CANNON BEACH — At a candidates’ forum Oct. 18 at the Cannon Beach Chamber of Commerce, contenders for City Council in the November election discussed housing, tourism, infrastructure and the redevelopment of the former elementary school.

Erik Ostrander, who helps manage a motel, Deanna Hammond, who operates a bakery, and Mike Bates, an author and retired corporate attorney, are competing for two open positions left by City Councilor Nancy McCarthy and City Councilor Brandon Ogilvie, who reached term limits this year.

The forum was hosted by Cannon Beach Together, a political action committee formed to challenge bond financing for city infrastructure projects, and moderated by former state Rep. Deborah Boone, who used to represent the region in Salem.

Boone asked candidates about Cannon Beach’s shrinking year-round resident population.

Though all three pointed to a lack of affordable housing, candidates were somewhat divided in their plans to address the decline.

Bates, who serves on the Planning Commission, said the city needed to find a way to incentivize developers to build affordable housing. Ostrander, who also serves on the Planning Commission, said he would examine city codes. Hammond said she would look to the state level.

“It is expensive to live here, and I’ve heard rumors of mixed-use housing conversations in downtown,” she said. “And what does that do to our downtown corridor? It completely changes our town. There’s other places we can look besides mixing the downtown corridor in there.

“There are contractors or state programs, actually, that will actually provide money to help us build these homes. And they’re built in such a fashion that people that have a middle income, not a low income, but a middle income, can afford so I think we really need to look at that.”

Bates and Ostrander agreed that a lack of restrictions in city code make it easy for contractors to come in and build large, expensive vacation rentals and second homes.

City leaders have discussed a cap on vacation rentals, hovering around a potential limit of 200.

Hammond said 200 seemed to be fair, while Ostrander said he might raise the proposal a little for more flexibility. Bates prioritized code enforcement to make sure existing vacation rentals are following the law.

Candidates were asked how they would maintain a balance between tourism, resident needs and community livability.

Hammond said that while she values the support her business gets from tourism, an excess amount presents difficulties with congestion and parking.

Ostrander said that focusing on a transportation system plan could help with parking and congestion and increase accessibility for residents and tourists.

Bates also emphasized the strain that tourism often puts on parking , suggesting that the city work with businesses to consider paid parking and updated infrastructure on roads.

Boone asked candidates their positions on city water rate increases needed for water infrastructure upgrades.

Ostrander and Hammond said they oppose potential rate increases. Ostrander suggested the city seek state grants for the projects, while Hammond said upgrades to water infrastructure would be more affordable if less was spent on the city’s three major capital projects. The city is using bond financing for a new City Hall and police station and has asked voters in an advisory vote in November to support bond financing to redevelop the former elementary school.

Bates said the city is making good financial decisions surrounding the water infrastructure projects and cited an aging water reservoir and frequent water main breaks.

When asked about the redevelopment of the former elementary school, answers continued to vary among the candidates.

Ostrander and Hammond said they are against the project, but would support a less expensive option with a smaller scope.

“This project, the budget kept getting larger and larger and larger, and every decision made was a decision to make it more expensive,” Ostrander said. “And I got really frustrated as a community member.”

Bates is in favor of the renovation. He said money had to be spent in order to make the space usable and up to code.

“It is an incredible asset to this community to have that facility there,” he said. “Not only to, you know, reflect the values of this community, but for us to use.”