The Astoria Planning Commission will continue to hear public testimony tonight in relation to the citys Riverfront Vision Plan.

Completed and adopted by the Astoria City Council in 2009, the plan is now being converted into code to enforce the vision. The vision itself, city officials say, does not bring the code to life. It isnt regulatory. Implementation can only come through code-writing, which is being funded by a federal grant the city was awarded in 2012.

The planning commission could continue the public hearing until the next meeting, deliberate and vote on a recommendation or turn it over to the city council without any recommendation.

Ultimately, the city council has the final say.

The current phase of the Riverfront Vision Plan, the first of four phases, addresses 16th Street to 41st Street. Originally the phase ended at 39th Street but during code-writing, City Planner Rosemary Johnson said it became clear it was more logical to continue that phase through 41st.

Called the civic greenway phase, this part of the plan being considered tonight would only allow over-the-water development from 35th to 39th Street the East End Mooring Basin which is Port of Astoria property.

There, marine-industrial related structures can be built 500 feet from shore, and up to 28 feet tall. No hotels, restaurants or bars are permitted over the water in this area unless directly associated with a marine-industrial business. Additionally, any development must have decking that allows the public to walk around the building, so views are not obstructed and not limited to a business patrons.

On land, and out to the 500-foot mark, development can only be as high as the riverbank, meaning docks and piers. Between 35th and 39th Street, the riverbank slants, which provides unobstructed views and vistas, Johnson said, downriver and upriver from the developments.

In comparison, the Cannery Pier Hotel is 500 feet from the shore and stands 46 feet tall. Pier 39 is 400 feet from shore and stands at an estimated 35 feet tall or higher, and Big Red, the former net drying shed, is approximately 350 feet from shore, and although it is the building considered to be the most view blocking, it is historic, Johnson said, so people enjoy looking at it. Both Big Red and Pier 39 are the only two buildings off shore in the civic greenway phase. Both would be permitted for restorations and repairs, but if renovations totaled more than 25 percent of the building, then the guidelines set by the plan would be implemented.

For the rest of the plan, which Johnson said has not been controversial or strongly opposed so far, guidelines and standards have been recommended for structures reflective of waterfront buildings and the residential character of the Uppertown neighborhood. The complete plan can be found online at http://www.astoria.or.us/default.asp?pageid=105&deptid=1

For details on the plan and the outcome of the planning commission meeting, see Wednesdays Daily Astorian.