VOL. 43, ISSUE 25 FREE
CANNONBEACHGAZETTE.COM
November 15, 2019
City looking to adjust water, sewer rates T
he Cannon Beach City Council, during a work session, tentatively selected a new billing structure for its water and sewer services, according to the city.
The council has yet to put it to a vote, which it will do during its council meeting next month, said Karen La Bonte, the city’s public works director, in a recent email. Scenario No. 5 is the plan tenta-
tively selected by the council from a group of five, La Bonte said. That scenario is discussed in the Cannon Beach Utility Rate Policy Discussion dated Nov. 5 on the city’s website.
Over the past few months, the council reviewed different ways to structure its water and sewer services billing in an effort to find a more equitable way to distribute the charges, as stated on the city
website. Under the existing structure, residential and commercial customers are using about the same
More multi-family houses draw interest
lamp lighting
Kathleen Stinson For The Gazette
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Lamplighting at Sandpiper Square in 2018. Below Lachlan Meyer and Alyx Mount light the lamp for it’s 45th year. Cannon Beach Gazette file photos.
Cannon Beach hosting seasonal ‘Haystack Holidays’
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eginning in November, Cannon Beach has been playing host to “Haystack Holidays,” a series of seasonal events designed to celebrate unlike anywhere else in the country. The “Haystack Holidays” highlights include Mimosa Madness, Cannon Beach’s alternative to the craziness of Black Friday; a longtime local tradition, the downtown Lamp Lighting Ceremony; and a special holiday concert. This serves as Cannon Beach’s holiday shopping and vacation getaway, with the village lit up festively and shops and galleries offering a plethora of gift opportunities.
Awards, including Best Musical. Performances are Friday-Sunday. Tickets are $20 to $25 and available at www.coastertheatre.com. Friday, Nov. 29, 8-11 a.m.: Mimosa Madness. Refreshments and
Event Schedule Nov. 15-Dec. 22: “Annie” at the Coaster Theatre Playhouse. Based on the popular comic strip by Harold Gray, “Annie” has won seven Tony
deals can be found all around town. Saturday, Nov. 30 and Saturday, Dec. 7, 11 a.m.-3 p.m.: Holiday wreath making at the Cannon Beach Chamber of Commerce. This event
comes with an instructor, along with refreshments and holiday music. Monday, Dec. 2-Saturday, Dec. 21: “Cannon Beach in Lights” and “Name That Tune” Window Display Contest. Visit participating retailers and submit correct “Name That Tune” playing cards for a chance to win a holiday gift basket. “Cannon Beach in Lights” voting at the chamber or online at www.cannonbeach.org. Voting open through the 20th. Awards will be announced at the Coaster Theatre Playhouse on the 21st. Friday, Dec. 6-Sunday, Dec. 8: Cannon Beach Chorus Holiday Concerts (Dec. 6, 7 p.m. at Astoria Peace Lutheran Church; Dec. 7, 7 p.m. at Cannon Beach Community Church; Dec. 8, 3 p.m. at Nehalem Bay United Methodist Church). Tickets are $10
n See HAYSTACK, Page 4
Purple sea urchin invasion triggers havoc Jeremy C. Ruark
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Staff Writer
tate officials and fisheries managers are monitoring an explosion of purple sea urchins along the Oregon and California coasts. “We haven’t seen this change in populations or levels of purple sea
urchins before,” said Scott Groth, an Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) project manager. “With surveys extending back to the 1980s, we’ve never seen many purple sea urchins at deep sites. Now, they dominate those areas.” According to reports cited by the ODFW, the
purple sea urchins have devoured much of the giant bull kelp forests in northern california and are now moving north along Oregon’s sea floor, threatening the local marine ecosystems. Groth said the purple sea urchins are in competition with other species for the grazing of kelp beds.
