Friday, February 4, 2022 | Seaside Signal | SeasideSignal.com • A5
Rec Center: Strategic
plan in fi nal stages
Continued from Page A1
The meeting came as
the center’s strategic plan,
prepared by Sports Facili-
ties Companies and Scott
Edwards Architecture, nears
fi nal draft form.
All that awaits is fi nal
comments from directors.
“Once we give them the
green light, they’re gonna
be able to produce the fi nal
for us in a couple weeks,”
Archibald said.
The report summarizes
the highest and best uses
for the building. There are
two short-term improve-
ments for maximizing use of
the facility, repurposing the
library for a fi tness area and
repurposing the cafeteria for
higher-end special events. A
new playground is recom-
mended on the building’s
southeast side, and three dis-
tinct entrances should be
identifi ed, one each for child
care, tenant space and com-
munity recreation.
Revenue forecasts, based
on existing programs and
new programs, show steady
increases as sports tourna-
ments, education, arts and
fi tness programs increase.
Building rentals and vend-
ing also add to the fi nancial
revenue forecast.
Revenue is expected to
reach $1.5 million the fi rst
year and reach almost $1.6
million in fi ve years. Year
one is not intended to be
2022, they note, rather, it
represents the fi rst year of
programming.
The park district will not
be bound by the fi nal draft of
the strategic plan, Archibald
said. “But I think it’s going
to provide a really great
template for us to move
forward.”
While the park district has
temporary occupancy, the
district, with the assistance
of Scott Edwards Architec-
ture and the Klosh Group,
have to work with the city to
complete the fi nal process.
“At some point, we
would like to be able to open
the building a bit more fully
and to do that we need to get
full approval through them,”
he said.
Moratorium: Vacation rental policies ‘are working’
Continued from Page A1
City staff also cautioned
that more restrictive land
use regulations, like a mor-
atorium, could be sub-
ject to legal challenges or
demands for compensation
from property owners.
The discussion of a
moratorium grew out of
concerns from residents
about the impact of vaca-
tion rentals, but, by Mon-
day, the testimony was
more divided.
“A moratorium would
give the city time to study
the issue and come up with
a plan that puts the livabil-
ity of our neighborhoods
over the profi ts of VRDs,”
Joyce Hunt, a resident,
wrote in a letter to the City
Council.
Brian Owen, the CEO
of the Seaside Chamber of
Commerce, said the city’s
regulations on vacation
rentals are “probably the
most comprehensive and, I
believe, usable policies that
I’ve seen in any area, any
county or a city.”
He said density caps and
a new compliance offi cer
The blue line indicates vacation rental dwelling applications. The red line indicates
applications for addresses with no vacation rental dwelling license between 2010 and 2021.
Yellow indicates applications for addresses that had a prior license between 2010 and 2021.
The dark blue line indicates addresses that had a VRD business license between 2010 and
2021 but are no longer permitted.
make a moratorium unnec-
essary. “To place a mora-
torium, right now, I think
really does send a nega-
tive message,” Owen said.
“And I think that we can
do everything that we’re
talking about without put-
ting a moratorium in place.”
Mark Tolan, of Sea-
side Vacation Homes, said
that the situation has gone
“sideways.”
“So many families put
food on the table in the win-
tertime through vacation
rentals when the tourists go
home,” he said.
City Councilor Tita
Montero said Flory, the
compliance offi cer, has
gone “above and beyond”
in his work. “I think a lot
of why things are working
well with Jeff here is Jeff
reaches out and he educates
both the homeowners who
live in the neighborhoods as
well as educating the VRD
owners.
“The bottom line is the
livability of both those who
come to visit here and the
livability of those who live
here 24/7, 365 days a year.”
In a 6-0 vote, the City
Council chose not to
take further action on a
moratorium.
“I really was a pro-
ponent for a moratorium
mainly because I was not
informed,” Mayor Jay Bar-
ber said. “I did not know
enough and with Jeff ’s help
and the good reports, I’ve
become more educated.
We have some work to do,
to really refi ne the work to
make sure Jeff has the tools
for enforcement.”
Staff survey: Poor communication, turnover cited as subjects of concern
Continued from Page A1
results, Clouse said. Espe-
cially newer teachers, he
added, need all the support
they can get to be able “to
handle the toughest year of
being an educator.”
