OUR 112th Year August 2, 2019 $1.00 SEASIDESIGNAL.COM Vacation rental limits, new enforcement ahead Regulations aimed at compliance, workforce housing By R.J. MARX Seaside Signal USA Today listed Seaside as No. 10 as its “50 best places to buy a vacation rental prop- erty in 2019.” That’s a list City Councilor Tita Montero doesn’t want to be on. Part of the reason for its high ranking, she said, is the city’s lack of regulations, she said at Monday’s joint Planning Commission and City Council work session on vacation rental dwellings. “One of the things it said about Seaside is we have very few rules. I was sort of ticked off.” Offi cials showed support for changes including caps for the number of vacation rental dwellings, licensing limits and a mor- atorium on new units to meet the region’s workforce housing crunch, which may limit inventory and discourage rentals, according to a January county housing study. Acting on recommendations from the Planning Commission, the workshop, led by City Councilor Seth Morrisey, who sat on the countywide housing task force, sought to chart a process of introducing ordinances or changes to ordinances already in place. In seeking to limit new short-term rent- als, Montero asked staff to look into a mor- atorium on issuing future licenses until rules are enacted. Higher fees for licensing and annual inspections for vacation rental dwellings could also be on the horizon. A limit on the maximum number of vaca- tion rentals within Seaside could be consid- ered, possibly 10%, a limit used by Lincoln City, considered a comparable example. According to the county’s housing study, the 2018 estimated number of housing units STATE REP. TIFFINY MITCHELL SITS IN ON MEETING State Rep. Tiffi ny Mitch- ell, D-Astoria, was in the front row of the audience as Seaside City Council and Planning Commis- sion members consid- ered changes to the city’s vacation rental dwelling rules. Tiffi ny Mitchell See Mitchell, Page A7 See Rentals, Page A7 Seaside: The Movie Clatsop County Public Health Seaside, public play ‘catch-up’ on teen smoking, vaping By KATHERINE LACAZE Seaside Signal The Clatsop County Public Health Department is looking for cooperation from the city of Seaside and other local govern- ments to implement a tobacco retail licens- ing fee aimed at mitigating underage use of vaping devices and e-cigarettes. “If we have all the cities and the county working on the same page, then we can have a complete program,” Director Michael McNickle told Seaside city councilors during their regular meeting July 22. McNickle and Julia Hesse, the county’s tobacco prevention specialist, gave a presen- tation on the county’s potential ordinance to impose a tobacco licensing fee on local retailers. Once the ordinance is approved at the county level, cities will be asked to indi- vidually adopt the ordinance by reference, according to Clatsop County Commissioner Pamela Wev, liaison to the public health department. “We have a massive problem in our entire population, but specifi cally among teenag- ers,” she said. The county’s public health staff has been working on the ordinance for about two years, following the state of Oregon’s enact- ment of Senate Bill 754, or the Tobacco 21 law, which made Oregon the fi fth state to increase the legal age to purchase tobacco and tobacco products. Alyssa Roehrenbeck Cast and crew members Matt Shingledecker (actor, Roger), Steff anie Leigh (actress, Susanna), Kameron Gates (makeup artist), Jade Harris (production designer, costume designer). By EVE MARX For Seaside Signal Along the North Coast and in the Portland Metro area for 18 days, fi lm- makers captured the fl avor of the coast. The marquee reads “Seaside,” the movie, to debut Aug. 20. Oregon native Sam Zalutsky directed the Gravitas Ventures produc- tion, starring Ariana DeBose, Sharon Washington, Matt Shingledecker, and Steffanie Garrar in a revenge thriller that explore the tension between peo- ple’s surface behavior and the confl ict- ing thoughts and impulses bubbling up inside us all. “The movie takes its inspiration from the Seaside area, which is very dear to me,” Zalutsky said. Target is nonsmokers Despite the decline in the underage use of tobacco during the past few years, e-cig- arettes — including increasingly popular Alyssa Roehrenbeck Director Sam Zalutsky talks with cast at Funland. See Movie, Page A8 See Vaping, Page A7 Social justice, activism motivate artist May Wallace By CARA MICO For Seaside Signal Portland artist May Wallace’s portrait exhibit at the Seaside Library focuses on the faces of climate change and features large scale images of the people who inspire her. The portraits, on display until Aug. 27, are oversized and fea- ture full-body portraits of people in their daily life, underwater and on fi re. Wallace, 69, has “always been an activist,” and is outspoken about the importance of immigra- tion and housing reform in addi- tion to the climate crisis which became one of her focus issues almost seven years ago. While the portraits are meant to high- light the urgency of the current cli- mate meltdown, it’s clear from speaking with her and through her art that she cares deeply about the people around her. “I’m continuing to make por- traits of houseless people,” Wal- lace said. “A lot of people con- tinue to ignore them, it’s great to have them as friends, to know a little bit about their struggles.” See Wallace, Page A7 “Meg,” by May Wallace, from “The Things They Carry” series.