A4 • Friday, March 1, 2019 | Seaside Signal | SeasideSignal.com
SignalViewpoints
Mapping the
BIG in ONE
Gearhart
SEEN FROM SEASIDE
R.J. MARX
G
earhart isn’t underwater,
but new maps swathed in
shades of blue delineate
degrees of submersion.
Residents are faced
with daunting existential
choices to determine what level
of risk they want to prepare for. It
could impact not only high pro-
fi le issues like where to place the
fi rehouse or emergency buildings,
but where businesses operate and
homes are built.
After receiving a state grant
from the Department of Land Con-
servation and Development to
prepare for big events, the city is
working on ways to improve resil-
iency in the aftermath of a Casca-
dia Subduction Zone event.
Mapping the future
At their February meeting, the
Planning Commission considered
model language provided by the
state’s Department of Geology and
Mineral Industries to update the
comprehensive plan and land use
regulations. Revised maps provide
guidance on what to expect — if
not the date the tsunami will hit —
historical trends suggest within the
next 15 years.
Goals are to improve readi-
ness and make Gearhart more resil-
ient after a tsunami by establish-
ing standards to be applied in the
review and authorization of land
use in areas subject to tsunami haz-
ards, City Planner Carole Connell
said at the commission meeting.
The numbers are discourag-
ing, if not numbing: 95 percent
of Gearhart will be vulnerable to
inundation from a “L” magnitude
local tsunami event.
Worse, the entire city would be
impacted by an “XXL” event.
That leaves residents and plan-
ners alike faced with some huge
asterisks when it comes to making
decisions, especially with key loca-
tions — the Gearhart Elementary
School building, fi rehouse, city
park — under discussion for crit-
ical safety needs and emergency
infrastructure.
Region faces threat
In the Seaside School District,
voters had limited choices where to
construct a campus outside the tsu-
nami zone, but with the donation of
land in the Southeast Hills and an
approval from voters, students can
expect fi rm footing in fall 2020.
Cannon Beach, which is also
facing the unsettling projection of
its own demise, is holding simi-
lar discussions as it looks for a new
location — or locations — outside
of the tsunami zone for a new City
Hall and police station.
Cannon Beach has sites that
Gearhart might consider a luxury:
out of the tsunami zone at South
Wind and near the RV Park, both
offering greater protection and
potential for future relocation.
Gearhart doesn’t have similar
options — but that’s not a reason
to give up on safer, more versatile
public safety buildings.
A coastal effort
Gearhart received $14,000
from the state to help them address
tsunami evacuation routes and
needs, and to identify evacuation
improvement projects, the Depart-
ment of Land Conservation and
Development’s Coastal Shores
Specialist Meg Reed said in late
February.
Along with Gearhart, the state is
collaborating with 10 other coastal
jurisdictions through two federal
grants provided by the National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Admin-
istration on this project, the clos-
est communities being Rocka-
way Beach, Tillamook County
and Newport, with participation as
far south as North Bend and Port
Orford.
These communities expressed
interest in addressing their individ-
ual tsunami risk, Reed said.
Department of Land Conserva-
tion and Development staff pro-
vide technical and fi nancial support
to the city to prioritize long-term
planning related to the Cascadia
Subduction Zone earthquake and
tsunami event.
By identifying projects now
and prioritizing them in a plan,
communities will be able to take
advantage of grant funds when
they arise more readily, such as
FEMA hazard mitigation assis-
tance funds.
There are no consequences from
the state for not adopting a tsunami
hazard overlay zone.
City of Gearhart
All of Gearhart could be feel the impact of the most severe tsunami events.
THE NUMBERS ARE DISCOURAGING,
IF NOT NUMBING: 95 PERCENT OF
GEARHART WILL BE VULNERABLE TO
INUNDATION FROM A ‘L’ MAGNITUDE
LOCAL TSUNAMI EVENT.
Exception
Proposed code language
includes three main points, Reed
said.
New rules could limit certain
types of critical and essential facil-
ities — police stations, hospitals,
schools — from being built in the
tsunami inundation zone, she said.
That zone is up for the city to
decide. DOGAMI has fi ve mapped
tsunami zones: small, medium,
large, extra-large, and extra-ex-
tra large based on the variability
of the size of the next earthquake.
The community can make a deci-
sion based on their acceptable level
of risk.
The goal is to provide options to
provide incentives for development
within the tsunami inundation zone
that results in lower risk exposure.
These provisions would not
apply to single-family dwellings,
existing developments or uses. All
of Gearhart’s proposed fi rehouse
sites are compromised and vulnera-
ble to varying degrees.
That doesn’t mean residents
shouldn’t pick the best-case sce-
nario. According to draft language,
sites can win approval if “there are
no reasonable lower-risk alterna-
tive sites available for the proposed
use.”
“The city is well aware of this
as far as the fi re station goes,”
Whale Spirit drum circle has its fi rst meet
An investment
in journalism
VIEW FROM
THE PORCH
EVE MARX
I
B
ebe Michel of Gearhart and
Russ Mead of Seaside have
been interested in drumming for
awhile.
“Ever since I experienced a Grate-
ful Dead drum solo in concert as a
teenager, I recognized drumming as
primal and thrilling,” Michel said.
Michel plays the piano and alto
recorder, but said until fairly recently,
she never owned a drum. Fast forward
to 2016 when she became a political
activist.
“I started out with a homemade
bucket drum,” Michel said. “I still
didn’t know about real drums and was
unsure how to begin.” She said on the
night of the lunar eclipse January 20,
2019, she and a group of friends went
out on the beach to build a bonfi re
and drum. That’s when she met Russ
Mead.
