Is Astoria becoming like everywhere else?
Last night's call iced it. So now someone is thinking of putting up townhouses on the lawn north of Van Dusen beverages. Townhouses in Astoria? Sure, why not? This place is looking more and more like any city, USA. I moved from Seattle in 2005 (partly) because townhouses came to my neighborhood, big time (and they're coming still, I found out this past weekend). I came to Astoria because at the time, it had and didn't have the things I wanted (or not). It had a J.C. Penney's without a mall attached, it had places to get my immune system boosting muesli ingredients (which is a tall order!), it had a food co-op, it had a Toyota dealer right downtown (!), it had a riverwalk with an amazing view, it had a great mix of old and newer housing, it had a great viewing tower (the Astoria Column), it had a main street of stores (some of which were actually useful to those that lived here), it had a community college of all things, and most amazing of all, it had a Thai restaurant! It didn't have a row of tall buildings along the riverfront, it didn't have traffic and parking hell, it didn't have much of anything on Youngs Bay on the south side of the peninsula, it didn't have any big box stores (though they were next door in Warrenton), and it didn't have a whole lot of people. It was close to the beach and good hiking, and far enough away from Portland to not be a commuter suburb, but close enough to consider taking the bus there every once in a while. It had a hospital for my wife to work, and a pretty good school for my kid to attend. It had the usual good old boys, but it also had a core of progressive activists that were fighting to keep it the way it was, and a core of enlightened types that wanted it to be something better.
What it also had was the beginnings of name recognition. And with this recognition came higher real estate prices, and with those came the developers. Now, the city and the developers (are they the same?) want to capitalize (literally) on our good standing in the retirement and outdoor magazines by pushing the zoning codes to the limit (and then some) and building up the city and the region into what looks to me like any other suburb.
Want big industry? Well, we've got 4 proposals for LNG terminals and associated tankers and pipelines. We've got a new gas-fired electric plant (in Clatskanie, down the road a bit) delivering power to Portland, and proposals for ethanol plants, biomass plants, and coal-fired power plants. Want big box stores? We've got a new Home Depot coming to Warrenton, Costco doubling in size (in Warrenton), and who knows what else is in the works. How about housing developments with fancy names taken from the Chinese menu of subdivision names? Oh boy, do we have them. Just outside the current Astoria city limits (these are set to change after we complete a "buildable lands survey"), we've got a gate and some cleared land for a subdivision (I can't remember the name). In Warrenton, along the freeway, someone wants to build a 2,000 (!) unit subdivision supposedly for low-income folks (who might that be?). Across the river in Washington's Long Beach Peninsula, a similar subdivision recently advertised for a wastewater treatment plant operator for a new community of close to 3,000! Neighborhoods are sprouting up all along Highway 101 from Astoria to Cannon Beach, and even along Highway 202 southeast of Astoria. And let's not forget the townhouses with a river view, along with the new condo buildings lining the Astoria waterfront. Oh yeah, we'll be just like all the other towns in the U.S., and of course we all want that, don't we?
It gets worse. And predictable. Just like so many other ghost towns in the U.S. that used to thrive, Astoria is showing signs of becoming a former main-street town that decays from within and loses its vital diversity to another small town somewhere else. Remember that Toyota dealer in town (Lum's)? Well, he's moving to Warrenton, along the highway, to join the other car dealerships that moved out there before I arrived. No longer will I be able to bring my Prius to town, and walk around, talk to friends, shop a little, check out the radio station I work at, and maybe even catch a bite at the bakery or café. No, the new place will be a 15-minute drive with nothing around it. I'm sure they'll lend me a car to drive around while mine is being fixed. Of course the buildings that housed those car dealers are still mostly vacant, and I don't think the doors are being knocked on very frequently to buy or rent these places. And remember the community college? Yes, Clatsop Community College, evidently the oldest existing community college in Oregon. It was built on the hill at the site of the high school, which was abandoned in the 50s. Yes, the high school moved out of the main part of town to a nice spot on the water with a view of Warrenton. Plenty of room for sports fields, but of course the football field remained in town. And plenty of room for parking (of course!). So, the community college took over the top of the hill site with killer views of the river, surrounding forest, and a walk to downtown. And of course the administration of the college has wanted to build a new campus since the 90s, and after three tries at a bond measure to rebuild the campus in town somewhere, they're going to put a bond measure on the ballot in May to build a new campus in... Warrenton, where else! Lots of room, donated land, and centrally located in the county (in land location, not population). But can I walk to campus like I can now? Not unless I start the night before. I guess I could bike it, but then again there are supposedly plans to build all sorts of stores, commercial enterprises and such along the back way from Astoria to Warrenton, so I may not make it through the maze.
