Friday, June 24, 2022 | Seaside Signal | SeasideSignal.com • A3
R.J. Marx
Entrance to Vista Ridge II property from Sunset Hills.
Vista Ridge II: Next hearing July 5
Map showing proposed vacation rental dwelling density in Seaside. Areas in red do not
support short-term rental ownership.
Tweaks: Will go into eff ect July 7
Continued from Page A1
The changes come as
the city seeks to encourage
more long-term housing and
reduced short-term rental
density in areas where it is
permitted.
While increasing the den-
sity of short-term rentals on
oceanfront properties from
50% to 100%, areas in per-
mitted residential zones will
decrease from 40% to 30%.
Density is increased to
50% for properties areas
on the ocean side of Beach
Drive from the South Edge-
wood Street north to the
resort-residential zone at
Avenue G.
Applications will no lon-
ger be supported east of the
Necanicum river from 12th
Avenue to the northern point
of Neawanna Street to pre-
serve the residential charac-
ter of the neighborhood.
“We have a lot of the
VRD folks here tonight and
obviously they’re pushing
for VRDs,” Commissioner
Seth Morrisey said. “And
then we have the long term
residents who have a diff er-
ent view of the VRDs and I
think our job up here is try-
ing to strike that balance.
That area is aff ordable by
Seaside standards, Morrisey
said.
“That’s one of the rea-
sons that I proposed tak-
ing that offl ine because I’ve
been in that neighborhood a
lot and it’s traditionally been
long-term rentals,” he said.
“That said, I think every-
one up here would agree that
we are for vacation rentals, a
huge part of our economy —
but in the right places.”
The commission voted to
implement a waiting period
of 90 days after a prop-
erty has been sold prior to
accepting an application
for a vacation rental dwell-
ing conditional use per-
mit, except in those beach-
front areas where the density
threshold is 100%. Owners
of newly constructed homes
must wait a period of two
years after the property has
been issued a certifi cate of
occupancy before seeking a
permit.
Property managers and
owners will receive an
increased grace period from
60 to 90 days to clear out
existing reservations after a
VRD conditional use permit
has been voided.
Changes will go into
eff ect July 7. Commission-
ers agreed to review vaca-
tion rental rules annually,
with a target date of March
1.
Ordinance: Use of overnight area is light
Continued from Page A1
More signed up for per-
mits than use the site. Some
who sheltered outside or in
RVs at former campsites at
10th and Necanicum or Ave-
nue D have found housing or
moved on, he said.
Police are working with
Clatsop Community Action
and Clatsop Behavioral
Healthcare for those with
special needs. For some,
“there just isn’t a straight
answer as to what we can
do,” Ham said.
Residents and visitors
have complained about
campers and debris in natu-
ral areas of the Mill Ponds
Natural History Park.
The last big encampment
in the Mill Ponds Natural His-
tory area was cleaned out this
week, Dale McDowell, the
public works director, said.
“We’re trying to look at
doing some restoration out
there in some of the areas,”
he said. “We spent a con-
siderable amount of time
picking up syringes, those
types of things in the bushes
and so get things back to
normal.”
All areas of Mill Ponds
R.J. Marx
Port-a-potties at the entrance to the Mill Ponds Natural History
Park off Alder Mill Avenue.
park have been cleared,
according to Paul Knoch, the
police department’s commu-
nity service offi cer.
The area next to the recy-
cling center has been cleaned
up and will be reseeded,
McDowell said
People have been “very
pleasant to work with and
there have been no issues,”
McDowell said. “We have
port-a-potties, we have fresh
water,” he said. “Every-
thing is there. They all know
where it’s at. You know,
we’ve talked to everybody
that comes through and I
think it’s gone well.”
Ham recognizes that as
the summer season comes
there may be additional
homeless campers.
“With the season com-
ing back then toward
more towards the summer
and whatever hits, I think
we’re going to see a steady
increase with that,” he said.
The Broadway restroom
next to the visitors bureau
remains a concern.
“We have had some com-
plaints that there’s that kind
of activity going on there
and there’s probably been a
little bit of an increase since
this has started,” Ham said.
“However, again, I don’t
know if it’s because of the
ordinance or if it’s just
because of the weather.”
A July 11 City Coun-
cil workshop will review
the ordinance and consider
additional amendments.
Continued from Page A1
Each development lot
will have frontage on a
newly developed extension
of Hemlock Street, engineer
Mark Mead said on behalf of
the developer.
Lots would range from 70
to 74 feet wide. The back of
these lots would have a steep
slope down to the creek that
separates this parcel from the
original Vista Ridge subdivi-
sion. The walking path that
was part of the previous proj-
ect was removed from the
current submittal.
Each lot would have a
separate evaluation com-
pleted based upon the fi nal
home site design, Mead said,
with an engineering review
for each lot and on-site
inspection of the completed
home excavation.
