Arcata’s first Gateway Project is on.

Arcata’s Planning Commission OK-ed the Yurok Tribe’s Natural Resources Campus Tuesday night, unanimously deciding to grant the tribe two permits that allow it to renovate three buildings and remove a shed at their property at 820 N Street. The campus will be a hub for the tribe’s natural resources division, their wing responsible for monitoring and protecting the environment. 

The site, once a collection of warehouses that housed a martial arts gym and the Kinetic Sculpture Lab, will be turned into office space and vehicle storage with around 40 employees. The commissioners gushed about the campus’ design, a long, low building clad in redwood, and lush landscaping composed entirely of native plants significant to Yurok culture. Director of Community Development David Loya said that few applicants include the amount of detail about their landscaping that the tribe had. 

Because it’s being adapted from previous buildings constructed long before the adoption of the Gateway Plan, many of the design features were “nonconforming” with the code and needed the commission’s approval to continue. The commission and city staff noted that the project, focused on light industry and job creation, was consistent with the Gateway Plan, which aims to make the southern portion of Arcata more vibrant and walkable. The tribe said they didn’t expect the campus to increase traffic or noise levels by any significant amount; it won’t add any vehicle parking spaces to the property, but it will add a couple dozen spaces for bicycles and incentives for using them or public transportation.

Later in the meeting, the commissioners discussed future updates to the land use code. Several of them noted that, if they hadn’t granted the permits, many of the design standards required of new buildings that the commissioners are working on updating would have prevented the tribe from completing the proposed renovations. “The project that we approved tonight wouldn’t have met those articulation requirements,” Loya said, “but it’s a fantastic building. Clearly, we got it wrong, and we need to fix that.” Future standards, they said, would have to be less checklist-focused, and more flexible, to allow architects to create more buildings like the campus.

The tribe is planning on turning the central area into a courtyard, replete with wood-burning firepit. One building will be office space; two will be used for storing vehicles.  

Although the Gateway Plan doesn’t allow for the installation of new wood-burning appliances, spokespeople for the tribe said they anticipated that the firepit would be used for ceremonial purposes; one of them floated the idea of using it for a salmon bake or tribal council meetings. The other three commissioners present were fine with the idea, except for noted wood-burning foe Peter Lehman. It’s all right if used infrequently for cultural purposes, he said, but if not, it’d be even “worse” than a woodstove. “Air quality, outside, is an issue in Arcata,” he said. “Wood smoke is dangerous. Smells good, but it’s poisonous.” He ended up acquiescing, and the commissioners granted the tribe an exception.

City staff and the commissioners said they were excited for the project to commence and to have their first Gateway Plan-focused project completed. 

“I think it’s a fabulous project, and I have great appreciation for the Yurok work, from salmon to condors to dam removal, restoration — there’s just so much going on,” commissioner Daniel Tagney said. “For them to choose Arcata for this project is just great, great for the community…This is a cool thing to have down there, and helps flesh out that neighborhood.”

A spokesperson for the Yurok Tribe was unable to comment before publication.