Submitted By: nancyhornshuh@gmail.com – Click to email about this post
“Manzanita Growth”
I thought I was the only one who had concerns about the brew pub coming to Manzanita. I was gratified to see the letter from Patty Reinhart. In addition to the issues she brought up regarding parking I have some other concerns about the proposed brew pub in Manzanita. The proposed location on Laneda is already congested. The seating is for 100. If only a quarter of those people drive to the pub that’s an additional 25 cars in an already overcrowded location. Then there are the other 75 people walking along the street. There would be a great impact on traffic. Think about how it will be to visit any business in that area. Not only where you will park, but the hazards of getting to your location with the pedestrians and other vehicles all trying to get to their locations. Add to that, visitors to the area who don’t know where they are going, and you get the picture of the chaos that will become part of the character of our town.
Another impact to consider is the water requirements for a brew pub. What does Manzanita’s water supply look like? Can we support the needs of the residents and a brew pub in times of drought? A brew pub uses a lot of water. What about the future homes that will also want their share of water. Is there enough?
There is also the impact on the current businesses in Manzanita. Do we need another eating/drinking establishment? Are we currently supporting the existing businesses in town? Where will the workers come from? Will new workers come to the area and therefore need housing, or will the workers be taken from the existing workforce, leaving existing businesses short handed? Are there enough customers to go around or will this business drive new people to the area or take customers from existing businesses?
I lived in Cannon Beach for a long time, long enough to see the impact of too many tourists in too small of an area. Just going to the Post Office in the summer was an ordeal. The number of people crossing the street, not just at crosswalks, but between cars, made for hazardous driving conditions. The Pelican Brewery often has many people waiting on the sidewalk, and they have a parking lot. The City of Cannon Beach also has a parking lot 2 blocks away and very wide sidewalks, and still it can be a traffic nightmare. Manzanita does not have any parking lots, and I’ve noticed similar problems on Laneda in the summer with people spilling over into the street, darting across at locations other than a crosswalk, and blocking foot traffic in areas where they are standing rather than walking.
Manzanita does not have the space along Laneda to have spacious sidewalks and room for parking and room for cars traveling. As the candidates for city council have discussed, we need to keep our town safe. Safe for pedestrians and cars. We do not have the sidewalks, parking, and streets to do that presently.
It seems to me that there are many factors to consider when granting a building permit. As we develop a new comprehensive plan we should consider how many people we can attract to our small town and keep it safe for all who live here and all who visit. How much growth can we handle? Will the City gain enough revenue from a new business to offset the costs needed to handle the impacts of the new business? We need to plan for the future of our town before we make too many mistakes that cannot be undone.
I thought I was the only one who had concerns about the brew pub coming to Manzanita. I was gratified to see the letter from Patty Reinhart. In addition to the issues she brought up regarding parking I have some other concerns about the proposed brew pub in Manzanita. The proposed location on Laneda is already congested. The seating is for 100. If only a quarter of those people drive to the pub that’s an additional 25 cars in an already overcrowded location. Then there are the other 75 people walking along the street. There would be a great impact on traffic. Think about how it will be to visit any business in that area. Not only where you will park, but the hazards of getting to your location with the pedestrians and other vehicles all trying to get to their locations. Add to that, visitors to the area who don’t know where they are going, and you get the picture of the chaos that will become part of the character of our town.
Another impact to consider is the water requirements for a brew pub. What does Manzanita’s water supply look like? Can we support the needs of the residents and a brew pub in times of drought? A brew pub uses a lot of water. What about the future homes that will also want their share of water. Is there enough?
There is also the impact on the current businesses in Manzanita. Do we need another eating/drinking establishment? Are we currently supporting the existing businesses in town? Where will the workers come from? Will new workers come to the area and therefore need housing, or will the workers be taken from the existing workforce, leaving existing businesses short handed? Are there enough customers to go around or will this business drive new people to the area or take customers from existing businesses?
I lived in Cannon Beach for a long time, long enough to see the impact of too many tourists in too small of an area. Just going to the Post Office in the summer was an ordeal. The number of people crossing the street, not just at crosswalks, but between cars, made for hazardous driving conditions. The Pelican Brewery often has many people waiting on the sidewalk, and they have a parking lot. The City of Cannon Beach also has a parking lot 2 blocks away and very wide sidewalks, and still it can be a traffic nightmare. Manzanita does not have any parking lots, and I’ve noticed similar problems on Laneda in the summer with people spilling over into the street, darting across at locations other than a crosswalk, and blocking foot traffic in areas where they are standing rather than walking.
Manzanita does not have the space along Laneda to have spacious sidewalks and room for parking and room for cars traveling. As the candidates for city council have discussed, we need to keep our town safe. Safe for pedestrians and cars. We do not have the sidewalks, parking, and streets to do that presently.
It seems to me that there are many factors to consider when granting a building permit. As we develop a new comprehensive plan we should consider how many people we can attract to our small town and keep it safe for all who live here and all who visit. How much growth can we handle? Will the City gain enough revenue from a new business to offset the costs needed to handle the impacts of the new business? We need to plan for the future of our town before we make too many mistakes that cannot be undone.