July 21, 2017 • Seaside Signal • seasidesignal.com • 7A
City could develop
workforce housing
Council from Page 1A
off-street parking, with a re-
duction of parking require-
ments for certain apartment
units.
Commissioners also pro-
posed plans which would in-
clude “residential over com-
mercial” units that could open
up some downtown commer-
cial buildings to condomini-
ums and apartments.
“That could have a major
impact on workforce hous-
ing,” Mayor Jay Barber said.
“I’m open to looking interest-
ed in looking at how we can
support landowners in how we
can help landlords bring build-
ings up to code.”
Removing hurdles
SUBMITTED PHOTO
Elk cow guarding territory near 10th Street in Gearhart.
Wildlife agents tranquilize elk
Elk from Page 1A
Multiple incidents
In response, the city
added warning signs on the
beach and sent out email
alerts.
Monday morning, Sweet
said, a bicyclist was charged
by an elk near 10th Street in
Gearhart, prompting a call to
the Oregon Department of
Fish and Wildlife and State
Police.
No injuries were reported
as officials responded to the
scene.
Beach access was blocked
as members of the Depart-
ment of Fish and Wildlife
moved close enough to shoot
the elk with a tranquilizer
dart, according to Gearhart
Fire Chief Bill Eddy.
“The elk was postured
up by the flagpole on 10th
Street next to the Windward
condos in a defensive posi-
tion,” Eddy said. “They shot
SUBMITTED PHOTO
Aggressive female elk were
reported in Gearhart Friday.
it one time with a tranquiliz-
er and it didn’t work. They
waited about 15 or 20 min-
utes later and shot it again.
It started getting a little bit
drowsy, but it was stub-
born. You couldn’t get close
to it. It was just wobbling
around.”
Using a long pole with
a syringe on the end of it,
about 20 minutes after the
Chisholm
Center
upgrades
scheduled
second dart, wildlife offi-
cials were able to get close
enough to stick it with the
syringe and subdue the elk,
Eddy said.
At about 1 p.m., the city
sent out a request for volun-
teers to search for the calf.
“Some locals who saw the
blog found the baby pretty
close to where the flagpole
was just to the northwest of
the flagpole,” Sweet said.
“The baby was fine — in fact
it got up to run away once it
was found. ”
A state police officer car-
ried the young elk into a con-
tainer to rejoin the mother,
Sweet said.
“This elk and baby were
moved, but it is going to hap-
pen again,” he said. “There
could be another female elk
out there with its own young
with this same issue.”
According to Oregon
Department of Fish and
Wildlife the female elk and
her calf were transported to
God’s Valley wildlife area.
The calf was reunited with
its mother prior to release,
walking through the field to
the treeline of the forest.
Calving season
While calving season is
late this year — it typically
occurs in April, May or June
— the behavior of the mother
elk is normal, Eddy said.
“When they first drop, es-
pecially when the babies are
small, they’re unable to stay
with the herd,” Eddy said.
“They break off from the
herd. Mom gets very protec-
tive.”
“It’s definitely the wild-
life and people coming to-
gether creating an issue,”
Sweet added. “This time of
year, we seem to have more
reports of elk. If you see an
elk and it is posturing against
you, just back off and take
another route. Give them
their space and this will be a
safer, happier summer.”
In a list intended to remove
hurdles from providing addi-
tional rental opportunities in
residential zones, commis-
sioners presented additional
proposals to encourage long-
term rental housing develop-
ment, including plans to mod-
ify parking requirements and
rules for accessory dwelling
units.
“Right now we’re required
to provide two spots per
dwelling unit,” Carpenter said.
“But two spots is prohibitive
if you want to have workforce
housing with smaller units. If
developers are able to reduce
the number of parking spots,
they can build more.”
Recent state legislation
provides new rules for mul-
tifamily accessory units in
single-family zones, Planning
Director Kevin Cupples said,
which could add to the city’s
rental stock.