n See RATES, Page 3
“Most concerning would be their competition for food and space with abalones,” he said. “These urchins have become more numerous (because of) good environmental conditions for recruitment events, such as temperature and
n See URCHIN, Page 2
he level of interest in the construction of multi-family housing in Cannon Beach is on the rise, according to Jeff Adams, the city’s community development director. “It’s a growing trend across the nation,” Adams said. The State of Oregon recently passed HB 2001, which requires cities with a population of 10,000 or greater to permit duplexes to be built on land zoned for single-family housing. However, both Adams and Kevin Cronin, the assistant city manager of Warrenton, say single-family home construction still outnumbers multi-family in those two cities. Clatsop County and its municipalities recently partnered to commission a study to look at the area’s housing needs, as stated on the county’s website. In that study is a section on “strategies,” which addresses the issue of zoning density and multi-family housing. “Strategy 1: Ensure Land
Zoned for Higher Density Uses is not Developed at Lower Densities,” as stated in the study published in January 2019. “Most of the cities in Clatsop County allow for development of new single-family detached homes in their medium- and high-density zones. “While having a mix of housing types in these zones is not in and of itself a bad thing, it is important to preserve an adequate supply of land designated for medium and high density for higher-density housing forms – townhouses, triplexes, fourplexes and multi-family dwellings. “This is important from both a land efficiency perspective and to make sure that each city continues to have an adequate supply of land available for these types of housing. Specific actions to implement this strategy include: • “Update development codes to not allow (or prohibit) new single-family detached housing in high
n See HOUSING, Page 3
Plastic bag ban goes into effect in January Hilary Dorsey For The Gazette
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ffective January 1, 2020, single-use plastic bags will no longer be an option for retailers and restaurants in the state of Oregon. During its last session, the Oregon Legislature passed the Sustainable Shopping Initiative banning single-use plastic bags by retail outlets and restaurants. This new law was supported by Oregon senators, representatives, Safeway, as well as small businesses and restaurants in Clatsop and Tillamook counties. Manzanita and Wheeler city leaders have already adopted local measures banning the use of plastic bags in stores. Fresh Foods stores, both in Manzanita and Cannon Beach, have been plastic-less since opening. An official with the City of Cannon Beach said the measure has not been an agenda item yet but, like
most cities around Oregon, they were waiting to see what the law would look like at the state level. Theresa Family Market stopped using plastic bags last June and says they won’t be affected by the ban. “This will be our first winter with only paper bags,” said an employee of the market, Thomas Schaffer. The market currently doesn’t sell reusable bags, although the owner is wanting to get some in the near future. They do not charge for their paper bags. Included in the ban are single-use check out bags at grocery and other retail stores, including farmers markets, and single-use carry-out bags at restaurants. Not included in the ban are bags provided for produce, nuts, grain, greeting cards and small hardware items; bags for unwrapped prepared food or bakery
n See PLASTIC, Page 4
City Council discusses rules for horses in parks, on beaches T
he Cannon Beach City Council elected at its Nov. 5 meeting not to vote on an ordinance to prohibit horses from its city parks, but instead sent the issue back to the Parks Committee to see if the stakeholders could reach a compromise on the issue, according to city staff liaison and Public Works Director Karen La Bonte. The proposed ordinance arose in response to concerns about “horse manure entering the storm drain system” and as a way to “clearly define where horses are permitted,” as stated in the proposed ordinance language on the
website. The proposed language of the ordinance is as follows: “No person shall allow horses under their control to enter any park, or parking lot with the exception of horse trailers for the temporary loading and unloading of animals, in the west Les Shirley parking lot and the east end of Elk Creek Road. Horses are allowed on public roadways, rights-of-way, and on the beach. All horses must be bucketed (wearing a manure catching device) at all times.” In an e-mail last Friday, La Bonte said: “I appreciate the chance to clarify some
of the miscommunication on this topic… First, I’d like to point out that the nuisance associated with horse manure is not a ‘new’ issue here in Cannon Beach as you will see from the minutes attached from the Council Work Session dating back to 2001 through 2015. “The topic arose again last year during the October 2018 Parks Committee meeting during discussion around complaints about manure being left behind by riders in various areas within the city limits and including the beach.
n See HORSE, Page 2
Bob Wayne plays former Gov. Oswald West at the North Coast Land Conservancy’s CoastWalk event in this Cannon Beach Gazette file photo.