“He knows about drums,” Michel
said.
The two got to talking, and soon
after Michel purchased a djembe drum.
One thing led to another and a drum
circle in Seaside was born.
The fi rst circle will take place Sat-
urday at 7 p.m. at the Bob Chisholm
Community Center in Seaside. The
plan is to meet the fi rst Saturday of
every month. The drum circle is open
to the public and everyone is welcome.
The Whale Spirit Drum Circle is a
family friendly event. It’s meant to be
a monthly celebration of drumming,
Mead and Michel said.
“We have no agenda other than
bringing together locals and visitors
PUBLISHER
EDITOR
Kari Borgen
R.J. Marx
Reed said. “The city needs an
exception because there is no other
place.”
While the standards have yet to
be adopted, planning commission-
ers expect that they will be passed
by the city prior to the construction
of a proposed fi re station.
A hearing will present rewritten
code language to the public March
14.
“If we stay on schedule for the
grant, it will be adopted by June
30,” Connell said.
Russ Mead and Bebe Michel are planning a percussive experience in Seaside.
who want to sit in circle and drum,”
Mead said. “We expect to see Native
American style frame drums, Afri-
can djembes, Irishbodhrans, as well
brightly colored festival drums pro-
duced specifi cally for modern drum
circles. We expect to welcome seri-
ous drummers as well as fi rst time
drummers.”
Mead said a good community drum
circle has a loose structure. “Every-
one knows when and where to gather,”
he said. “A facilitator opens the circle
with a few remarks. Then the facilita-
tor lays down a steady beat. The rest of
the circle either joins in or adds slight
embellishments; the rhythm ebbs and
fl ows with its own spirit.”
Mead has created a website that
details drum circle etiquette and what
to bring. A small suggested donation is
requested to offset the room rental for
the Bob Chisholm Community Center.
Michel said her vision for the circle
is that it become like the community of
drummers who meet regularly in Ashe-
ville, North Carolina. “They started out
with 10 people to become a downtown
cultural event and major tourist draw.”
“We’re hoping we’ll have peo-
ple of all experience levels come to be
part of a drumming conversation and
have fun,” Michel said. “And when
the weather is nice, we’re hoping to do
outdoor drumming at the Seaside Turn-
around at the end of Broadway. Hope-
fully it will make people happy as they
stroll along the Prom.”
For more information, log on to
WhaleSpirit.com.
CIRCULATION
MANAGER
PRODUCTION
MANAGER
CONTRIBUTING
WRITERS
Jeremy Feldman
John D. Bruijn
ADVERTISING
SALES
SYSTEMS
MANAGER
April Olsen
Carl Earl
Skyler Archibald
Katherine Lacaze
Eve Marx
Esther Moberg
Joshua Heineman
f you’re reading today’s Seaside Signal in print,
you’re either a Daily Astorian/Seaside Signal sub-
scriber or you’ve invested $1 in today’s edition. In
either case, thank you for your support.
Last summer and fall, we surveyed readers and
convened a group of Seaside and Gearhart residents
as a quasi-advisory group to talk to us about how to
improve our publication and delivery of news to South
County residents. One of the things that came from
the survey and discussion was that South County resi-
dents value local
news and infor-
mation produced
FROM THE
by professional
PUBLISHER
journalists — and
KARI
are willing to pay
BORGEN
for it.
The Sea-
side Signal publishes twice monthly, and is delivered
through subscription, as a part of Daily Astorian sub-
scriptions and to racks in Seaside where it’s been avail-
able free.
But newsprint and ink is expensive, and we pay to
have copies delivered to the local racks and businesses.
Journalists who are trained and experienced in sourcing
and verifying news are paid for their work because it’s
a valuable service. We believe that credible, local infor-
mation that is gathered and verifi ed, then delivered in
print to locations in Seaside is worth paying for.
So beginning with the March 1 edition of the Sea-
side Signal, we’re charging $1 per edition on the rack.
You can still receive the Seaside Signal delivered to
you by mail for $40.50 a year, or as part of your Daily
Astorian subscription for $11.25/month.
We appreciate your support of the Seaside Signal.
We live here, do business here and buy goods and ser-
vices here. We are invested in this community and con-
tinually strive to make our newspaper better.
If you have suggestions for stories or other informa-
tion you think would improve the Signal, please let me
know. Contact me at kborgen@seasidesignal.com.
Kari Borgen is publisher of the Seaside Signal and
Daily Astorian.
Seaside Signal
Letter policy
Subscriptions
The Seaside Signal
is published every other week by
EO Media Group,
1555 N. Roosevelt, Seaside, OR 97138.
503-738-5561
seasidesignal.com
Copyright 2019 © Seaside Signal. Nothing
can be reprinted or copied without consent
of the owners.
The Seaside Signal welcomes letters to the editor. The
deadline is noon Monday prior to publication. Letters
must be 400 words or less and must be signed by the
author and include a phone number for verifi cation. We
also request that submissions be limited to one letter
per month. Send to 1555 N. Roosevelt Drive, Seaside, OR
97138, drop them off at 1555 N. Roosevelt Drive or fax to
503-738-9285, or email rmarx@seasidesignal.com
Annually: $40.50 in county • $58.00 in
and out of county • e-Edition: only $30.00
POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Seaside
Signal, P.O. Box 210, Astoria, OR 97103. Postage Paid at
Seaside, OR, 97138 and at additional mailing offi ces.
Copyright 2019 © by the Seaside Signal. No portion
of this newspaper may be reproduced without written
permission. All rights reserved.