While the district hasn’t
lost teachers during the pan-
demic, they continue to be
in need of support staff , with
several positions being open
a majority of the school year.
Lastly,
the
survey
revealed that teachers at
the middle and high school
are struggling with shared
spaces or lack of desig-
nated classrooms in the new
building. Some don’t feel
like they have enough time
in their classroom space to
prepare.
“Our teachers love our
kids and they love our jobs,”
Clouse said. “They’re just
highly stressed, highly over-
whelmed, with a lot of these
things that are happen-
ing. It’s diffi cult to move
forward.”
According to Clouse,
they have addressed these
concerns with the school
district and building admin-
istrators to come up with
solutions.
“We’ve been trying to
work together to fi x the
things that need to be fi xed
so we could focus on our
kids,” he said.
‘A wake-up call’
Part of the overwhelm-
ing problem is that educa-
tors are facing these strug-
gles during a particularly
challenging time, in terms of
the pandemic.
“It’s a diff erent environ-
ment in our classrooms,”
Clouse said, adding the time
away from in-person learn-
ing aff ected many students.
“They come back, they’re
not the same kid as they
were before, ” he said.
School board mem-
ber Michelle Wunderlich
expressed appreciation for
the district’s educators and
their willingness to express
concerns.
“We are living in kind
of the craziest world we’ve
ever seen,” she said. Com-
ing into a new building at
the same time, she added,
“You guys have it almost
four times as hard.”
School board mem-
ber Brian Owen questioned
what sort of support or tools
teachers could use to address
the shortcomings and chal-
lenges the pandemic has
created.
“Is there something you
know of or think would
work well?” he asked.
Penrod, along with prin-
cipals Juli Wozniak and Jeff
Roberts, shared there has
been a focus on meeting
students’ social and emo-
tional needs as they tran-
sition back to an in-person
learning environment.
“I don’t know that there’s
a simple answer,” Roberts
said. “This is a long-haul-
type of scenario.”
It’s important, he added,
that this be viewed as an
issue that requires participa-
tion from parents, teachers,
coaches and the community
at large.
“Nationally, there has to
be a wake-up call to what’s
happening with our kids
and not being as reliant on
schools to fi x that,” Rob-
erts said. “We do not have
resources to enroll every stu-
dent into the mental health
treatment that a lot of kids
need. … We need a lot of
reinforcements.”
Penrod added that they’re
not only seeing detach-
ment or behavioral issues
By NICOLE BALES
The Astorian
CANNON BEACH —
Other cities have seen it
happen: once buildable land
becomes scarce, some peo-
ple resort to buying two lots,
demolishing the homes to
build a larger one.
With few readily build-
able lots left in Cannon
Beach, City Manager Bruce
St. Denis said the trend
poses a threat to the city’s
village character.
“And that’s not the direc-
tion we want to go,” he said.
During a January meet-
ing, the City Council unan-
imously adopted an ordi-
nance
prohibiting
the
combination of lots for the
purpose of building larger
homes. The council also
repealed the city’s planned
unit development chapter,
blocking any future propos-
als. But the city is not stop-
ping there.
The work is part of a code
audit process to address con-
cerns over the increasing
size of homes through com-
bining lots, maximizing
fl oor area and lot coverage
ratios.
Over the next couple of
years, the city will review
and update policies to sup-
port a vision of maintain-
ing a cottage village, which
is outlined in the city’s com-
prehensive plan.
City Councilor Nancy
McCarthy said the items
approved last week were
some of the more urgent
and obvious policy matters.
They were also supported
during the public hearing.
“We don’t really want to
see big ‘McMansions’ here,”
she said. “We want to keep
that village character. And I
think we defi ne the village
as a cottage town.”
Planned unit develop-
ments have also proved
troublesome.
Cannon Beach has only
approved one planned unit
development project, which
has been entangled in legal
appeals. No homes have yet
to be built on the property.
The council also consid-
ered capping square footage
and requiring larger homes
to be rebuilt to the new stan-
dard if they are destroyed.
However, those items drew
questions and opposition.
“It’s a complex issue,”
she said.
Clouse
added
that
he can’t pinpoint “what
exactly” the solutions are,
but he agreed “we have to
work together to handle the
problem.”
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