Friday, April 29, 2022 | Seaside Signal | SeasideSignal.com • A3
Ordinance: New rules to enable enforcement Necanicum RVs and
campers receive notice
Continued from Page A1
the least impact on the com-
munity, neighbors, houses in
the area, then they’re going
to go wherever they please.
We have to either provide
shelter or we have to provide
public locations for them to
be able to camp.”
Overnight camping per-
mits, from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m.,
would be valid for three
weeks, at which time they
could be renewed.
While individual park-
ing or camping locations
were not designated, pro-
posed locations for limited
numbers of permitted vehi-
cles include parts of Shore
Terrace, Necanicum Drive,
parts of Broadway, Avenue
G and Mill Ponds Park.
Camping would be pro-
hibited at all public park
areas, public parking lots,
restrooms or publicly owned
properties within residential
zoning districts, along with
U.S. Highway 101, Ave-
nue U, Wahanna Drive, First
Avenue to Avenue A, Neca-
nicum Drive and other loca-
tions. Violators could be
fi ned $25 per day.
‘Don’t push it off to
somebody else’
Many in the vocal audi-
ence at the City Council
meeting said they were con-
fused by confl icting court
rulings and interpretations
of the law.
“Don’t push it off to
somebody else,” James
Hoff man, a resident, told
city councilors. “Do your
job. Do what you’re sup-
posed to do by being in these
seats. Fix it. I’m tired of see-
ing junk, needles, drugs,
everywhere we go. I’m tired
of being harassed.”
The 10th and Necanicum
“RV experiment” is a disas-
ter, Bruce Rosebrock, a resi-
dent, said.
For some, it’s just
‘down and down’
By R.J. MARX
Seaside Signal
R.J. Marx
Crowd at Monday’s City Council meeting.
“Needles, drugs, RVs
with ‘for rent’ signs,
increased theft in the neigh-
boring blocks,” he said.
“Who pays for the storage?
Who pays for the demo?
Lots of unanswered ques-
tions. Get this ordinance
right and vote ‘no’ tonight
until you have the right
parameters in place. If this
City Council gets it wrong
and this town goes down the
toilet, that’ll be quite a leg-
acy for all of you.”
Others questioned how
the city would force camp-
ers to move, the expense
associated with the process,
daytime parking issues and
the potential lure of “free
camping” for people from
outside the area.
“I don’t understand why
they just get to be there for
free,” Linda Iles Martin, a
resident, said. “You don’t
get to camp for free, every-
body has to pay something.
That’s just part of our civi-
lization, of our society. And
these people are trying to
screw up our societal pro-
gram here. You just don’t get
to go camp in front of some-
body’s house.”
Throughout the process,
city offi cials have said that
without an ordinance with
options for the homeless, the
camp on Necanicum could
not be cleared. But Josh
Marquis, a former Clatsop
County district attorney, said
those interpretations were
incorrect. He challenged the
tenet that the city needed to
enact the ordinance before
starting eviction.
“I think this is a really
serious misunderstanding,”
Marquis said.
The City Council ulti-
mately relied on advice from
City Attorney Dan Van Thiel
to proceed with the reading
of the ordinance before put-
ting it to a vote. “I’m sug-
gesting that we get this off
the table,” he said.
Mixed response
City councilors were
mixed in response.
City Councilor Tita Mon-
tero, an organizer and mem-
ber of the homeless task
force, asked for a new look
at the ordinance. She said the
camp on Necanicum could
be cleared with or with-
out the ordinance. “It’s our
property. We have the right
to put rules on anybody who
was staying on that prop-
erty,” she said. “I’m also
very concerned that we have
yet to hear from CIS (City-
county Insurance Services),
our insurance company, on a
review of this ordinance. We
have passed an ordinance
without proper review. I’m
very disturbed about this.”
City Councilor Dana
Phillips also voiced con-
cerns that more study was
needed.
City Councilor Randy
Frank said it “was the right
thing to do.” Councilor
Steve Wright said the mea-
sure was the best way to give
police the tools to enforce
regulations.
Mayor Jay Barber and
Frank, Wright, City Coun-
cilor David Posalski and
City Councilor Tom Horn-
ing voted for the ordinance.
Montero and Phillips voted
against it.
The ordinance goes into
eff ect in 30 days.
City councilors agreed to
consider additional public
comment for amendments
in a workshop scheduled for
May 9 before the next City
Council meeting.
“My concern is to defend
the rights of both the housed
and the unhoused,” Barber
said. “And I think we’ve got
to work together to refi ne
this ordinance so that it cov-
ers both bases.”
Field: ‘We’re running out of time and options’
Continued from Page A1
Broadway, because it’s amaz-
ing,” he said. “But also, are
we going to shove some-
thing into a spot that’s not
going to be a great facility for
years and years and years to
come?”
Several factors are infl u-
encing the softball complex
project, including budget and
timeline.
“We’re running out of
time and options,” school
board member Mark Truax
said.
