A6 • Friday, January 18, 2019 | Seaside Signal | SeasideSignal.com
Turn lane requirement sparks Grocery Outlet appeal
Project should
proceed,
developers say
By R.J. MARX
Seaside Signal
In December, the Seaside
Planning Commission told
developers they could go
ahead with plans to acquire a
U.S. Highway 101 property
for a Grocery Outlet — with
a few conditions.
One of those may be a
deal breaker: a left-turn lane.
Without it, the business
owners would be denied a
certificate of occupancy.
In an appeal, Main &
Main Capital Group, based
in The Colony, Texas, con-
tends that the commis-
sion’s conditions are uncon-
stitutional and compliance
“would render the project
economically unfeasible.”
Main & Main, which is
under contract to purchase
the property in the spring
with plans to lease it to Gro-
cery Outlet, wants the City
Council to strike the turn-
lane requirement or send the
decision back to the com-
mission and provide further
opportunity for response.
They say the Planning
Commission didn’t give
them a chance to present
“countervailing evidence,”
R.J. Marx
Intersection of Avenue N, near the site of a proposed Grocery Outlet.
thereby denying their state
and federal due process
rights.
Planning commissioners
approved the request to build
the 18,000-square-foot Gro-
cery Outlet in December.
In their findings, city
planners say Grocery Out-
let would have a “signifi-
cant impact on local high-
way traffic.”
Goals: City priorities
take shape for 2019
Continued from Page A1
Recognizing the need to
replace bridges liable to col-
lapse in a Cascadia Subduc-
tion Zone event, councilors
seek analysis and a plan in
place within two years.
While the city has an
emergency operations plan, a
separate resiliency plan could
identify “what things are
going to survive and how you
go about replacing them,”
said City Manager Mark
Winstanley.
The city could hire a con-
sultant to create the plan.
Although a tsunami and its
impact could destroy much
of the city, Councilor Tom
Horning said, “It would be
wrong not to try.”
“In a disaster scenario,
people are likely going to
seek shelter in hills to the east
of the city until help comes,”
Mayor Jay Barber said.
“That’s going to be one of the
benefits of the campus.”
Pod-style buildings in use
at the Seaside Civic and Con-
vention Center construction
site could be moved to the
new school campus and pro-
vide a base for city govern-
ment in the event of an earth-
quake and tsunami.
Department goals
City Planning Department
goals for this year include
finalizing the addition to
the Seaside Civic and Con-
vention Center, the devel-
opment of a new four-story
hotel, and working with the
Seaside School District on
the ongoing design and con-
struction of the middle and
high school. The depart-
ment hopes to beef up emer-
gency preparedness mea-
sures through planning and
education.
Library Executive Direc-
tor Esther Moberg shared a
vision of increasing storage,
small rooms and staff work-
space, and expanded parking
for patrons.
Fire Chief Joey Dan-
iels provided two-year goals
of a fifth paid staff to assist
with coverage, response and
administrative duties. The
department also looks for
additional training opportuni-
ties, rescue classes and some
new equipment.
Police Chief Dave Ham
asked council to consider dis-
cussions of affordable hous-
ing, homelessness, panhan-
dling and “associated social
concerns.”
“The current ordinance
regarding unlawful lodging
and direction to the police
department “needs to be
addressed, revised and deci-
sions made by the coun-
cil concerning enforcement
expectations by our offi-
cers,” Ham said.
Public Works Director
Dale McDowell said he seeks
to “continue our momentum”
with construction projects on
Holladay Drive, Broadway
Park and addition of a build-
ing maintenance department
foreman position.
Increased citizen involve-
ment in government is also
a key goal, with a plan to be
developed by the end of the
year.
The council also plans to
select six “high priority ordi-
nances” for review and revi-
sion by year-end 2020.
Consultants Bennett and
Landkamer will return to the
city with a draft of proposals
developed at the session.
“This is a process that is
very difficult to do,” Barber
said. “But because I know
the people at this table, we
can put our heads together
and move in the same direc-
tion. It’s a good plan and I’m
excited about the next two
years, and the next four years
as well.”
State Department of Trans-
portation plans to improve
the roadway are years away
and less than one-third of the
$10 million needed to fund
the project is available.
“At present, neither ODOT
or the city of Seaside have
sufficient funds to address
the traffic impacts that would
be created by development,”
planners stated.
Wary of traffic impacts
and concerned for driver
and pedestrian safety along
the highway near Avenue N,
commissioners added condi-
tions that include a require-
ment to either develop a turn
lane or restrict left turns in
and out of the property.
Main & Main’s Dan
Dover said the turn-lane
requirement was unfair.
School sale: Realtor is selected by district board
Continued from Page A1
two agencies. At the meet-
ing, he moved that the dis-
trict hire Norris & Stevens
to sell the three district
properties.
The company reached
out the board chairman
Steve Phillips in June 2018
to discuss the properties
and express interest in rep-
resenting the district.
“When it came to this
process of picking, I took
myself completely out of
it because I had had con-
tact with them earlier,”
Phillips said. “I was truly
impressed when they ini-
tially sat down with me,
the homework they had
done.”
Truax agreed that when
it came to the formal inter-
view, they did not “go in
blindly,” but have already
articulated a plan for how
they will go about the sell.
