Mar. 7—CANNON BEACH — Town and a pair looking for to construct a controversial seashore home overlooking Haystack Rock at the moment are being sued by a neighboring property proprietor.
Stanley and Rebecca Roberts submitted an utility final 12 months to assemble a 2,712-square-foot oceanfront house on a steep hillside off of Hemlock Road. The proposal, nonetheless, didn’t advance as a result of it didn’t meet the town’s oceanfront setback customary, which, if utilized, would considerably cut back the doable footprint for any constructing on the property.
The couple was unsuccessful earlier than the state Land Use Board of Appeals and the Oregon Courtroom of Appeals and is now interesting to the Oregon Supreme Courtroom.
In the meantime, the Roberts have utilized for a second constructing allow for a smaller home that will meet the oceanfront setback customary.
The Metropolis Council held a public listening to final week for a driveway entry easement — a requirement earlier than the constructing allow is taken into account — however held off making a choice pending the result of the authorized challenges and different info.
Previous to the listening to, Haystack Rock LLC, which owns land to the north of the Roberts’ property, filed a declare for declaratory reduction in Circuit Courtroom to find out the rights and obligations of the town and the Roberts.
The court docket submitting claims the Roberts wouldn’t have the suitable to construct a driveway on an unimproved public proper of method. Town, the submitting claims, has the authority to disclaim the easement request for failure to adequately show security, code compliance or that it’s within the public’s curiosity.
Haystack Rock LLC additionally argued that the town could not grant the proposed personal easement, and that the suitable of method can’t be used for something aside from a public thoroughfare.
The property owned by Haystack Rock LLC features a duplicate of a historic cabin as soon as owned by former Gov. Oswald West. To the south of the Roberts’ property sits an undeveloped city-owned lot known as Inspiration Level, bought within the early 2000s with the assistance of the general public to protect inexperienced house alongside the coastal cliff.
The undeveloped heaps off the Hemlock Road curves are among the few oceanfront parcels left close to the center of the town.
As drafted, the easement settlement would nonetheless give the town authority to permit public pedestrian entry to and alongside the town’s property at any time. The driveway can be required to be at grade or as near grade as doable.
William Rasmussen, the legal professional representing Haystack Rock LLC, instructed the Metropolis Council that the swimsuit was filed, partly, to assist cut back the town’s danger of a future lawsuit from the Roberts. He requested the Metropolis Council to carry off till the litigation and a site visitors security evaluation have been accomplished.
“The authorized expense and making all of the arguments that I need to make, and my purchasers need to make and the general public needs to make, is not going to be on the town’s dime,” he added.
Haystack Rock LLC was one of many teams that signed on in assist of the town within the Roberts’ attraction to the Courtroom of Appeals.
Chris Koback, the Roberts’ legal professional, instructed the Metropolis Council he doesn’t assume the lawsuit has any benefit. He prompt the council approve the easement topic to a situation that the design be accepted by the town.
“We take a look at the lawsuit actually as not a pleasant lawsuit to the town, however one which’s sort of been designed to intimidate my consumer and metropolis on this public course of,” Koback stated. “We do not assume a late submitting of a lawsuit the day earlier than a public listening to is an inexpensive foundation to say, ‘Let’s put this on maintain,’ after we have been coping with this easement since September.”