Another site on the table is
the city’s property by the old
Seaside High School, referred
to as the North 40. The school
district would have to negoti-
ate a new intergovernmen-
tal agreement with the city to
develop on the property.
Additionally, they would
need to add a storm drainage
system and build a new park-
ing lot, bathrooms, conces-
sions, batting cages and other
infrastructure. Giving a rough
estimate, Modin projected the
North 40 could be about $1
million more to develop than
Broadway Field, making the
latter option the “most eco-
nomical and the most desired
from the community.”
“We’re trying to fi x this
the right way, so that you’ve
got a facility that will last
you,” he said.
At the meeting, the board
approved for the consulting
team to move forward with
investigatory work on Broad-
way Field and potentially the
North 40, with Broadway
being the preferred location.
In other news:
• The board approved
Juneteenth— a federal hol-
iday as of 2021 — as a dis-
trict-recognized paid holiday.
Staff will receive their holi-
day leave the Monday after
Juneteenth, or Freedom Day,
which takes place Sunday,
June 19, this year.
• The board approved
the 2022-23 school calen-
dar. Classes will begin for
elementary school students,
sixth graders, and ninth grad-
ers on Sept. 6. Classes will
begin for remaining middle
and high schoolers Sept. 7.
Graduation is set for Thurs-
day, June 8, 2023.
PUBLIC SAFETY LOG
Continued from Page A2
an offi cer pick them up.
Good samaritan
4:12 p.m., 1300 block S.
Roosevelt: A person reported
blowing bubbles into traffi c
is reported as a hazard; after
police observe for a while and
determine there is no hazard.
12:43 p.m., Fourth and Prom: A
loose dog is reported.
A dog found April 22 on U.S.
Highway 101 near milepost
23 was brought to the Seaside
police department by a good
samaritan. At 5:40 p.m., a state
trooper brought the dog,
described as a black lab, to
the Clatsop shelter. The dog
had no name tag or any other
identifi ers.
2:08 p.m., 800 block 13th
Avenue: Caller reports their two
large dogs are missing.
5:37 p.m., 10th and Necani-
cum: Caller reports someone
erecting a tent in a known
transient camp.
5:18 p.m., Beach near Avenue
G: Caller requests welfare check
on crying children after the call-
er says the mother was yelling
at them.
9:45 p.m., Avenue U: Caller
reports dog at large; dog runs
away when it sees police and
runs straight home. Police
follow it to its home and sees it
is secure.
5:29 p.m., U.S. Highway 101
and milepost 23: Citizen brings
in a dog they say they found
on the highway. Oregon State
police were notifi ed of the
whereabouts of the dog.
April 22
5:40 p.m., 1100 block Broad-
way: EMS call.
12:15 a.m., 600 block S.
Roosevelt: Caller reports dog
at large.
10:42 a.m., 10th and Necan-
icum lot: All units and occu-
pants receive notice.
10:44 p.m., N. Wahanna Road:
Caller reports a domestic
disturbance. On arrival, police
advise the parties involved are
having a verbal disturbance.
12:08 p.m., 10th and Necan-
icum: Caller reports old dog
walking in the road.
10:46 p.m., Goodman Park: An
unknown situation is reported
in the park.
12:23 p.m., Beach near 12th:
Dog complaint.
12:33 p.m., American Legion:
Caller reports two loose dogs
on the property and requests
OREGON STATE
POLICE
PUBLIC SAFETY LOG
Car versus deer
A woman crashed into a deer
April 22 at 9:28 p.m. on U.S.
Highway 101 near Sunset
Beach Lane. She stopped on
the shoulder after the collision
but believed it was unsafe to
stay there due to heavy traffi c.
She then drove home and
notifi ed police what happened.
They said she would be mailed
a crash report.
Drug infl uence
A caller reported he’d been
robbed and stabbed in the
woods of Ecola Park April 22
at 11:19 p.m. The dispatcher
thought the caller sounded
under a drug infl uence. He
gave the wrong location to
dispatchers so troopers went
to Ecola State Park, Indian
Beach and the Tillamook Trail
Head where they saw a man
on the north facing hillside
of Tillamook Head who did
not respond to a loud siren or
emergency lights. Two troop-
ers hiked up the hill side and
located the alleged stabbed
man along with all his gear and
reported stolen items. He was
given water and a courtesy
ride into town where he was
dropped off . The man was not
injured and admitted to using
meth.
High-speed motorcyclist
Troopers saw a motorcyclist
traveling at a high rate of
speed April 23 at 1:09 p.m. on
U.S. Highway 26 at milepost 10.
Lights were activated but the
motorcyclist picked up speed
and unsafely passed another
car. Pursuit was discontinued.
Another trooper also saw the
bike traveling at a high rate of
speed further along the road
and a second traffi c stop was
initiated but the motorcycle
continued to elude. What was
likely the same motorcyclist
was seen a bit later on U.S.
Highway 30, still going very
fast, headed eastbound. This
pursuit was also dropped for
reasons of safety.
