A4 • Friday, March 18, 2022 | Seaside Signal | SeasideSignal.com
SignalViewpoints
‘Dire numbers’ for aff ordable housing in county
annon Beach City Planner Jeff
Adams recommended a regional
approach to housing issues. Adams
was speaking to the Seaside Housing Task
Force, an ongoing group chaired by Sea-
side City Councilor Steve Wright seek-
ing to enhance housing aff ordability and
availability.
“The reason I’m here tonight is because
it often takes regional approaches, regional
collaboration, capacity building, and why
it’s important to do things regionally,
Adams said. “Cannon Beach can only do
so much and I think that’s what we’re run-
ning into. We have got to solve this across
C
SEEN FROM SEASIDE
R.J. MARX
all of our communities.”
People who work in Cannon Beach
cannot aff ord to live in Cannon Beach,
Adams said. This has become a strain not
only on local employers, but on the com-
munity itself, which needs an array of res-
idents and families to maintain social bal-
ance and economic well-being.
With a median income in Clatsop
County $72,900 and the average home
sale in Cannon Beach $862,000, “it
doesn’t take a genius to fi gure out that it
just doesn’t equate,” Adams said.
An income of $72,000 can aff ord to pur-
chase a home priced from about $280,000
to $300,000, he said.
“When I did the search in Clatsop
County, there were six for sale that met
that number within Clatsop County and
only one home for rent,” Adams said.
“We’re looking at dire numbers when we
look at where we can fi nd housing in Clat-
sop County, not just Cannon Beach.”
Using a 1% excise tax on building per-
mits, Cannon Beach has worked with pri-
vate contractors to produce eight units, he
said. The tax is generating about $50,000
annually, he said.
Adams said he sought a meeting with
a representative from each of Clatsop
County’s jurisdiction, possibly hosted by
the Columbia River Estuary Study Task-
Cannon Beach City Planner Jeff Adams addresses the audience at a meeting of the Seaside Housing Task Force.
force, a regional group that takes a lead- our workforce is a regional workforce.”
ership role in initiating and implementing
Adams proposed a three-step pro-
planning and habitat restoration projects. cess, including the regional discussion,
Seaside, Gearhart, Cannon Beach, War- the advancement accessory dwelling
renton, the city
unit legislation.
of Astoria and the
“Third, just keep
Port of Astoria
the
discussion
are members.
going with the
The regional
City Council on
discussion
is
other tools where
important
for
we can inter-
Cannon
Beach
nally solve that
because most of
because we do
their workforce
have
opportu-
comes from Sea-
nity as much as
side,
Warren-
I think that we
ton and Astoria,
sometimes don’t
Adams said.
want to face it but
“My new plan-
we do have areas
ner had to get a
where we could
trailer home and
look at our city in
moved into Bud’s
a more granular
up in Gearhart,”
level.”
Jeff Adams, Cannon Beach city planner
he said. “He just
In
Seaside,
found an apart-
acting
plan-
ment up in Asto-
ning director Jeff
ria, but he’s commuting from Astoria. We Flory said, accessory dwelling units of
should all be in this together and contrib- 525 square feet are a permitted use in all
ute towards that common goal, because residential zones. That can go up to 800
‘ALL OF US ARE
RUNNING OUT OF
BUILDABLE LANDS.
WE’RE ALL LOOKING AT
A MORE CHALLENGING
FUTURE. SO WE’VE
GOT TO COME
TOGETHER TO SOLVE
THESE THINGS.’
square feet with planning commission
approval. An accessory dwelling unit can-
not be a short-term rental.
Seaside has four apartment projects
for a total of 202 units that are in vari-
ous stages of construction and excavation,
Flory said, with a 78-unit complex com-
ing to the Planning Commission in May.
In larger cities throughout the state, R-1
zoning is being replaced so every property
has two or three units per lot, Adams said.
“I think this is a growing trend and as we
see this crisis continuing, that’s going to
fi lter more towards us as well.”
