Dale Bernards, a Portland-area businessman, owns some 23 acres of Bayocean Spit. Most of the Spit is owned by Tillamook County, which acquired it via tax foreclosure when the resort town of Bayocean Park fell into the sea over some decades, culminating in the 1952 breach by the ocean of the highly eroded spit. The spit has been slowly regrowing since the Corps of Engineers completed South Jetty at the mouth of Tillamook Bay in the 1980s. Tillamook County maintains it essentially as a natural park, and it is a prized place for hiking, horse-riding, beach-walking, photography and similar pursuits. The nearby community of Cape Meares, nestled at the base of the Spit, has always been its local guardian.

But Bernards wants to develop his acreage. In 2014 he applied for an “eco-resort” on the property, which would have included “glamping” (that’s glamor camping) tents, a marine research station, equestrian trails and other features. Tillamook County turned him down. He also tried at one point to pasture goats in a fenced enclosure on his windswept acreage. But he did not take care of them, and they got free and wandered around half-starving. This time he tried a new tactic: requesting a Land Use Verification from the county detailing what activities and uses would be permissible. Bernards indicated he was principally interested in farming, livestock-keeping or camping, but the county, after analyzing the comprehensive plan and all relevant ordinances and overlay zones, determined that the only available use is low-impact recreation. Bayocean Spit is a fragile but harsh environment, a wet deflation plain of sandy soils and frequent high winds.

Bernards appealed the county decision, and the Tillamook County planning commission held a hearing February 25th. Final decision will be March 11th. The county is highly protective of Bayocean Spit, and the commission will likely uphold the verification. If they do and Bernards appeals, ORCA will be there, continuing to defend Bayocean Spit. So will many concerned residents of Cape Meares.

The Roberts in 2020 tried to get Cannon Beach approval for a house larger than the oceanfront setback restrictions allow, arguing the setback did not apply to them. Cannon Beach turned them down, the Roberts appealed to the Land Use Board of Appeals, and the case is still in court. Nevertheless, the Roberts are trying a second time to gain the city’s approval for an overly-large house — this time by requesting a variance to the setback. But a variance is not a box-checking exercise. The applicant has to show “practical difficulty or unnecessary hardship” to be granted a variance, and the Roberts have neither. They have plenty of room to build a reasonable-sized dwelling, right at the median of Cannon Beach home sizes. Nor does this situation present “exceptional or extraordinary circumstances” that Cannon Beach ordinance requires for a successful variance.

Simply, the Roberts desire to build a larger house than the lot has room for — and they knew when they bought the lot that the oceanfront setback rules applied. The limits on this lot are of no surprise to them; they just don’t wish to follow the restrictions, put in place to protect the public health and safety. The planning commission held a hearing last week, and will decide on March 25th.