One of the owners of this
property is a local builder
that has built many houses in
the Seaside area, Mead said.
“He will probably be the
builder of most of the houses
or at least part of the houses
up there,” Mead said. “So
he’s very familiar with build-
ing and Seaside and up on
the hillside area.”
Neighbors and residents
at the commission’s pub-
lic hearing cited drainage
and erosion control prob-
lems, tree-cutting, potential
impacts to fi sh and wildlife,
tsunami evacuation con-
cerns, a sloppy presentation
by the developers and the
impacts of heavy equipment
on the neighborhood streets.
Developing the property
with log trucks and heavy
equipment would cause
“considerable
damage,”
Aldercrest resident Mike
Brackenbrough said at the
meeting.
“Without a serious and
long-term erosion control
plan all the streams and all
the life in them will be dam-
aged beyond recognition,”
Brackenbrough said. “This
is not a hypothetical state-
ment, or wild speculation.
This is real.”
Greg Jacob, a neigh-
bor, said that the develop-
er’s plans do not meet the
requirements of the Seaside
zoning ordinance.
“I’m more convinced that
the project must be scrapped
for the good of Seaside,”
Jacob said. “It has been
many months since the fi rst
hearing and the developers
still can’t submit documenta-
tion that addresses geotech-
nical issues, continues to use
language that is beset with
spelling and grammatical
errors and laced with porous
jargon.”
Jacob said the devel-
oper has never engaged in
a meaningful dialogue with
neighborhood residents, fails
to off er a place for children
to play, and that plans down-
play the eff ects of noise and
potential drought during
construction.
Su Coddington, chairman
of the city’s community’s
emergency response team,
said the home plan presented
additional risks in the event
of a tsunami evacuation as
residents head up the hill.
“We’re looking at an
already precarious situation,”
she said. “Take a look at the
cracks that are in the road
right now. And then you’re
going to add more construc-
tion and destabilize the hill.
That’s concerning to me.”
There is at least one
planned driveway that would
cross two stream channels,
according to a letter from the
Oregon Department of Fish
and Wildlife. “The applicant
needs to consult with ODFW
to review fi sh passage
requirements (and design
approval if needed) prior to
construction,” fi sh biologist
Robert W. Bradley wrote.
As residents of the Sun-
set Ridge community, plan-
ning commissioners Kath
Kleczek, a planning com-
missioner and Seth Morrisey
recused themselves from
deliberations.
The project lacks a time-
line and specifi cs, Kleczek
said, speaking in opposition
to the proposal.
If this project was
approved as it stands, it
would violate development
and subdivision require-
ments to minimize impact on
the surrounding neighbor-
hoods, Kleczek said.
Other speakers said that
the revised submission
showed few changes, and
that maps in use came from
almost two decades ago.
In the city’s staff report,
planner Jeff Flory said he
did not have a formal rec-
ommendation at this time.
He asked planning commis-
sioners to review the overall
development plan, hear any
relevant public testimony,
review and consider the pro-
posed conditions, and pre-
pare a list of any additional
information that may need to
be provided to the commis-
sion before they make a for-
mal decision.
Robin Montero, chair
of the commission, said
the revised plans, with the
exception of a reduction in
the number of lots, were
“virtually identical,” to the
initial application.
She asked Mead for addi-
tional traffi c, emergency
impact and environmental
details.
Mead requested a contin-
uance for an opportunity to
review materials, which was
unanimously approved by
Montero, and commission-
ers Brandon Kraft and Don
Johnson.
The next hearing for Vista
Ridge II takes place July 5 at
6 p.m. at City Hall.
PUBLIC SAFETY LOG
Theron Manley, 24, from
Clatskanie was arrested on a
warrant June 16 at 2:20 p.m., at
Trucke’s on U.S. Highway 101 in
Seaside. He was wanted for a
parole violation and a warrant
for attempt to elude. He was
taken into custody and lodged
at the Clatsop County jail.
Portland, was arrested June 16
ay 6:17 p.m., on U.S. High-
way 26, milepost 14. He was
charged with driving with a
revoked or suspended license,
a felony off ense. A trooper on
patrol saw him traveling at a
high rate of speed. A traffi c
stop was conducted. He was
criminally cited and released
with a date to return to court
Aug. 16. A passenger took
possession of his vehicle.
Suspended license
Warrant arrest
Quandray J. Nelson, 40, from
James Matthew Morse, 34,
Continued from Page A2
Parole violation
from Astoria, was arrested
on a bench warrant June 16
at 9:09 p.m. on U.S. Highway
101, milepost 23, charged
with failure to appear in court.
Troopers saw him committing
a traffi c violation and he was
pulled over. After providing his
name and date of birth, it was
learned there was a warrant
for him issued by Seaside Mu-
nicipal Court. He was arrested
and transported to the Clatsop
County jail where he was
lodged. A licensed driver drove
his car from the scene.
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