Mellow tone pleased organizers as attendance soared this yearSEASIDE – Diligent planning by the city, police department, Sunset Empire Park and Recreation District and the Seaside Public Safety Committee made this year’s spring break a smooth one.

Public Safety Committee Chairwoman Gloria Linkey gave a report of this year’s event to the City Council at their meeting Monday.

“The police department reports a greater number of families in town for the week and less day-trippers,” she said. “All in all, we consider spring break 2004 a success and are looking forward to planning for next year.”

The committee and Seaside Police worked with the Oregon State Police Mobile Response Team, Oregon Liquor Control Commission, Clatsop County Sheriff’s Office and Astoria, Warrenton, Gearhart and Cannon Beach police departments to keep unruly behavior in check.

According to Linkey’s report, there were 599 citations and/or arrests made, 865 criminal and traffic warnings given and 20 offenders booked at the Seaside Police Department.

Seaside Police Lt. Dave Ham called the two spring break weekends “uneventful” and “mellow.”

Events sponsored by SEPRD included a car show, open basketball gym and teen concerts, which were extremely popular. Attendance at the various events doubled from 400 people in 2002 to almost 860 this year, Linkey said.

The committee continues to work on various aspects of community safety. Members are working with the city on traffic control during the Fourth of July and beach control during the volleyball tournament and Hood to Coast race.

The committee is also working with the American Red Cross, the fire department and police department on emergency and disaster preparedness education. The committee plans to assemble press releases and public information about evacuation routes, emergency centers and 48-hour emergency kits.

“We hope that what we’re preparing for is the absolute worst and will never happen,” Linkey said. “We can tell people where to go, but it’s up to each individual to alert their family about where to meet in an emergency. We’ll help all we can, but we can’t do all of this.”

The committee is also working to determine an expedient way of allowing out-of-town family members to check on elderly relatives in the event of a disaster, spokesman Ken Karge said.

Ordinance to annex propertyThe council unanimously adopted an ordinance to annex property located at 1403 12th Avenue. The property is zoned residential-suburban and is inside the city’s urban growth boundary.

Planning fee increasesCity planning staff evaluated the current planning filing fees, which were adopted in March 1999 and proposed revisions. The revised fees were reviewed by the planning commission, which requested that the department’s basic operations costs be included. Council unanimously repealed the March 1999 resolution and adopted the new fees. New filing fees include:

Amendment to the comprehensive plan, amendment to a zoning ordinance or a zone change: $550

Conditional use, type 2: $365

Variance, type 1: $290

Setback reduction: $290

Enlargement or expansion of a non-conforming structure: $315

Landscape and access review: $290

Site inspection, each half-hour: $25

In other action, the council unanimously appointed Mayor Don Larson and City Manager Mark Winstanley as delegates to Clatsop County Economic Development Council for the 2004-05 term.