By CHERYL ROMANO/YachatsNews
An activist pastor, a treasured garden and a thorny housing crisis — these are the elements of a bittersweet solution to a problem in Yachats.
The problem: The pastor of the Yachats Community Presbyterian Church and his family were running out of housing options this winter, after his landlord announced other plans for the house he’d been renting next to the church on West Seventh Street.
The solution: The church owns two city lots at the corner of Seventh and Driftwood streets, and plans to place a new manufactured home on the site for Bob and Lorraine Barrett and their two adult children.
The solution is bittersweet because that land has been happily occupied since 2008 by the Yachats Demonstration & Community Garden, a public resource that offers raised planting beds, a greenhouse, free workshops and expert resources. The garden also gives back by donating produce to Food Share of Lincoln County, a food bank for people in need.
The garden, run by certified Master Gardeners as part of Oregon State University Extension, is a big success — there are waiting lists to rent space at both the Seventh Street site, and a smaller plot on East Second Street. But lacking any other options in town, the popular garden is uprooting itself, literally, and moving to Waldport.
New home in Waldport
Soon the garden’s organizers expect to disassemble its raised beds to head for a new home — a one-acre plot on Oregon Coast Community College’s south campus property next to Waldport High School on Crestline Drive.
“The memoranda of understanding aren’t signed yet, but it looks like that’s where we’ll be,” Master Garden coordinator Carita Edson said last week. “I’m sad that it can’t be here (in Yachats), but there’s just no place town that would be available.”
“I’m really happy that Pastor Bob will have a place to live with his family,” said Edson at a meeting of the Yachats Parks & Commons Commission this month. She appeared to ask if the garden could use a small portion of the green space behind the Commons for its 14 raised beds and some storage for tools. The answer was no, however — at least for the time being.
“Is it viable to loan you a section for a couple of years,” asked commission chair Adam Altson, “while we figure out what we’re doing with the green space?”
The commission has proposed to turn the four-acre space into a more organized community park but plans have stalled because of the crush of other city projects.
“It might be viable if that was our last choice,” Edson said, noting that the group’s board of directors would have to decide on any move.
The commission referred Edson to city manager Heide Lambert to see if there might be another municipal space for the garden. “We will potentially look at this again if all your other options fall through,” said Altson.
With the church planning to start site preparation on its lots in May, the garden board made its decision last Monday to move north.
The new location offers some benefits: the lot is sunny, fairly flat, and has water service. It also offers a community room that will “really make working with the public a lot easier,” Edson said. “We can have classes and roundtables,” in addition to traditional open houses and demonstrations.
Edson said the new location — which will be called the Master Gardener Demo Garden at OCC South Campus — expects to be operating next spring. Those with questions may mail Edson at oceanmt.girl@gmail.com.
No hard feelings
Despite the potential for hard feelings, the Presbyterian church and the community garden organizers had nothing but praise for each other.
“We’ve had a very good relationship with the community garden, and we’re really sorry to have to ask them to leave,” said church treasurer Nan Scott.
Edson said the “church has been wonderful all the years we’ve been there.”
But the change is important — both to the church and the community.
“Bob has had to move four times in the 8 1/2 years he’s been here, and we’d like to make it (the new manufactured home) his last move,” said Scott. “Bob has really transformed the church into being more outwardly-reaching, trying to help those who aren’t members, or may not even come to church.”
Barrett has been a driving force behind several projects to help those In need, especially since the pandemic struck. He was instrumental in launching a Covid relief fund for both businesses and individuals, hosting the heavily-used Yachats Food Pantry at the church, and creating “Don’s Place,” a cluster of five emergency shelters for the unhoused on the church’s west parking lot.
“Bob has broadened our minds to think beyond just coming to church and worshipping,” Scott said. “He often ends the worship service with this comment: ‘Worship is over. Our service begins.’”
The church will own the three-bedroom, two-bath home and collect rent from Barrett. The property — two lots, each 120-by-50 feet, plus the new manufactured home — is expected to be ready for occupancy this fall.
The total project cost is estimated at $330,000. Just one week ago, the church got an okay from its regional governing body for a $250,000 line of credit for the home, site work and fees. The church has asked the community to make tax deductible donations to help make up the $80,000 difference — spurred by a pledge by Nan Scott and her husband, Greg, to match donations up to $50,000.
After months of searching and a Facebook appeal, the Barretts secured a temporary rental south of the Yachats River bridge. He and his family moved in this month until their new home is ready.
- Cheryl Romano is a Yachats freelance reporter who contributes regularly to YachatsNews.com. She can be reached at Wordsell@gmail.com
The Yachats Community Garden and its volunteers and Bob Barrett and his development of Yachats Community Presbyterian’s evolution of service to the community are two of the “heroes’ in the story of why Yachats has been such a rewarding place for my version of retirement.
Thanks for reporting this story in a win-win manner!