THE OCEANSIDER Commentary: A Tale of Two Oceansides … Views on Proposals to Curb Development Break Down Along Familiar Line

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In the 100-year-old Village (the area north and west of Cape Meares Loop Road), mostly modest homes and cottages are nestled on small lots in a natural amphitheater overlooking the beach, bay and rocks. In recent years, however, new residential structures of jarring proportions have appeared (4 and 5-stories) – looming over neighboring nearby homes (remember those small lots!) and blocking long-established views with no apparent regard for the character of the neighborhood they’ve joined. For Oceansiders of sufficient vintage, the trend recalls the disruptive impact that many experienced when The Anchor Tavern was converted from a rustic 2-story pub to a towering hotel in the early 2000s. It was that same sense of disruption that prompted the push for reduced building heights by the Oceanside Neighborhood Association leadership and members in 2021. Four interminable years later, the county finally met its commitment to place those proposals before the Tillamook County Planning Commission (and County Commissioners) for consideration.

To appreciate the very different perspective argued by those outside of the Village, one need only take a quick drive through the developments of Terrasea, Camelot, Avalon East and Trillium. In contrast to the century-old Village, these areas were mostly subdivided and developed after the county adopted 7500 square-foot minimum lot sizes for Oceanside in the 1990s. (Many Village lots are less than half this size.) Such expansive lots accommodate larger, spaced-out homes with many vacant lots remaining to be developed. Lot owners view building restrictions as a heavy-handed way to reduce their options and property values once they decide to build (or sell), while existing homeowners worry about the potential impact of owning a house that already exceeds the proposed height or size limits. Without a commercial area or many short-term rentals, South Oceansiders view such concerns as more immediate and concrete than Village concerns about “village character” or future hotels. In a nutshell, Villagers seek to preserve their past while South Oceansiders defend their future.

For years, Villagers played a predominant role in shaping the initiatives of the Oceanside Neighborhood Association – which the county has designated as Oceanside’s representative group on land use matters. More recently, South Oceansiders have taken an interest in the ONA and its role in shaping community development policy, with some unfortunately resorting to unfounded and inflammatory attacks on its volunteer leaders. Viewed more objectively, however, it was always inevitable that the different viewpoints and priorities of these “two Oceansides” would come to a head – and the ONA is the natural place for them to collide.

After years of closely observing this dynamic, your friendly editor sees little hope of resolving these conflicts without major structural change. The most obvious would seem to be dividing Oceanside into two, separate residential zones with different development standards. (With the exception of The Capes, the county set up Oceanside with only one, all-inclusive residential zone). To date, however, county officials have shown little interest in taking this on. The other option is a concept currently being explored by a volunteer group called the “Oceanside Village Initiative” – www.OceansideVillageInitiative.com  As envisioned, it would organize the Village as an independent municipal corporation with its own zoning rights, leaving South Oceanside under county land use management.

As we all watch the latest collision between the Village and South Oceanside play out before the Planning Commission, cooler heads might profitably consider these options for ending this ongoing cycle so Oceansiders can focus on the values and issues that bind us together as a community.

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