OUR 114th Year
September 17, 2021
SEASIDESIGNAL.COM
$1.00
Project
draws
neighbor
concerns
Seventeen Seaside homes
east of Wahanna Road
By R.J. MARX
Seaside Signal
Engineer Mark Mead navigated a
steep slope last week at the Seaside Plan-
ning Commission, presenting plans for
Vista Ridge II, a 17-home development
on 6.5 wooded acres that neighbors say is
far too risky to build on.
Representing Sunset Ridge LLC,
Mead asked the commission for approval
for a subdivision east of Wahanna Road,
to be accessed by Hemlock and Alder-
crest streets and separated from the orig-
inal Vista Ridge subdivision by a creek.
According to engineering plans, the
parcel could be developed into 17 resi-
dential building lots from 7,000 to 15,000
square feet, with a single one- or two-
story home on each lot. About 2 acres
would be preserved for open space.
Concerned about flooding, landslides
and habitat, neighbors turned out to slow
or halt the process.
See Project, Page A3
Katherine Lacaze
Seaside anticipated providing full, five-day-per week, in-person instruction for the entire year.
BACK TO SCHOOL
First day excitement shared
at Pacific Ridge, new campus
By KATHERINE LACAZE
For Seaside Signal
GEARHART
Circuit Court
judge hears
firehouse ballot
arguments
City aims for
May 2022 bond vote
The morning of Sept. 7 brought
with it nearly idyllic fall weather
— sunny and crisp — as Seaside
students headed up the hill for the
first day of the 2021-22 school
year.
Despite the long lineup of cars
leading out onto Wahanna Road
as parents, guardians and students
started adjusting to new traffic pat-
terns, there was a thrum of enthusi-
asm as young children hustled into
Pacific Ridge Elementary School,
aided by administrators and staff
who, more often than not, greeted
them by name.
“It was a great way to start the
year,” said Superintendent Susan
Penrod, who helped with morn-
ing traffic monitoring. “Whether
you’re a 5-year-old or an educator
who’s been doing this for 30 years,
there’s still that excitement of the
first day of school.”
See First day, Page A6
By R.J. MARX
Seaside Signal
Clatsop County Circuit Court Judge
Beau Peterson heard testimony last Thurs-
day from Jack Zimmerman and Gearhart
City Attorney Peter Watts in seeking to
determine the wording of a ballot title for
a $13 million firehouse bond vote.
The bond measure was pulled from the
November ballot by Clatsop County Clerk
Tracie Krevanko because the court hearing
extended past the election filing deadline.
Gearhart is working with planners to
bring the 30-acre Cottages at Gearhart
subdivision off Highlands Lane into the
city’s urban growth boundary in a land
swap for acreage in the city’s “no-build”
zone near the ocean. The land would be
used for a firehouse and police station.
In-person instruction
brings new protocols
By KATHERINE LACAZE
For Seaside Signal
ith classes officially underway,
administrators and staff are
focused on providing students
with a somewhat typical school year
for 2021-22 while still adhering to
protocols and guidelines designed to
mitigate the risk of COVID-19.
“It’s our No. 1 goal to keep kids in
school all year, every day,” Superin-
tendent Susan Penrod said.
That is one of the district’s areas
of focus when it comes to develop-
ing and implementing protocols. The
other two are designed to uphold it:
keeping students and staff healthy,
and supporting students as they tran-
sition back into full-time learning in
the building through social-emotional
learning, instructional interventions
and open communication with fami-
lies and the community.
W
Safety protocol
Katherine Lacaze
Seaside High School teacher Jeff Corliss annually organizes the Link Day
program, a unique take on orientation.
Many of the protocols in the dis-
trict’s plan — presented before the
board of directors and approved at
the August meeting — mirror those
in place during hybrid learning last
school year and over the summer.
Face coverings are a requirement
for all staff and students 5 and older,
both on campus and when using bus
transportation, regardless of vaccina-
tion status. This is not only a district
guideline, but also in line with Ore-
gon’s indoor mask mandate that went
into effect last month.
See Back to school, Page A6
See Firehouse, Page A5
GEARHART
City considers parks master plan
Residents
prepared to invest
in preservation,
recreation
By R.J. MARX
Seaside Signal
Original map of Gearhart as laid out and recorded by M.J. Kinney.
In a parks survey con-
ducted by the Gearhart Parks
Master Plan Advisory Com-
mittee, Gearhart residents
found many ways to say the
same thing when it comes to
their love of beaches, local
parks, walking and bike trails.
The plan, delivered
in draft form last Tues-
day, describes a poten-
tial for improving facilities
for east‐west travel across
U.S. Highway 101 and new
parks throughout the city. It
emphasizes support for exist-
ing parks and trails like the
Ridge Path, Lesley Miller
Dunes Meadow Park and the
10th Street beach access.
“It was interesting to note
how much of the community
agrees,” said George Van
Hoomissen, chairman of the
committee. “There are some
areas of some disagreement.
But there is far more consen-
sus in our communities.”
Along with Van Hoomis-
sen, who is executive chair-
man of USNR LLC, a man-
ufacturer of equipment for
the wood processing indus-
try based in Woodland,
Washington, the committee
includes Gearhart residents
Skyler Archibald, executive
director of the Sunset Empire
Park and Recreation District;
former Seaside School Dis-
trict Superintendent Doug
Dougherty; Planning Com-
mission member Austin
Tomlinson, natural area man-
ager for the Columbia Land
Trust; and longtime resident
Molly Meyer, a retired nurse.
See Parks, Page A5