OUR 114th Year
March 19, 2021
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SEASIDE SCHOOL DISTRICT
Student-athlete
tests positive
for coronavirus
Seaside Signal
A student-athlete has tested positive for the coronavi-
rus, Seaside High School Principal Jeff Roberts said.
The Seaside School District sent a note to parents
Tuesday afternoon informing them of the positive case.
The case comes as the school district opens the new
high school and middle school campus to students.
The student has not been in the campus building, nor
has anyone from that residence been in the building, Rob-
erts said at the school district’s board meeting on Tuesday.
“With this environment, there’s a cost to doing busi-
ness,” he said.
All students and staff that came in direct contact with
the student have been notified and are required to quaran-
tine at home. Roberts said they are not to attend practice.
“We will continue to work with the local health authority
to provide as much information to those families as we
can and to get them back into the building when it’s safe
to do so,” he said.
Seaside could ease
parking rules to
spur housing
By R.J. MARX
Seaside Signal
Seaside has the most restrictive parking requirements
for apartment units in Clatsop County. The City Council
wants to change that by reducing the number of off-street
parking spaces required in new development.
“There are lots of communities that have much lower
parking requirements than we have,” Kevin Cupples, the
city’s planning director, said. “We are known as the one
that requires the most for apartment dwellings because
it is a standard one-size-fits-all of two parking spaces
per dwelling unit. This is trying to scale that so it’s more
appropriate for whatever the use is.”
Last week, the City Council considered an amendment
to the city’s zoning ordinance to reduce the number of off-
street parking spaces required from two to a system based
on a unit’s size. Studios would need one off-street space;
a one-bedroom apartment 1.25 spaces and a two-bed-
room apartment 1.5 spaces. Larger units would continue
R.J. Marx
Intersection of U.S. Highway 101 and Pacific Way in Gearhart. The intersection is one of several along the highway
facing transportation review.
Gearhart, state seek fixes for
Highway 101 safety concerns
By R.J. MARX
Seaside Signal
Crashes are common. Crossing is dangerous. And
while the highway is used by the Oregon Coast Bike
Route and the Oregon Coast Trail, there are no safe
walking paths or bike lanes.
An Oregon Department of Transportation plan con-
firms what drivers already know: U.S. Highway 101
from Pacific Way in Gearhart north is dangerous.
The stretch “is notorious for speeding,” state plan-
ners write. “Local law enforcement routinely clock
drivers exceeding the speed limit by 20 mph or more.”
A Highway 101 project update delivered to the city
this month seeks public feedback on roadway improve-
ments, a multiyear process to culminate with delivery
of a final facility plan at the end of 2022.
“The Highway 101 safety plan that ODOT is fully
funding is underway,” Carole Connell, the city plan-
ner, said at last week’s joint meeting of the Planning
Commission and City Council. “We had a stakehold-
ers’ advisory committee meeting of property owners,
of people who live on the highway, people who use the
highway for biking and all kinds of uses. There’s been
some very good feedback.”
See Traffic, Page A6
See Parking, Page A6
TO PROVIDE INPUT
Rec center master
plan process ahead
By R.J. MARX
Seaside Signal
Visit bit.ly/2QiWWmv to read more about the goals of
the project.
ODOT
Study shows low housing inventory in Gearhart
By R.J. MARX
Seaside Signal
A master plan for the new Sunset Recreation Center is
the first order of business for the Sunset Empire Park and
Recreation District, executive director Skyler Archibald
said.
“The idea is that we recognize that the district needs
some outside expertise to come up with a master plan for
the Sunset Recreation Center,” board member Celeste
Bodner said at last Tuesday’s workshop for the Sun-
set Empire Park and Recreation District board. “In order
to come up with a master plan we have to put together a
request for proposal.”
Archibald is hopeful that the request for proposal will
be issued in the next two weeks and a firm selected no later
See Park district, Page A5
Gearhart has significantly less hous-
ing capacity than previously identified,
Matt Hastie, of Angelo Planning, told a
joint workshop of the City Council and
Planning Commission.
“We did find a pretty significant dif-
ference in the residential capacity, from
700, in the updated analysis, to almost
381 units,” Hastie said at the meeting
last week.
The results show a need for 234 new
housing units by 2038.
“We found, on paper at least, there
is enough land to satisfy that 20-year
demand,” he said. “What that means,
the city doesn’t have the information
or the basis to justify an urban growth
boundary expansion.”
Nevertheless, the city could update
the comprehensive plan, zoning ordi-
nances and other policies to ensure
that affordable housing demand is met,
Hastie said.
After a Clatsop County housing
study delivered by Angelo Planning
and Johnson Economics in 2019, Gear-
hart hired consultants to do a fine-grain
analysis, City Planner Carole Connell
said.
The building and land analysis,
approved a year ago and delivered at a
cost of about $12,000, used statewide
guidelines to identify buildable lands,
along with Portland State University
population projections, as a basis of
future estimates.
Cities are required to maintain a
20-year supply of land to accommo-
date projected growth for housing and
other needs. If the city finds that it does
not have enough land to meet its long-
term needs, it potentially would need
to expand its urban growth boundary.
“We took all of that information that
we prepared for this project, plus all
the information in the previous docu-
ment, and that’s what we’re present-
ing at the meeting,” Hastie said. “The
See Land needs, Page A6
Vineside Wine Bar to debut
By R.J. MARX
Seaside Signal
Wine, family and good
vibes. That’s the vision of
the upcoming Vineside Wine
Bar, tucked into a cozy nook
in the center of the Gilbert
District.
Designed to give guests
a “no-nonsense” wine expe-
rience, the bar was a long-
time dream of owner Delaree
Reilly and her two daughters,
marketing and wine director
Autumn Haile and hospital-
ity director Carissa Dice.
Originally from New-
port Beach in Southern Cal-
ifornia, through visits to the
wineries of Temecula, Paso
Robles and Sonoma, they
learned early on that wine
is more than “just a well-
crafted beverage — it’s an
opportunity for community,
family, and friends to gather
around the table and vibe.”
Four years ago, Reilly
relocated from California to
Portland. She moved to Sea-
side in September.
Dice worked at Soter
Vineyards in Carlton and
Deschutes Brewery in Port-
land since moving from
California.
Haile was working in mar-
keting in New York before
the pandemic and relocated
to Portland in June. “I will be
relocating again, hopefully
this month, to Seaside,” she
said.
They initially looked at
a vacant space directly on
Broadway, but when the
owner of the building sug-
gested they take a look at the
former Angi D. Wildt Gal-
lery space in the back, they
were hooked. The room gave
them the look and feel they
were searching for in an inti-
mate setting and even pro-
vided space for an outdoor
patio.
The menu comes with
international wines, craft
beers and small bites pre-
pared in-house, including
charcuterie plates, cheeses,
locally smoked salmon plates
and sweet treats of macar-
R.J. Marx
Delaree Reilly, Autumn Haile and Carissa Dice of Vineside.
ons, fruit scones and assorted
cookies. Music, comfort-
able furniture, a welcoming
bar and works of local art-
ists on the walls complete the
ambiance.
Vineside won its limited
on-premises sales license at
a City Council meeting last
week.
Hours are Tuesday to Fri-
day from 1 to 9 p.m.; Sat-
urday and Sunday, 11 a.m.
to 9 p.m. Vineside is closed
Mondays; www.thevineside.
com.
The opening is scheduled
for April 1.