Cannon Beach and Seaside have the
lowest percentage of buildable lands,
Wright said. “We just don’t have the land
to start with,” Wright said. “People have
gotten very creative and we are as much
as we can trying to accommodate the cre-
ativity to see what builders come up with.
Future task force meetings will host
Rep. Suzanne Weber and a representative
of the Tillamook Housing Authority.
“All of us are running out of build-
able lands. We’re all looking at a more
challenging future,” Adams said. “So
we’ve got to come together to solve these
things.”
Let’s work together, listen in a time of uncertainty
S
easide has been in the fore-
front of innovation.
Over 40 years ago, it was
city leadership that stepped for-
GUEST COLUMN
JAY BARBER
ward with aggressive and inno-
vative ideas to build the “Sea-
side Conference and Convention
Center” which was the innovation
that moved Seaside from a “sea-
sonal” economy to a year-round
tourism center.
More recently, the City Coun-
cil approved the $15 million
expansion of the center to allow
even larger conventions and con-
ferences to come to Seaside.
More recently, at the onset of
the COVID-19 pandemic, it was
clear that there was the signifi cant
possibility that Seaside would
lose portions of our economic
strength if local, tourist-based
businesses were to close down
and be lost for the future.
Working with local business
leaders, the Seaside Chamber
of Commerce and others, under
the leadership of our city man-
ager, the City Council approved a
plan to provide over $1 million in
direct grants to hotels, restaurants
and retail businesses. Seaside was
the only city on the North Coast
to launch this “innovative” idea,
most likely saving many busi-
nesses and certainly many work-
force jobs. This could only be
done because of the excellent fi s-
cal management of our fi nance
offi cer and city manager with the
support of the City Council.
Currently, in every city in our
nation, city and town leaders are
dealing with overwhelming chal-
lenges like aff ordable housing,
homelessness, child care, mental
health and addiction.
For many it is gun violence,
for others (like Seaside) it is the
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Why you should vote
yes on Measure 4-213
As a result of Jack Zimmerman and
Harold Gable, the community of Gearhart
was robbed of the opportunity to pass the
bond to fi nance the fi re/police station in
November of 2021. Their ballot challenge
sent the vote past the fi ling deadline.
When the judge reviewed their objections
to the ballot language not one argument
was deemed legitimate. Gearhart cannot
continue to delay critical infrastructure
in our community. Because of this delay,
we are looking at increased construction
costs and bond interest rates. If I had to
guess? I’d put it in excess of $1 million
dollars. Can you trust Gable and Zimmer-
man on this issue?
The state of Oregon provides the
senior citizen deferral program which
allows you to delay paying property taxes
on your residence. I encourage anyone 62
years or older, disabled and receiving or
eligible to receive Social Security disabil-
ity insurance to explore this option if the
increased cost is an impediment to vot-
ing yes.
What Gearhart will be faced with
if you do not vote in favor of Measure
4-213 is further increased costs. If we do
not have a fi re station equipped to meet
the key standards of our various home-
owner insurance companies – guess
what? We can join the communities who
are unable to insure their homes or pay
excessive premiums.
The life our volunteer fi rst responders/
police saves may be your own, or that of
a loved one. Do the right thing — support
PUBLISHER
EDITOR
Kari Borgen
R.J. Marx
PUBLIC MEETINGS
the safety of our community. Vote yes on
4-213.
Sheila Nolan
Gearhart
Contact local agencies for latest meeting informa-
tion and attendance guidelines.
Vote yes on Measure 4-213
to keep families safer
MONDAY, March 28
Location, location, location. We can all
agree that for the safety and resilience of
our community it is essential that our criti-
cal infrastructure be located safely outside
the tsunami inundation zone.
Back in the 1950s when the Gearhart
Fire Station was built, less was known
about the unique hazards and risks we face
on the Oregon coast from earthquakes and
tsunamis. We now fi nd ourselves with a
big problem — the current fi re station sits
squarely in the inundation zone of even a
small tsunami.
