Current Listing

Submitted By: ajustrightpac@gmail.com – Click to email about this post

The Tillamook County Pioneer is doing a series of articles on Measure 29-161.

This one makes some strong points and the sheriff and local law enforcement were contacted for comment.

www.tillamookcountypioneer.net/part-2-law-enforcement-opponents-ballot-measure-29-161-should-tillamook-county-officials-be-prevented-from-enforcing-most-state-federal-and-local-firearm-regulations/

Submitted By: klgsmall@gmail.com – Click to email about this post

Short Term Rentals
I checked out of the last city council meeting before the STR discussion began but since then I’ve read and heard conflicting information about what went on. So I listened to that part of the meeting. A recording of the meeting is on line at ci.manzanita.or.us/city-council/. Scroll down to find it.
So what happened is that the city manager presented a resolution as she was requested to do to suspend the issuance of licenses for STRs city wide including the commercial zone, C1 and the mixed use zone R4. The lawyer for the city had reviewed the proposal. There was discussion about the resolution and the council members were in agreement with the resolution. The mayor opened it up to public comment. There were two comments from persons who had bought property and are building in the R4 zone who are worried that they won’t be able to get a license to have a STR because of the proposed freeze. There were other comments of various points of view. (You can hear the other comments on line and the council’s subsequent discussion on line)
The council voted to extend the time of the meeting so the council could discuss the freeze on the C1 and the R4 zones. Three of the council members changed their minds and amended the resolution to take out the freeze on C1 and R4 zones.
I’m not affected by short term rentals where I live so I haven’t been emotionally involved in this issue. My take on how the meeting went is that reversing the decision to freeze the C1 and R4 was done in haste. Probably the resolution should have been tabled until more information could be gathered.
Some questions that come to my mind:
What are the reasons that the STR freeze was proposed for the C1 and R4 zones when the resolution was first written? Why didn’t questions about the C1 and R4 zones come up earlier in the meeting or at the previous meeting? How many properties in the C1 and R4 zones have the potential to become STRs? Might we have an explosion of STRs in C1 and R4 zones? Are STRs the biggest profit making businesses in Manzanita? What businesses are important in order to keep the unique and vibrant village quality of Manzanita? How does the city attract desirable businesses?
What are your questions? Karen Small

Submitted By: Dcmiller6677@gmail.com – Click to email about this post

It was almost like it was scripted…the city council appears to be listening to the community about impact of STRs…a resolution is drafted…the community is given a month to read, question, celebrate… What happened next was such a disappointment!

On April 6, 2022, the council majority voted to dilute a resolution temporarily freezing the number of short-term rentals. That resolution, drafted by the city manager and vetted by the city attorney (at the direction of the council), would have capped the number of STRs citywide. But after two property owners (now building homes at 3rd and Merton) complained that they wouldn’t be able to get STR licenses that they were told would be available, the mayor and the council majority changed their tune and exempted the R4 and C1 zones from the cap. Only Councilman Spegman voted no.
It was a bad move.  Removing the two zones from the cap allows the number of STRs in the city to keep increasing — and flies in the face of the original resolution, which aimed to hold the line until more information could be gathered from a work group being formed to study the issue. You don’t base policy decisions on the objections of two homeowners. Simply put: Our leaders didn’t keep their word. They promised one thing and delivered another —  and were more swayed by private interests than the public good — or the facts . To correct a problem, you need to understand it. To learn more about the density of STRs in our community, click here:

https://youtu.be/C_cZcGcEk5k

tinyurl.com/3nsekbsn

Submitted By: rkinor@gmail.com – Click to email about this post

The Manzanita City Council has been aware of the Cannon Beach project to remodel their 1950, four classroom, 5,000 sq ft Elementary School and 7,500 sq ft Q Hut as a “model conference center with high end features” since January. Estimated Cannon Beach School remodel cost for the School portion alone is around $1.5 Million. You can read about it here: tinyurl.com/2p93vtjk

If you want the scary picture picture show of what condition the Cannon Beach buildings are in, take a look here: www.ci.cannon-beach.or.us/executive/page/cannon-beach-elementary-rejuvenation-project-0

So what are new build City Hall building costs these days? Lebanon is in the process of planning their new City Hall with projected costs of $854-890 per sq ft. and this is for a project in the heart of the Willamette Valley. Our City Manager has already announced that this will be a very expensive project. Our new architect will have to keep the budget in mind as he fields the wish list of citizen wants in their new City Hall during his community outreach. Given the reality of current construction costs and what the City can afford in order to go into 30 years of debt to pay for this project, expect to hear that we can build smaller or cheaper or most likely smaller and cheaper.

Let’s hope that the City Hall Project Team is looking out for the interests of Manzanita taxpayers/residents and are prepared to explain why our Mayor and Council should continue to ignore the creative and responsible fiscal and project development decisions being made by their counterparts in Cannon Beach. The most expensive infrastructure project in the City’s history that will be made without a vote of the residents deserves nothing less.