Fifty percent of the units
would need to be available at
60 percent of median income
to qualify as affordable units,
the requirement to permit ac-
cessory units in single-family
zones. According to Senate
Bill 1051, cities do retain
some authority if there are
health, safety or “habitability”
concerns.
The bill requires city with
population greater than 5,000
or county with population
greater than 25,000 to review
and decide on applications for
certain housing developments
containing affordable housing
units within 100 days.
Staff has not had time to to
an extensive review of the bill,
Cupples said, although it may
be necessary for the city to be-
gin working on amendments
relating to accessory dwelling
units.
A reduction in system de-
velopment charges — the
costs charged to builders for
city services like roads and
sewers — was also considered
as a way to invite developers
to provide more affordable or
workforce units. These could
be reduced in exchange for
more rental units.
Vacation-rental
dwellings
Councilors and commis-
sioners eliminated further
short-term rental regulation —
including a cap on the number
of short-term rentals — as a
response to the long-term rent-
al shortage.
“I see these as two separate
issues: vacation rentals and
workforce housing,” Planning
Commissioner Chris Hoth
said. “I don’t think we’re go-
ing to accomplish anything if
we put them together.”
Cupples said the city has
398 vacation rentals, about
8.5 percent of the city’s 4,665
housing units. The number is
up from 368 units in 2016, and
348 in 2010.
Barber said he had not re-
ceived complaints about the
number of vacation rentals.
“I haven’t personally gotten
pushback from citizens about
the number,” he said.
“Who’s going to enforce
more restrictions?” Councilor
Dana Phillips said. “We don’t
have the staff.”
“If there are problems with
VRDs, we should deal with
those problems,” Hoth said. “If
there are troubles with work-
force housing, we should deal
with those. I don’t think those
things are complementary.”
Reach for the
Blue Sky
Center from Page 1A
“Hopefully we could get
started as a soon as October,”
Gooch said.
Commission
name change
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Along with seeking ap-
proval to launch the bid pro-
cess, Neubecker asked city
councilors to consider a for-
mal name change for the com-
mission.
Members want to change
the commission’s name to the
Bob Chisholm Community
Center Commission, dropping
the word “senior” in order to
encourage more diverse audi-
ences.
“The reason we’re asking
for the ‘senior’ to be dropped
is a lot of people are saying,
‘Well, I don’t want to hold it
(an event) at the senior cen-
ter,’” Neubecker said.
Commissioners have con-
sidered the change for a cou-
ple of years, Gooch said. “We
serve a very broad group,”
he said. “The center already
serves senior lunches during
the day. In the afternoon and
evening, we have kids from
the preschool come over. It’s
not just an exclusively senior
population — it’s a diverse
population.”
Mayor Jay Barber said the
commission name change
would be considered at the
July 18 council work session.
“I know you are investing a
lot of great resources to make
the facility more attractive,
and you want it to be seen as
something more than a senior
center,” Barber said. “But we
don’t want the seniors to feel
like we’re kicking them out
either. So it’s a bit of a tight-
rope walk.”
ASTORIA
A Gypsy’s Whimsy
Astoria Co-op Grocery
Astoria Vintage Hardware
Bikes and Beyond
Blue Scorcher Bakery Cafe
Bowpicker Fish & Chips
Buoy Beer Company
City of Astoria
Columbia River Coffee Roaster
Eleventh Street Barber
Fort George Brewery &
Public House
Frite & Scoop
Homespun Quilts & Yarn
Old Town Framing Company
Pilot House Distilling
Purple Cow Toys
RiversZen Yoga
Sea Gypsy Gifts
The Fox & The Fawn
Boutique
The Healing Circle
U.S. National Park Service
CANNON BEACH
City of Cannon Beach
Jupiter’s Books
CLATSOP COUNTY
Clatsop County
GEARHART
City of Gearhart
SEASIDE
Lucky Dog Tattoo
Sopko Welding Inc.
Zinger’s Homemade
Ice Cream