Thank you for your interest in reading The Astorian. Here are a few stories that you might have missed this week:

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Astoria Mayor Sean Fitzpatrick said he wants to “change the narrative” on housing.

The mayor, who owns Wecoma Partners and has experience in the housing industry, said at a City Council meeting on Tuesday night that more emphasis should be placed on ownership opportunities.

His comments come as the North Coast continues to struggle through a housing crunch.

“The bottom line for me is that two-bedroom apartments are not the one size fits all that will ease our housing situation,” he said. “We have multiple employers in multiple cities around the country offering jobs to a limited supply of individuals, sometimes offering 20% over their original budget and these people will need housing.

“If we want to fill those jobs in Astoria and Clatsop County, we need to create the type of housing that is actually needed. And that will not happen if we continue to propose only low-income and two-bedroom apartments.”

Fitzpatrick continued, “I wanted to get it out there, and I would like to change the narrative in this town and recognize that affordable housing is not the only type of housing that is in demand in this area. That we are well under what we need for ownership units.

“And I hope that moving forward, that we will focus on that and use what limited available land that we have in Astoria to provide the type of housing that is needed.”

See the story by Nicole Bales by clicking here.

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At a work session on Tuesday, the Astoria City Council reviewed code changes for a waterfront master plan between Pier I and the Astoria Bridge in Uniontown.

The plan includes a new hotel to replace the Astoria Riverwalk Inn, space for private marine industrial uses on Pier 1 and concepts for a market hall, fishing village and boardwalk around the West Mooring Basin.

City code changes are necessary to implement the concept.

While the City Council expressed general support for the plan, there is concern about relaxing building height limits.

“I am concerned about view corridors and setbacks,” City Councilor Elisabeth Adams said. “And I am concerned about the risk of that and changing those and what that could potentially do for that whole area.”

Read the story by Nicole Bales by clicking here.

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Research shows that fears of harsh economic impacts from marine reserves in Oregon have not come true.

Oregon has five marine reserves, ocean areas where human interference with marine life is prohibited. The North Coast is home to the Cape Falcon Marine Reserve between Manzanita and Arch Cape.

A survey in 2011 found that two-thirds of coastal businesses anticipated decreases in business would come with the first two marine reserves.

The Marine Reserves Program Synthesis Report, which compiled research on the ecosystems and human dimensions of the reserves from 2009 to 2021, and another study from Sea & Shore Solutions published in August, found the same thing: “Those sorts of fears didn’t materialize and haven’t played out,” said Lindsay Aylesworth, the Oregon Marine Reserves program leader.

Take a look at the report by Abby Sourwine by clicking here.

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— Derrick DePledge