Dedicated citizens of Gearhart have
come together and carefully considered
numerous possible locations for a new,
resilient fi re/police station. We are fortu-
nate to have a location available at the high-
est elevation of all the proposed sites. A sta-
tion located on this high ground will likely
survive all but the largest tsunamis. As an
added bonus, the land does not have to be
purchased; it is being given to the city of
Gearhart, helping to lessen the overall cost
of the project.
We can make our families safer and
more protected when we come together and
vote yes on Measure 4-213 for a new fi re/
police station in Gearhart.
Eric Halperin
Gearhart
CIRCULATION
MANAGER
Shannon Arlint
ADVERTISING
SALES MANAGER
Sarah Silver-
Tecza
ADVERTISING
REPRESENTATIVE
Haley Werst
threat of a catastrophic earth-
quake and tsunami.
Leadership change is also a
challenge.
Yes, it provides the oppor-
tunity for “fresh eyes” on old
problems and challenges, but it
is also a time of uncertainty for
the dedicated leaders and staff of
the city.
We must work together, listen to
each other and trust the process of
challenge and change.
Jay Barber is mayor of Seaside.
PRODUCTION
MANAGER
CONTRIBUTING
WRITERS
John D. Bruijn
Skyler Archibald
Joshua Heineman
Katherine Lacaze
Esther Moberg
SYSTEMS
MANAGER
Carl Earl
CONTRIBUTING
PHOTOGRAPHER
Jeff TerHar
TUESDAY, March 22
Seaside Airport Advisory Committee, 6 p.m.,
989 Broadway.
Seaside City Council, 7 p.m., 989 Broadway.
TUESDAY, March 29
Sunset Empire Park and Recreation District
Board of Directors, 5:15 p.m., 1225 Ave. A.
Seaside Airport Advisory Committee, 6 p.m.,
989 Broadway.
Gearhart City Council work session, 6 p.m.,
www.cityofgearhart.com.
MONDAY, April 4
Seaside Housing Task Force, 6 p.m., 989 Broad-
way.
THURSDAY, April 14
Seaside Convention Center Commission,
5 p.m., 415 First Ave., Seaside.
TUESDAY, April 19
Community Emergency Response Team,
5 p.m., 989 Broadway.
Seaside Planning Commission, work session,
6 p.m., 989 Broadway.
Seaside School District, 6 p.m., https://www.
seaside.k12.or.us/.
WEDNESDAY, April 20
Tourism Advisory Committee, 3 p.m., 989
Broadway.
THURSDAY, April 21
Transportation Advisory Commission, 6 p.m.,
989 Broadway.
MONDAY, April 25
TUESDAY, April 5
Seaside City Council, 7 p.m., 989 Broadway.
Seaside Community Center Commission,
10 a.m., Bob Chisholm Community Center, 1225
Avenue A.
TUESDAY, April 26
Library Board, 4:30 p.m, 1131 Broadway.
Seaside Planning Commission, 6 p.m., 989
Broadway.
Sunset Empire Park and Recreation District
Board of Directors, 5:15 p.m., 1225 Avenue A.
TUESDAY, May 3
WEDNESDAY, April 6
Seaside Community Center Commission,
10 a.m., Bob Chisholm Community Center, 1225
Avenue A.
Seaside Improvement Commission, 6 p.m., 989
Broadway.
Seaside Library Board, 4:30 p.m, 1131 Broad-
way.
Gearhart City Council, 7 p.m., www.cityofgear-
hart.com.
Seaside Planning Commission, 6 p.m., 989
Broadway.
THURSDAY, April 7
WEDNESDAY, May 4
Seaside Parks Advisory Committee, 6 p.m., 989
Broadway.
Seaside Improvement Commission, 6 p.m., 989
Broadway.
MONDAY, April 11
Gearhart City Council, 7 p.m., www.cityofgear-
hart.com.
Seaside City Council, 7 p.m., 989 Broadway.
Seaside Signal
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