R.J. Marx
Seaside Signal
R.J. MARX/SEASIDE SIGNAL
Katherine Schroeder and Nancy
Marshall say the city should not bur-
den short-term rental owners with
regulations.
Opponents of limits on vacation
rentals in Gearhart say they are not
getting equal time in the debate and
the city has already decided to enact
rules, overriding their input.
Gearhart property owners Kather-
ine Schroeder and Nancy Marshall,
in a discussion at Schroeder’s home
April 6 said vacation homeowners
could effectively regulate themselves.
They oppose the city’s plans to seek
changes in the zoning code to regulate
short-term lodging of 30 days or less.
Schroeder’s North Marion Ave-
nue home was rented by the previous
owners, and rented continuously for
For more on Gearhart’s
short-term rental issue,
see pages 5A and 7A
about 65 years.
Marshall, a North Marion Avenue
resident, arrived in Gearhart in 1989.
“We’ve had the beach house since
1989,” Marshall said. “We needed to
rent it, and continue to rent it. We’re
not opposed to the tax, but to have the
city tell me how I can use my proper-
ty really irritates me.”
Schroeder and Marshall vigorous-
ly oppose restrictions.
“Those who want to regulate think
it’s for the good of the community but
those of us who don’t want regula-
tions, think it’s to survive,” Schroeder
said. “The regulations are not simply
regulations, they are restrictions, also,
which I think is a big distinction.”
“People think we’re making mon-
ey hand over ¿ st,” Marshall said.
“We’re not.”
Renting their homes out on a short-
term basis allows property owners to
use their own properties for part of
the year, Schroeder said.
Gearhart is different than other
cities, Schroeder and Marshall both
said.
Schroeder, Marshall and several
other Gearhart families began meet-
ing in 01 when the topic ¿ rst came
on the horizon.
They say short-term rental owners
should be self-regulating, with the
¿ rst step education.
See Rentals, Page 7A