SEASIDESIGNAL.COM
OUR 112th YEAR • July 6, 2018
NEXT STOP:
ATLANTIC CITY
Accessory
dwelling
changes get
council OK
City Council limits
accessory home size
to 800 square feet
By R.J. Marx
Seaside Signal
“The state said: ‘Set a provision, set a
limit and allow for it,’” Seaside Planning
Director Kevin Cupples told members of
the City Council June 25. “That’s where
we’re at.”
Cupples was referring to a state Sen-
ate requirement intended to help address
the state’s housing shortage.
In setting size limitations and other
rules, councilors responded to the man-
date to allow accessory dwelling units
within any residential zone allowing de-
tached single-family homes.
The rules are designed to increase the
availability of housing in cities with a
population of more than 2,500 through-
out the state. “I’m very glad that we’re
making headway with accessory dwell-
ing units,” Cupples said. “I hope it will
help with the shortage of housing. To
what extent, I think we’ll know when
it’s been in place for a couple of years.”
Rules for accessory units
According to the ordinance, acces-
sory dwelling units will be limited to
one story, unless incorporated into the
second story of a detached garage. Units
may be an interior, attached or detached
residential structure used in connection
with a single-family dwelling.
See ADUs, Page 6A
R.J. MARX
RJ MARX/THE DAILY ASTORIAN
ABOVE Taylor Ballard receives
a hug from runner-up Stephanie
Magee after Ballard is named Miss
Oregon.
BELOW Miss Clatsop County Hay-
lie Moon of Cannon Beach rides in
the pageant parade.
Miss Oregon 2018 Taylor Ballard; Kennedy Hjelte, Miss Oregon Teen; and Princess
Abriela Taylor.
Ballard wants to help people ‘feel
comfortable in their own skin’
By Brenna Visser
Seaside Signal
F
R.J. MARX
or Taylor Ballard, the road to
the Miss Oregon crown has
been one of personal growth.
The Portland woman rose
above 23 contestants from
across the state Saturday in the 71st an-
nual Miss Oregon Scholarship Pageant at
the Seaside Civic and Convention Center.
She will compete in the Miss Amer-
ica pageant this September in Atlantic
City.
Ballard, who was Miss Northwest
Wonderland of Portland, was inspired to
start competing in 2014 on the sugges-
tion of a friend. She saw the pageant as
a way to get scholarship money for her
public relations degree at Portland State
University, improve her communication
skills and hone her dance moves.
After her first competitions, Bal-
lard took a year off to reflect and work
through body insecurity issues. It was
a year of struggling to find a balance in
her own daily eating and exercise hab-
its, which she said swung between “diets
and binge eating” — but also a year that
provided mental clarity.
Her platform, “confidence under con-
struction,” was inspired by her time both
in and out of pageants. “I wanted to work
See Crowning, Page 10A
Closing time
Cannabis shops seek
to stay open till 10
By R.J. Marx
Seaside Signal
Owners of two Seaside cannabis re-
tail stores individually came before the
City Council June 25 to ask for the same
thing: later hours of operation.
Current Seaside ordinance requires
cannabis stores to close at 8 p.m. Bri-
an Kulp, manager of Cannabis Nation,
and Steve Geiger of Highway 420 each
sought a change in hours to make the
stores more competitive at prime hours.
Kulp, in seeking a change to 10 p.m.,
said 3 percent of his revenue goes direct-
ly to the city of Seaside. “I do think we
are losing some revenue to neighboring
cities,” he said. He estimated an addition-
al $12,000 in revenue for the city alone.
Tourists would not need to risk driv-
ing to neighboring cities — 20 minutes
to Cannon Beach or Astoria “should
they want to participate or do that.”
The state ordinance requires all can-
nabis stores to close at 10, while Sea-
side’s rules limit sales to 8 p.m. “I do
PAID
PERMIT NO. 97
ASTORIA, OR
PRSRT STD
US POSTAGE
See Closing, Page 6A
Teaching young people to learn from experience
By Eve Marx
For Seaside Signal
This summer, 27 interns are
learning how to make the most of
their life experiences through Fos-
ter Club, a national network for
young people in foster care. Ce-
leste Bodner, the executive director,
founded the organization in 2002.
The Seaside-based organization
empowers young people currently
in and from foster care to connect,
be inspired, and, possibly most im-
portantly, master tips and strategies
to represent themselves in order to
educate and influence policy makes
for foster care.
Built for youth, powered by
youth, these young people are
changing lives.
On a warm Monday morning in
late June, the All Stars, a group of
young people selected for their lead-
ership abilities, convened at Foster
Club’s seminar training room for a
session called “Milestones,” a sto-
ry-sharing project. Several of them
had recently returned from a youth
conference in Montana.
The All Stars hail from all over
the country, with interns from Tex-
as, Florida, Arizona, Michigan,
Missouri, New York. One young
woman is an Oregon native. They
range in ages from 19 to 24. All are
veterans of the foster care system.
A significant portion of Foster
Club’s mission is helping youth
who are currently in foster care un-
derstand their rights while they are
in the system.
Many of these children are in
their teens and Bodner believes they
should have a solid grasp on their
legal rights.
Through Foster Club programs,
they learn the ins-and-outs of how
See Foster Club, Page 7A
EVE MARX
The All Stars 2018: back row, Tasha, Yesenia, Zoe, Julia, Aryelle, Carson; front row,
Sienna, Devon.