I've joined groups fighting the LNG terminals, the waterfront condos, the new college, and the politicians that enable these things. I joined the board of the food co-op, started many an e-mail list, and tried to talk to the politicians and movers/shakers of the community. I'm starting to burn out from the efforts. Don't get me wrong, Astoria has a lot going for it. The list above is still mostly intact, and there are those in town that want to keep it that way and have made some progress. I've met so many great people here, and my son is thriving in school, and my wife loves it. Every visitor we get marvels at the place. Perhaps that's the problem. In America, it's nearly impossible to keep a place beautiful and unspoiled by corruption, development and growth. Everybody wants to come here, to be a part of the beauty, and that migration ruins the beauty. I've seen it so many places. I'm sick of it. Why can't we just keep paradise the way it is, maintaining and even upgrading it when it gets a little run down? Will I have to move again to another paradise that will just repeat the cycle?
My parting thought is that I'm constantly surprised at how people don't realize how good they have it when a town is in the economic doldrums. None of the pressures of development and growth bother them, and all the while they complain at how terrible life is. If only we all had it so good!
What it also had was the beginnings of name recognition. And with this recognition came higher real estate prices, and with those came the developers. Now, the city and the developers (are they the same?) want to capitalize (literally) on our good standing in the retirement and outdoor magazines by pushing the zoning codes to the limit (and then some) and building up the city and the region into what looks to me like any other suburb.
Want big industry? Well, we've got 4 proposals for LNG terminals and associated tankers and pipelines. We've got a new gas-fired electric plant (in Clatskanie, down the road a bit) delivering power to Portland, and proposals for ethanol plants, biomass plants, and coal-fired power plants. Want big box stores? We've got a new Home Depot coming to Warrenton, Costco doubling in size (in Warrenton), and who knows what else is in the works. How about housing developments with fancy names taken from the Chinese menu of subdivision names? Oh boy, do we have them. Just outside the current Astoria city limits (these are set to change after we complete a "buildable lands survey"), we've got a gate and some cleared land for a subdivision (I can't remember the name). In Warrenton, along the freeway, someone wants to build a 2,000 (!) unit subdivision supposedly for low-income folks (who might that be?). Across the river in Washington's Long Beach Peninsula, a similar subdivision recently advertised for a wastewater treatment plant operator for a new community of close to 3,000! Neighborhoods are sprouting up all along Highway 101 from Astoria to Cannon Beach, and even along Highway 202 southeast of Astoria. And let's not forget the townhouses with a river view, along with the new condo buildings lining the Astoria waterfront. Oh yeah, we'll be just like all the other towns in the U.S., and of course we all want that, don't we?
It gets worse. And predictable. Just like so many other ghost towns in the U.S. that used to thrive, Astoria is showing signs of becoming a former main-street town that decays from within and loses its vital diversity to another small town somewhere else. Remember that Toyota dealer in town (Lum's)? Well, he's moving to Warrenton, along the highway, to join the other car dealerships that moved out there before I arrived. No longer will I be able to bring my Prius to town, and walk around, talk to friends, shop a little, check out the radio station I work at, and maybe even catch a bite at the bakery or café. No, the new place will be a 15-minute drive with nothing around it. I'm sure they'll lend me a car to drive around while mine is being fixed. Of course the buildings that housed those car dealers are still mostly vacant, and I don't think the doors are being knocked on very frequently to buy or rent these places. And remember the community college? Yes, Clatsop Community College, evidently the oldest existing community college in Oregon. It was built on the hill at the site of the high school, which was abandoned in the 50s. Yes, the high school moved out of the main part of town to a nice spot on the water with a view of Warrenton. Plenty of room for sports fields, but of course the football field remained in town. And plenty of room for parking (of course!). So, the community college took over the top of the hill site with killer views of the river, surrounding forest, and a walk to downtown. And of course the administration of the college has wanted to build a new campus since the 90s, and after three tries at a bond measure to rebuild the campus in town somewhere, they're going to put a bond measure on the ballot in May to build a new campus in... Warrenton, where else! Lots of room, donated land, and centrally located in the county (in land location, not population). But can I walk to campus like I can now? Not unless I start the night before. I guess I could bike it, but then again there are supposedly plans to build all sorts of stores, commercial enterprises and such along the back way from Astoria to Warrenton, so I may not make it through the maze.
I've joined groups fighting the LNG terminals, the waterfront condos, the new college, and the politicians that enable these things. I joined the board of the food co-op, started many an e-mail list, and tried to talk to the politicians and movers/shakers of the community. I'm starting to burn out from the efforts. Don't get me wrong, Astoria has a lot going for it. The list above is still mostly intact, and there are those in town that want to keep it that way and have made some progress. I've met so many great people here, and my son is thriving in school, and my wife loves it. Every visitor we get marvels at the place. Perhaps that's the problem. In America, it's nearly impossible to keep a place beautiful and unspoiled by corruption, development and growth. Everybody wants to come here, to be a part of the beauty, and that migration ruins the beauty. I've seen it so many places. I'm sick of it. Why can't we just keep paradise the way it is, maintaining and even upgrading it when it gets a little run down? Will I have to move again to another paradise that will just repeat the cycle?
My parting thought is that I'm constantly surprised at how people don't realize how good they have it when a town is in the economic doldrums. None of the pressures of development and growth bother them, and all the while they complain at how terrible life is. If only we all had it so good!
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