Friday, April 23, 2021 | Seaside Signal | SeasideSignal.com • A3
Parking amendment ends ‘one-size-fi ts-all’ requirement
to not require as much
as it would be for a sin-
gle-family dwelling or
condominium.”
This has a signifi cant
impact on the amount of
backup land necessary to
develop smaller apartments
or multifamily dwellings
which in turn drives up
the land cost to develop
smaller rental housing.
According to the new
ordinance, studios will
need one off -street space;
a one-bedroom apartment
1.25 spaces and a two-bed-
room apartment 1.5 spaces.
Larger units would con-
tinue to require a minimum
of two off -street spaces.
The idea came from
former planning commis-
sioner Bill Carpenter, who
By R.J. MARX
Seaside Signal
The city saw an end to
“one-size-fi ts-all” parking
requirements for owners of
apartment buildings. The
goal is to remove road-
blocks to aff ordable and
workforce housing.
“The ordinance we have
now requires two off -street
parking spaces per dwell-
ing unit, Planning Director
Kevin Cupples said.
Some neighboring com-
munities have a lower
requirement, Cupples said.
“If you have a studio,
one-bedroom or two-bed-
room apartment, it would
adjust the required off -
street parking in order
The Seaside City Council met April 12.
was honored earlier in the
evening for his service to
the community. Based on
a request by the commis-
sion, the City Council ini-
tiated the public hearing
for the zoning change in
2019.
“I fi rst saw this amend-
ment on my term on the
Planning
Commission,”
Councilor Steve Wright
said. “This was Bill’s idea.
It shows the perseverance
of one individual to keep
pushing at it and pushing
at it, and we thank you.”
Wright and council
members Randy Frank,
Tita Montero, Dana Phil-
lips and David Posalski
voted for the amendment,
along with Barber. Tom
Horning was absent.
Gearhart Planning Commission remembers Anderson
By R.J. MARX
Seaside Signal
Experienced, reliable,
level-headed and an anchor
to the community.
Eight-year
planning
commissioner, Carl Ander-
son, who died earlier this
year, was remembered at
by commission members at
the April meeting.
“Carl was an anchor,”
the city’s planning director
Carole Connell said. “I’ve
known him the eight years
I’ve worked for the city,
and he had experience in
other cities, and it showed.
He was experience. he was
incredibly reliable, lev-
el-headed and always ready
to compromise. He was
very level-headed. He’d
make a motion then vote
against the motion. He
heard all sides of things.
He was just so practical in
every decision.”
“We lost a great friend
and someone who served
faithfully,”
Virginia
Dideum, chairwoman of the
commission, said. “Even
if we disagreed during
the meeting, we could be
friends still. We will sin-
cerely miss his presence.”
“When I fi rst came onto
the Planning Commis-
sion, Carl took me under
his wing,” said commis-
sioner Terry Graff . “I
always admired him not
only for the way he under-
stood Gearhart, but also as
a person. I will really miss
Carl sitting at the end of the
table. He was a very, very
special person.”
“He was a very smart
fellow,” David Smith said.
“I appreciated his way of
looking at things and point-
ing out things I had totally
missed. When he was con-
trarian he was contrarian in
the most pleasant manner.”
Commissioner Austin
Tomlinson said he appreci-
ated Anderson’s humor, and
the time they spent together
on the commission.
Anderson was a unique
member of the commis-
sion, Russ Taggard said.
“He always seemed to have
the perspective that the rest
of us had overlooked. He
will be missed by all of us
for sure.”
Sharon Kloepfer was
appointed to fi ll the com-
mission vacancy.
A fi ve-and-a-half year
Gearhart resident, Kloep-
fer described herself as a
homeowner and outdoors
person. “I walk the Ridge
Path. I love Gearhart and
I’m very concerned about
keeping it the beautiful
place it is,” she said.
Downgrade: District’s fi nancial profi le described as ‘healthy’
Continued from Page A1
district’s credit is now no
longer solely derived from
the towns the district rep-
resents,” Jacobson said.
The grade is based on
factors including resident
income, a district’s avail-
able fund balance and
cash, long-term liabilities
and fixed costs.
A key consideration
for the downgrade is the
district’s elevated finan-
cial leverage driven by the
substantial amount of debt
issued to replace existing
schools with new facili-
ties located above the tsu-
nami inundation zone in
the event of a very large
earthquake. The district
has $102.9 million in
Moody’s rated debt.
