By GARRET JAROS/YachatsNews
YACHATS –The city’s purchase of a long sought after and prime piece of real estate in the heart of Yachats should be wrapped up in December.
The property overlooking the Yachats River estuary at the intersection of Ocean View Drive and U.S. Highway 101 will be a feather in the conservation cap of the city and its plan to develop a viewing deck, benches and historical and information signs.
Paul and Emily O’Neill of Yachats purchased the former site of Beulah’s Sea View Inn and the Landmark restaurant in 2020 from Pat and Suki Miller of Yachats, who had demolished the long-closed and decaying restaurant building in 2018 with the idea of developing it themselves. The O’Neills wanted to develop the site into a farm-to-market store and restaurant but later dropped those plans.
The city signed an agreement Sept. 10 to buy the property at its appraised value of $455,000, with a closing date 90 days later.
The disbursement of 804 Trail mitigation settlement funds Lincoln County has been holding on behalf of 1000 Friends of Oregon and the Oregon Shores Conservation Coalition will contribute $305,451 toward the purchase.
Yachats will pay the remaining portion money collected from transient lodging taxes.
The groups agreed to release the funds with specific terms the property would go into a conservation easement, said city manager Bobbi Price. The Yachats land conservation group View the Future has agreed to hold it for the city.
The mitigation funds were created in 2001 when a variety of local governments and landowners agreed to vacate portions of County South Road 804, known as the 804 Trail, and created a fund to pay for future improvements. Two state agencies, the city of Yachats and Lincoln County initially contributed a total of $100,000 and a title company $190,000. In 2021, $185,000 in proceeds from the sale of two county-owned residential lots along Aqua Vista and Marine drives were added to the fund.
A decision last month by Lincoln County commissioners to transfer ownership of portions of Ocean View Drive from the county to the city allowed Yachats to access the mitigation funds. Yachats has been pressing the county to complete the turnover because it needs to own the road in order to build a boardwalk that will connect with the O’Neill property.
The issue was a technical step in getting the road transferred that has been ongoing for the past seven years and was stymied by staffing changes at both the city and county, as well as ironing out differences in the road’s old surveys, legal descriptions and years of paving that encroached on a handful of properties.
- Garret Jaros is YachatsNews’ full-time reporter and can be reached at GJaros@YachatsNews.com
This will be a nice addition to public access in Yachats. My wife and I usually take at least two trips every year along the Oregon coast, staying in the Yachats area much of that time.
Securing this scenic view property for us all to enjoy is a significant achievement for the city. Thank you to everyone involved in making this happen. And because of the success of the 804 settlement and the prudent management of its funds, the cost to the city for this property is bargain rate. Finally our heartfelt gratitude to Paul and Emily O’Neill for making sure we all get to enjoy this remarkable spot from here on out.
Great news. Money well spent. Thank you city of Yachats.
On behalf of many of us in the Yachats community, thank you, Paul and Emily O’Neill. Much gratitude. This is money well spent by the city and completes the last piece of the 804 puzzle. A great way for everyone to enjoy.