SEASIDESIGNAL.COM
OUR 112th YEAR • January 19, 2018
City seeks
details on
campus plan
Construction, traffic are
topics of discussion
By R.J. Marx
Seaside Signal
With a new year, the Seaside School
District took a second shot at bringing their
new campus within the city’s boundaries.
The district went to City Hall on Jan. 8
seeking passage of Ordinance No. 2018-01,
perhaps the biggest administrative step to-
ward construction of a new school campus.
The ordinance would bring 89 acres into
the city’s urban growth boundary, provid-
ing services including roads, water and oth-
er infrastructure.
The campus, approved by a $99.7 mil-
lion bond vote in November 2016, will be
built on 89 acres, 49 of those formerly des-
ignated as county forest and 40 zoned res-
idential.
Although councilors voted on a version
of this ordinance in 2017, the revised ordi-
nance includes new language, boundaries
and site details.
See Campus, Page 6A
Dollar General
moves ahead
in Gearhart
Parking in rear eliminates
need for review
KATHERINE LACAZE
Cast of Alice in Wonderland. In front: Alona Whisenunt. Front row (from left to right): Ella Crater, Luna Hammack, Everett Olsen, Lila
Thornburg, Jennifer Donoghue, RoseMary Allen, Kalaya Young, and Tommy Donoghue. Back row (from left to right): Jayna Britt, Kiana
Thornburg, Emry Seal, John Donoghue, Logan Rainey, Patrick Donoghue, Patrick Rainey, Lola Boulanger, Daylin Olsen, Hayley Ar-
chibald, and Helen Fenison.
Curiouser
and curiouser!
From ‘Alice’ to Sherlock
Holmes
By Nancy McCarthy
For Seaside Signal
By R.J. Marx
Seaside Signal
After denial of a parking variance in
September, Dollar General is back with
plans for a store in Gearhart along U.S.
Highway 101.
Now that designs show the number of
parking spaces required by city code, the
retail store is considered an outright use in
a commercial zone. The application will be
reviewed by Building Official Mark Brien,
said City Administrator Chad Sweet, but
will not undergo further Planning Commis-
sion review.
Parking and traffic issues were at the
forefront of the September Planning Com-
mission denial. At the time, Cross Develop-
ment, the Dollar General developer based in
Texas, sought a parking variance to reduce
the number of spots from 46 to 27, argu-
ing the business would not generate enough
traffic to warrant that many. By designating
a rear area of the building to accommodate
shoppers’ parking, owners bypassed a sec-
ond commission review.
“Dollar General refiled their application
with all the parking spots included, and is
marching through the building process per-
mit right now, with very little change other
than the added parking I can see so far,”
City Planner Carole Connell said at Thurs-
day’s commission meeting. “They put it all
in the back.”
Cross Development hopes to build the
9,100-square-foot store in a vacant lot
A mystery will unfold in Seaside this
summer, and some local kids will help Sher-
lock Holmes solve the crime.
They will participate in a play involving
the famous British detective who follows the
clues to uncover the guilty party when no one
else can. The play’s director, Katherine Laca-
ze, received a $1,250 Clatsop County Cultur-
al Coalition grant to stage the performance in
partnership with the Sunset Empire Park and
Recreation District.
This is the second year that Lacaze has
received a cultural coalition grant to produce
a children’s play. Last year, she directed 25
children in “Alice in Wonderland,” complete
with Alice, the Cheshire cat, the Queen of
Hearts and lots of croquet players.
“I hope we will get that many again; we
need at least 20 kids,” said Lacaze.
Although she hasn’t decided exactly
which Sherlock Holmes play she will pres-
ent, it will be one that is written especially for
children. The younger children will be among
the “Baker Street Irregulars,” street-smart
See Theater, Page 6A
KATHERINE LACAZE
Alona Whisenhunt as “Alice,” with Katherine
Lacaze.
KATHERINE LACAZE
Scene from last year’s “Alice in Wonderland (And Back Again.)”
PAID
The Whet Spot opens in Seaside
PERMIT NO. 97
ASTORIA, OR
PRSRT STD
US POSTAGE
See Dollar, Page 7A
Tap room and bottle shop
on North Holladay
By Eve Marx
For Seaside Signal
Tracy Linder of
the Whet Spot
EVE MARX/FOR SEASIDE SIGNAL
Tracy Linder had it in her mind she would
open her own place for a long time. She knew
it would be a neighborhood place to enjoy craft
beer, having developed a passion for craft beer
while enlisted in the Army. “I was stationed for
three years in Germany,” Linder said. “Germany
is where I learned to appreciate good beer.”
On a drizzly afternoon in Seaside, Linder
shared her story with a reporter for this paper.
It’s not just beer she’s spent time learning about.
She’s also something of a wine maven. “I learned
a lot while working at the Montinore Vineyard in
Forest Grove,” she said. “I was there one day and
I was offered a job. I was in grad school. The next
day I became part of the winemaking process. I
was covered in wine. It was a revelation.”
The Whet Spot opened to little fanfare at 12
N. Holladay Drive in early December. A tap room
and bottle shop, The Whet Spot currently offers
patrons a rotating selection of 20 craft beers on
tap, with four or five local beers on tap all the
time. Linder also offers three hard ciders and a
selection of wines, white, red, and rosé. Take a
gander at the refrigerated case and you’ll find
about 150 different beers, wines, and ciders by the
bottle. “By March, I expect to offer 200,” Linder
said. “You can also buy beer to go by the growler,
or bring in your own growler which I’ll fill.”
A small but delightful nibbling menu of chips
and salsa; chili and soup; a hummus platter; an
antipasto platter of red wine salami, garlic white
cheddar cheese, smoked black pepper cheddar,
figs, olives and chocolate. A chocolate hazelnut
brownie made by Patty’s Wicker Café and made
with the Hazelnut Brown Ale by Rogue rounds
out the food offerings.
“We’re working on pretzel bites next,” Linder
said. “Dough Dough Bakery is going to make
them for us just up the street.”
Linder is a North Coast native who grew
up around Seaside and Cannon Beach. She is
See Whet Spot, Page 7A