The district’s fixed
costs are also high,
with debt service set on
an escalating schedule
through 2047 and includ-
ing deferred interest.
As Seaside School Dis-
trict approaches the end of
construction, final costs
for new campus construc-
tion will cap at more than
$131 million.
The number, about
a quarter more than the
original 2016 construction
bond of $99.7 million, is
supplanted by bond sales,
interest, state grants, tim-
ber money, school sales
and most recently a $9
million 20-year loan.
Despite the down-
grade, the district’s finan-
cial profile is described
as “healthy, with solid
reserve levels supported
by consistently structur-
ally balanced operations.”
In their rating report,
Moody’s notes the finan-
cial strengths of the dis-
trict, as well as its “sub-
stantial” tax base, Hill
said. “However, because
the new methodology
reduces the importance
of the tax base in their
criteria, the district’s
debt is now regarded as
elevated.”
The district’s tax base
generates more property
tax revenue than the min-
imum amount guaranteed
under the state funding
THANK
YOU
TO
Pipes: City fi lls sinkhole with gravel
Continued from Page A1
Hamilton alleges.
City Attorney Peter Watts
says the city is working
toward a resolution with the
property owner.
“At the risk of oversim-
plifying things, there is a
pipe that during heavy rain
events discharges water
onto some private property,”
Watts said. “It’s caused
some damage. We had to do
some due diligence to fi gure
out some hows and whys.”
What the city found, he
said, was the city does not
own the pipe, the city did
not build the pipe, the city
did not engineer the pipe.
The pipe was in place prior
to annexation of the various
properties into the city.
“So, we feel pretty com-
fortable and that is some-
thing articulated to the
attorney that is suing us,”
Watts said. “We absolutely
would like to resolve this if
we can.”
According to the com-
plaint, sometime in spring
2019, Hamilton noticed a
hole in her yard. She con-
tacted the city, who indi-
cated they’d investigate and
fi x the problem causing the
hole. Hamilton believed the
problem was fi xed at that
point.
Last June, the city was
performing work on a prop-
erty down the street from
the property, Hamilton said
in her fi ling.
In the course of the work,
the hole in the front yard of
the property enlarged and
imploded. She contacted
the city, which admitted the
hole was caused by a mis-
match in two stormwater
pipes running underneath
the property.
According to Hamil-
ton, the city admitted the
mismatched pipes required
replacement to fully prevent
the sinkhole from grow-
ing, but failed to replace
the pipes despite repeated
requests. Instead, the city
fi lled the sinkhole with
gravel to stabilize the front
yard of the property.
The city continuously
foregoes fi xing the root of
the issue in favor of cheap,
temporary measures that do
not last, she said.
There’s not a “super obvi-
ous” solution, Watts said at
a City Council meeting ear-
lier this month. He said the
city has been attempting to
mitigate the problem by fi ll-
ing the hole with gravel.
“I received a letter yes-
terday accusing us of tres-
passing by continuing to do
that activity,” Watts said.
“And they reiterated their
desire to resolve this out-
side of litigation. It’s a lit-
tle bit confusing to me. If
we’re trying to help some-
one mitigate this issue by
putting gravel in and then
have them accuse us of tres-
passing probably doesn’t
send the best possible sign
of ‘let’s all work together.’”
All those who donated cans and bottles
and for your extra support
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Bob McEwan Construction, Inc
Seaside School District
Baker’s General Store
Lums Auto Center
Van Dusen Beverages, Inc
Our Camp Kiwanilong can/bottle drive
was a huge success!
SUMMER
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formula given the dis-
trict’s total enrollment.
Because the district’s
capital plan is essentially
completed with the new
campus, the district’s debt
burden should decline
over time, Hill said. “The
district does not anticipate
borrowing again in the
foreseeable future; there-
fore, the reduction in the
current bond rating should
have no effect.”
CAMP
REGISTRATION
Summer will be here before you know it!
Secure your spot so you don’t miss the fun.
Registration for Camp Kiwanilong day camp sessions will be online this year.
Clatsop County residents may begin registration on April 15th.
Out-of-county registration will begin on May Ist.
REGISTER AT:
campkiwanilong.org/register
REGISTRATION QUESTIONS?
Email the registrar at kiwanilongregistrar@gmail.com
FINANCIAL AID, CIT PROGRAM, AND
OTHER CAMP QUESTIONS?
Contact Sarah “Sprite” Widmer
kiwanilong@gmail.com - 503-298-0767
campkiwanilong.org