Motel Appeal To Council
I’ve got no beef with a motel in town. They bring in more money for the city than the couch change we make from STR’s. But in towns like Cannon Beach that make 5 million a year in motel revenue compared to our sad little STR million, they have a zone for hotels so they don’t impact neighborhoods. In fact, they have a definition of what a hotel is in their Ordinances. Not so much here. Until recently, when it came to doing the work of the city like updating Plans and Ordinances, Manzanita put the PRO in procrastination.
So now, here we are.
The denial of the proposed Manzanita Lofts by our courageous Planning Commission was all about the location, location, location of the motel and the sloppy two and a half-page application that addressed none of the concerns of folks who live here. I mean, two and a half pages about a 34 unit keyless staff-less hotel that looks from the plans more like 34 STR’s adjoining the golf course right in signature hole 5’s line of fire.
Take a looksee at the plans. It’s messed up.
The Planning Commission denied the proposal and the developer appealed the decision. On Friday, July 15 at 11am, council will decide whether to have an “on the record” or “denovo” public hearing. It will be a short meeting but it will let us know what we can bring up in public comments at the hearing.
It will go to the City Council for a public hearing on July 19 from 1-5pm.
The Council can uphold the Planning Commission’s decision to deny the proposal and send the developer back to the drawing board. A denial doesn’t mean that nothing will happen on the land. But it does mean that the developer will have to do his homework and check his math. He can come back later with a thoughtful proposal addressing traffic, safety concerns about flying golf balls, event parking, a wetland delineation report completed during the wet season, the whole staff-less 34 unit deal. Maybe he’d even have some conversations with the golf course and the neighbors?
If the Council overturns the decision and approves the proposal, the Concerned Citizens of Manzanita will appeal the decision to the Land Use Board of Appeals. So far they’ve raised a few thousand dollars. If it is appealed to LUBA, a land use lawyer is lined up to represent.
Nobody wants this to happen but here we are.
To join the email list contact: support@concernedcitizensofmanzanita.org
If you’d like to contribute make out checks to:
Concerned Citizens of Manzanita
PO Box 1176
Manzanita, OR 97130