“They want to see
something once they get
it listed, and they weren’t
going to let it just sit there
for a number months,”
Truax said. “They were
going to continue to
change marketing, or
reevaluate price, or reeval-
uate who they were list-
ing it to. They have such
a huge database available
to them in this business of
buying property.”
Buildings will be listed
all at once, building and
grounds committee mem-
ber Truax said. “It’s going
to take outside-the-box
thinking to sell it in a
timely manner, and they
seem to have all those
covered.”
The district will work
with the city of Seaside on
possible transactions for
the high school’s “North
40” and 7 North Broad-
way, owned by the school
district but home to the
Seaside Chamber of Com-
R.J. Marx
Seaside High School, one of three schools in Seaside and Gearhart to be sold by the Seaside
School District.
merce and Visitors Bureau.
Three acres sought by
the city for the placement
of a new reservoir on the
new campus are also under
discussion. The reservoir
will provide water to the
new school and to homes
in the neighboring South-
east Hills.
The future of Cannon
Beach Elementary School,
also owned by the dis-
trict, could also be decided
this spring, superintendent
Sheila Roley said, as the
district continues nego-
tiations with the Cannon
Beach History Center and
Museum.
“The Cannon Beach
History Center made an
offer on Cannon Beach
Elementary, to bring that
back to life for the com-
munity and tribal history,
and the board was happy
with their offer,” Roley
said. “We’re in the process
of negotiating the terms of
the sale. They’ve offered
$400,000, which based on
our evaluation, is a fair
price for that as an as-is
price.”
A building inspec-
tion and seismic studies
Celebration: Association looks back on 25 years
Continued from Page A1
former leaders in attendance.
Former association directors
Laurie Mespelt, Bree Phil-
lips aind Tita Montero also
were recognized.
The association was
formed in 1993 by a group of
downtown businessmen and
women who joined together
to improve and promote
downtown Seaside.
First
meetings
took
place on the lower level of
the Shilo Inn. “We felt we
needed a group that would
take care of issues in our
area,” Jeff Ter Har, an orig-
inal member, said.
In recent years, the
group has met consistently
week-in, week-out at the
Pig ‘N Pancake on Broad-
way. The gathering provides
a welcome and introductions
to newcomers and a gather-
ing place for longtime busi-
ness owners alike.
Pig ‘N Pancake owner
Wayne Poole narrated a
slide show chronicling the
organizations history, from
membership in the Down-
town Oregon Cities organi-
zation to a string of events
including car shows, Hal-
loween and holiday events,
and favorites like flower
basket decorations and the
Seaside Wine Walk, started
in 2001.
“They can’t preclude an
existing property from
access to the highway,” he
said.
Michael Ard, the devel-
oper’s traffic consultant, pro-
vided data showing “vehi-
cles never stacked very deep
and within a minute or two,
it always unwound,” Dover
said. “It’s not like you’re
going to have a pile of cars.”
Risks to drivers and
pedestrians along the 35 mph
highway are “extremely neg-
ligible,” he added.
The turn lane is “a self-im-
posed requirement by the
city with no factual backup,”
Dover said. “They’ve done
no studies to show it is
required. Yes, it will improve
the situation in the future,
and DOT has demonstrated
that, but it’s not a require-
ment to access Highway 101.
We are within the parameters
that DOT can allow this proj-
ect to proceed.”
The Planning Commis-
sion did offer Main & Main
an alternative, amending
their findings to offer the
developer a right-in, right out
driveway from the property.
That’s not enough, the
developer says.
“Right-in,
right-out
totally limits people’s abil-
ity to go into and out of that
site,” Dover said. He esti-
mates it would cut store traf-
fic in half. “It’s a deal killer.”
The City Council will
hear the appeal on Jan. 28.
“Our hope is they would
uphold the approval but
remove the condition to
improve the intersection,”
Dover said. “Owners of
commercial property, espe-
cially along the highway cor-
ridor, have the right to access
the highway.”
The flower basket pro-
gram, started in 1995 at the
direction of Shirley Lout-
zenhiser, was inspired by
a similar program in Lake
Oswego. Funded by private
donations, baskets are main-
tained by Seaside’s “official
gardener” Pam Fleming.
The Seaside Golf Clas-
sic, which debuted in 2002,
brings proceeds to area civic
organizations and charities
in an event sponsored annual
by Ocean Crest Chevrolet.
The street car came to
Seaside in 2001 with the
cooperation of the Sun-
set Empire Transportation
Department.
The association helped
bring bus parking to the con-
vention center and provide
Prom-style lighting in the
downtown. New trash cans
brighten the city’s core and
walking maps provide a use-
ful guide for visitors.
Keith Chandler, gen-
eral manager of the Sea-
side Aquarium, received
special recognition for his
hard work, dedication, and
“countless hours supporting
SDDA.”
The audience rose to give
Chandler a standing ovation.
Looking ahead, the asso-
ciation board is really focus-
ing on a “back to basics
approach, to where we first
started,” Gooch said.
remain, she added. “We’re
working on some of the
financial pieces, but in the-
ory, everyone is happy.”
The transaction could
be complete in April,
Roley said. “It takes time
to do these things.”
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