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E
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S
be stable over the short term,
“let alone the long term,” he
said.
“The geotechnical con-
cerns are pretty crucial,”
added Josh Modin, with ZCS
Engineering. Additionally,
the wetlands study revealed
wetlands in anticipated areas
and encroaching on the play-
ing fi eld itself, which could
create unsafe surfaces for the
softball players, he said.
Upon receiving these
results, the team tenta-
tively moved on to the sec-
ond
option:
Broadway
Field. They met with lead-
ership from the city’s plan-
ning department and Sunset
Empire Park and Recreation
District in early April.
“Everyone is onboard to
try to make this a nice com-
plex as an option for the com-
munity and for the school dis-
trict,” Hardebeck said.
The main concern with
this site is whether a fi eld
of adequate size will fi t —
a determination that can be
made quickly.
“There is a range of dimen-
sions allowed as per (the Ore-
gon School Activities Associ-
ation),” Modin said, adding
the fi eld outlined in the rough
diagram presented at the
meeting portrayed the max-
imum size. “That’s part of
why doing another test-fi t run
is so important: to make sure
we can fi t this on this site.
We’re pretty confi dent we
can if we utilize that range,
not just the maximum.”
Broadway Field presents
several advantages, includ-
ing an established parking
lot; existing infrastructure for
water, power and other utili-
ties; and a concession stand
and batting cages. The site
also doesn’t pose wetlands or
geological concerns.
“There are a few less
hoops to jump through,”
Modin said.
Board member Chris
Corder voiced concerns
about rushing the process and
questioned the viability of
Broadway Field because of
concerns about the complex
fi tting there.
“I’d love for it to be at
With passage of Ordi-
nance 2022-04 on Mon-
day night, the city is press-
ing forward with closing the
homeless parking lot at 10th
and Necanicum Drive. On
April 20, police distributed
notice to campers that Sea-
side was preparing an ordi-
nance to regulate temporary
camping within the city.
Campers are advised
that all vehicles on the road
must be up-to-date on their
registration and insurance.
The letter, signed by
police Chief Dave Ham, is
intended to give advance
notice that temporary
camping rules in Seaside
are changing.
“We are giving you
advance notice so you
have reasonable time to
make arrangements for
other camping accommo-
dations, to get current with
your DMV registrations,
and to prepare for moving
from your current location,
as the proposed ordinance
will prohibit and not allow
camping at this Necanicum
Dr. location,” it states.
“Although I can’t give
you an exact date as to
when this proposed ordi-
nance will be in service,
you should expect it to hap-
pen within the next cou-
ple of months,” Ham said
Monday.
For those who have been
sleeping in cars, trailers or
buses on the property, the
future is uncertain.
Robert, who lives on a
bus parked on the Necani-
cum lot, said about 25 to 30
people live in the camp.
When he moved into
town he was making
$100,000 a year, he said.
Now he is living on $840 a
month disability and unable
to work. “I’ve got a tumor
in my spine,” he said. “I’ve
blown out everything in my
back over the years. I lit-
erally gave the last of my
back to pouring the side-
walks and light poles on
Holladay street four or fi ve
years ago.”
The issue of RVs aban-
doned or left overnight —
sometimes for weeks or
months at a time — came
before the City Council in
April. Necanicum between
First and 12th, residents
said, had become a long-
term parking area and a
safety and health hazard for
residents.
Police ticketed the cars
along the roadside, and,
over the summer, many
vehicles migrated across the
street to the Necanicum lot
across from Goodman Park,
previously used as a con-
struction staging area.
But as numbers contin-
ued to grow, so did com-
plaints. Neighbors pre-
sented a petition with more
than 100 signatures protest-
ing the encampment and
seeking its shutdown.
The city was not sanc-
tioning the area as a place
to go, City Manager Mark
Winstanley said in January,
but without a place to relo-
cate people, the city was
in a “gray area.” The ordi-
nance is designed to rem-
edy that by providing alter-
nate permitted locations.
The notice provided
referrals to social services
in the county, including
Clatsop Community Action
and their homeless liaison.
Seaside police’s community
service offi cer will also pro-
vide transitional assistance.
Jason, who lives in
an unregistered vehicle
donated by a Seaside neigh-
bor, said he had “no idea”
where he would go next.
Robert is more hopeful.
“My vehicle is already
licensed and insured,” he
said. “I’m a good licensed
driver. Yeah, I can drive
around but it’s really unfair
for the people that aren’t
able to because people
can’t aff ord to. I mean, it’s
$1,500 a month almost for
a one-bedroom apartment,
$1,200 for a studio apart-
ment. When somebody
works full time at $15 an
hour, they’re bringing in
just enough to pay their rent,
their insurance and their
bills, and they have noth-
ing to eat off of, nothing, no
food to eat, no money. “It’s
just down and down.
“If I could aff ord it I’d go
into a campground or pref-
erably back into a house or
tomorrow,” he said.
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