Yachats council receives reports on July 4 changes, housing code amendments and boardwalk, pavilion projects

By GARRET JAROS/Lincoln Chronicle

YACHATS – It was relatively light lifting for the Yachats city council during its monthly meeting Wednesday during which they listened to updates from city staff about changes to this year’s Fourth of July festivities, progress on proposed housing code amendments, and next steps for the boardwalk and pavilion projects.

They also bid farewell to a longtime employee known for her famously long and colorful fingernails, who is retiring after 15 years with the city.

The city is scaling back its Fourth of July fireworks show from 45 to 20 minutes this year and introducing quieter, more pet-friendly fireworks. Efforts to crack down on illegal personal fireworks will also be stepped up with four Lincoln County Sheriff’s deputies patrolling in vehicles and on foot. But because deputies cannot be everywhere, the city is asking residents to report violations using the city’s request tracker system.

“We are working on a making a video on how to use the request tracker and how to make complaints if you see neighboring properties that are utilizing personal fireworks,” said city manager Bobbi Price. “We’re recommending that you get a video or a photo that we can use as proof when we contact those properties that receive complaints. It is nearly impossible for the sheriff’s department to reach every single complaint, but they do log them.”

Officials are currently working on ways to notify residents and visitors about banned personal fireworks and have mandated that all vacation rental owners post highly visible “no fireworks allowed” flyers.

Reallocated funds from the shortened fireworks display are being used for a variety of new community activities including live music and bounce houses behind the Commons, a beer garden and hot dog and hamburger stand, a skate park exhibition, kite show and sidewalk chalk art. The offerings mark the first year that the city, Yachats Area Chamber of Commerce, local nonprofits, and volunteers have collaborated to host the activities after the La de da Parade.

Proposed housing amendments

The city’s planning commission recently held back-to-back public work sessions and meetings about proposed amendments to the city’s housing codes and on Tuesday the planning commission reviewed line-by-line a draft of the amendments, which serves as a template for further discussion and refinement.

Commission members are discussing and clarifying elements such as duplex regulations in single-family residential zones and the allowable height of accessory dwelling units. The current 15-foot limit may be adjusted to a 24-foot conditional use option if an ADU features a ground level garage that provides an off-street parking space. They are also seeking to clarify that a single property cannot contain both a duplex and an ADU.

Additionally, the commission wants to ensure that ADUs in commercial zones require an active business rather than allowing an isolated ADU on a commercial lot, Price said. Under the current code, all residential and motel building types are permitted in commercial zones, but the commission is looking to change residential buildings in commercial zones from an allowed use to a conditional use.

Price noted that there will be additional work sessions and that it will take “as long as it takes to get through this and having the planning commission feel like they really understand this code completely and they’ve been able to discuss it and talk through these pieces as they come up through the review.”

Design standards and how they apply to different types of dwellings was the latest topic to surface for the commission, but work on that has yet to begin.

“There’s a long way to go still,” Price said. “I know that there’s a feeling of a sense of urgency or being rushed in the community, but this is not a rushed project. The fact of the matter is the planning commission just got this in their hands a few weeks ago to really start this deep dive, to take the template and make it feel like it fits Yachats.

“The pace that we’re going,” Price added, “we want to make sure that they have a thorough understanding. And the pace that that’s going, it’s going to take probably longer than we maybe envisioned it taking. And that’s okay. It’s completely okay”.

Once the line-by-line review concludes, staff will send the proposed code to the Oregon Department of Land Conservation and Development for a legally required 35-day review before a public hearing can occur. A public hearing notice will include mailings to every landowner in Yachats.

Price also talked about tiered rates for system development charges based on square footage to encourage smaller ADUs. She wants the council to delay updating that policy until receiving the planning commission’s recommendation, which may package the code, guidelines, and tiered development charges.

Price then told councilors that some community members are feeling left out of the process.

“They’re hearing a lot of scary things out there, but not enough from the city,” she said. “They haven’t had enough time to hear from the city and talk (with) the city. We have had opportunities, but I don’t think that there’s too much we can do. So (we’re) looking to the planning commission and city council to provide a community listening and work session dialogue meeting.”

That meeting is tentatively scheduled for July 16.

Price wants the meeting to be conducted in a way that people can feel heard, which they may not experience when speaking during a public meeting. The city is looking to have a third-party facilitator help with the meeting.

Mayor Craig Berdie said it is important not to skew the presentation, noting some residents have legitimate concerns and feel the proposed amendments have been framed as “all rainbows and sunshine.”

Fond farewell

The council also wished farewell to city recorder Kimmie Jackson, who is leaving June 30 as she reaches her 15^th year working for the city. Stepping into her position will be city clerk Neal Morphis.

Price expressed her appreciation for Jackson, who she described as a “beloved community friend.”

“If you have ever done business with the city, you definitely know Kimmie and her bright personality,” Price said. “And her iconic nails are even brighter.”

While Jackson is stepping away from her full-time role, she will stay on under a special contract to help troubleshoot obstacles and share expertise. She will also contract to cater food for city events, Price said.

Community members are invited to a June 30 “all day open house” at city hall to say goodbye. The mayor presented Jackson with an engraved inscription on a glass plaque, which Jackson read aloud.

“With our greatest appreciation, we acknowledge Kimmie Jackson. Throughout her 15 years of service, she has been not only a coworker and mentor but a friend to many. You have set an example to be followed in the future and cherished by those of us that were fortunate enough to have experienced it for ourselves. We are going to miss you.”

In other business:

• The city is working to complete a study for the planned boardwalk along Ocean View Drive adjacent to the Yachats River estuary to establish the depth of bedrock so drawings for the project can be completed. It is also awaiting a permit the State Historical Preservation Office. Once those are completed the city will put the project out for bid, with plans to select a contractor by Sept. 6 to meet a state grant deadline.
• The city has received an architect’s drawings and specifications for work on the pavilion behind the Commons. Staff identified 15 to 20 concerns it wants clarified before going to bid to ensure there are not change orders later will increase the cost.
• The city will host an “introduction to candidacy” at 3 p.m. Monday for individuals interested in any of the upcoming open council or mayor positions. Information about where to research, learn best practices and other tools will be offered and staff will answer questions about what’s required of council members.
• The new Yachats Trolley saw its first action shuttling visitors and locals over the past few weeks. Price, who championed bringing the trolley to town while working for the chamber of commerce, said the first two weekends it operated more than 100 people used it per weekend and that during its first four-day schedule last week it had nearly 200 riders. “That’s more than 50 vehicles off the road that didn’t try to park or drive or add to the congestion in any way,” Price said. “So then with the nearly 200 riders with the four-day period, I only expect that to continue to ramp up. And that’s a lot of vehicles off the road for the weekend as a whole.”

• Garret Jaros covers the communities of Yachats, Waldport, south Lincoln County and natural resources issues for Lincoln Chronicle and can be reached at [email protected]