By GARRET JAROS/YachatsNews
YACHATS – It’s no easy task to distill hundreds of opinions into one visionary master plan for the Yachats Commons area, nearby public buildings and open space that will extend 25 years into the future.
But after months of community input and an untold number of dulled drafting pencils and worn erasers, the team at Ashland-based Scharen Design Studio in partnership with arkitek design & architecture, has whittled it down to three possible plans.
Those concepts to determine a final “Greater Commons Plan,” were presented to the public for another round of comments during a presentation Wednesday evening.
Tables covered with large printed placards showing the three schemes along with paper and pens for further comment greeted the more than 60 people who attended. Other placards summarized past plans and recent public feedback.
“You’ll also see when you came in that there is a ballot box in the front because we live in a democracy,” said principal designer Shelby Scharen, which sent a ripple of murmurs and laughter through the crowd. “So you can fill (a ballot) in and let us know which ideas you like the best and which ones you like the least.”
City manager Bobbi Price introduced Scharen, who along with two of her staff gave summaries of the three plans before inviting people to look over the designs, ask questions and provide feedback.
The city awarded the design team a $120,000 contract in September to come up with a master plan to be completed in late June or early July. Wednesday was the second public feedback session. There was also a community survey with 150 respondents as well as a 20-plus member advisory committee that worked with Scharen, who also received input from city staff and council members.
“One option doesn’t have to be one option,” Price told the crowd. “When you’re looking at these, think about little different parts of each plan and see what sticks out to you, what you really like and what resonates with you.
“And while you’re thinking about this remember that it’s a 25 year plan,” she said. “This is not all going to happen next year. It is not going to happen in five years. It is going to be bits and pieces that we get checked off along the way. But this will give us our budgeting plan. It’s going to give us our long-range plan …”
At the end of the evening, the design team hoped to have an overall idea of a preferred direction it can transform into a draft master plan that will again be shared with the public before a final plan is decided.
The plan will encompass the Commons, city hall, the pavilion, Little Log Church Museum, library and all the public space around them, including possible property purchases at Pontiac/West Fourth streets and the gravel lot just north of city hall.
The plan will identify maintenance needs, how spaces can be used and shared by different groups and future capital improvements — and include overall cost estimates and phased implementation plans.
“So there is a practical aspect as well,” Scharen said. “But like Bobbi said, what we are looking at tonight is kind of that visionary outlook.”
Some of the things the design team has been hearing again and again is that accessibility of the greater area, including where to park and building entrances along with security is crucial, Scharen said. So is honoring cultural heritage, practicality, maintenance and upkeep and incorporating the plans into last year’s resiliency study.
An overarching sentiment is to keep multi-use spaces to draw various age groups, she added.
A summary of proposals
Scheme A focuses on renovation with not a whole lot of new building but more of a refiguring of space. Scheme B is expansion into new areas with various features. And Scheme C would have a one-way lane carving through the green space behind city hall to connect West Fifth Street to Sixth Street. The common elements in each are accessibility, aesthetics and safety.
The big takeaways from Scheme A include a dog park, expanded city hall, closing West Fifth Street and adding a terraced garden, bioswales along paved areas, new sidewalks and pathways and possibly an amphitheater. There might also be a general entry into the greater Commons with a plaza trolley stop and information center. La De Da Lane would be used for parking and not through traffic.
The kitchen in the Commons would be moved but still shared with YYFAP. A secure vestibule and doorways separating YYFAP from the main Commons would be added for safety and easier monitoring. And an additional public bathroom would be added to the north side of the building.
Scheme B explores the purchase of two properties – across Pontiac Street from the Lions Club and the gravel lot north of city hall. Both could expand with the inclusion of a new building, including a possible recreation center, indoor pool, indoor pickleball and possibly another spot for YYFAP on the Fourth Street lot. The gravel lot could be parking or a welcome center with public restrooms.
It also calls for a covered market area along La De Da Lane, which would become a pedestrian lane with removable bollards to allow traffic through when necessary; expansion of the Commons building to the south for YYFAP; and the green space reduced to include space for native plantings, pollinator garden and expanded trail system. There would also be a “peace garden” adjacent to the skate park and city hall.
“On all of these schemes we are proposing relocation of council chambers into city hall with a building addition on the north side,” a design team member said.
Scheme B would also include an addition to the south side of the Commons that would see a separate entrance for YYFAP on West Fourth Street, along with a new ground-floor classroom and a separate kitchen. The greater Commons would see a larger multipurpose room.
Scheme C creates a one-way lane that would offer parking on both its sides; reduced open green space; outdoor pickle ball courts; renovated skate park; La De Da made into a pedestrian zone; native plant garden; a public restroom; and increased parking at each entrance.
The Commons would be expanded along its north side to create a larger multipurpose room; a reoriented and larger stage, green room and storage area. The kitchen would remain the same. YYFAP would get the secure vestibule and renovation to create three classrooms and a dedicated cafeteria. A senior lounge would also be added to the building’s basement.
Security and pickleball
One of the biggest issues the design team heard about prior to Wednesday was the need for building security at the Commons, particularly for children in YYFAP’s programs, Scherin said. And accessibility throughout the greater Commons for people with varying physical needs and abilities.
For the larger area, Scharen said, there was a lot of support for pickle ball.
“We hear a lot of advocacy for additional walking paths and benches and native plantings,” Scharen said. “Some people do appreciate that green lawn that’s out there, but keeping that space as a park also (fits with) a lot of people who want to have La De Da Lane become a pedestrian pathway.”
And again, for the most part the different schemes can be mixed and matched based on feedback, she said. The biggest challenge has been getting consensus but there are echoes of similar ideas so she believes the design team is making good headway.
The team will meet again with city staff and the advisory group before presenting a draft master plan to the public in mid-May when additional feedback will be taken before presenting a final draft.
Price said she is pleased about all the community involvement and that there has been opportunity for feedback every step of the way.
“I really love so much about all of the concepts … and how they are taking all of these diverse options and figuring out how to work them in one way or another,” she said. “There are people who are so passionate about their particular need or desire or usage and they heard those things and you can see that they’ve put them in a bunch of different ways and now it’s just how to bring them all together.”
Price did have her doubts when she first saw a community center with a pool and a road through the green space “but then I had to remember this is a big pie in the sky and so many people said they wanted a pool.
“And so many people said they wanted a recreation center,” she added. “So ultimately, if that is what the citizens and city council want, then I’ll make it happen for them — however it needs to happen.”
- Garret Jaros covers the communities of Yachats, Waldport, south Lincoln County and natural resources issues for YachatsNews and can be reached at GJaros@YachatsNews.com
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