Steps Towards Sustainable Community, Winter 2005

Marsh Commons Co-Housing

Marsh Commons is a co-housing development within walking distance of downtown Arcata and adjacent to the Arcata Marsh, a state wildlife refuge. The two-acre site has 19 units in 12 owner-occupied attached structures. One of the 12 is a duplex and six have rentals units.

According to the Co-housing Association of the United States (www.cohousing.org), there are 78 co-housing developments in the U.S. Members usually have their own unit but actively participate in the co-housing community including sharing common facilities and having meals together.

“The idea came out of a city housing committee I served on in 1990,” explained co-founder Joyce Plath. “An architect brought in a book on co-housing and suggested we do this in Arcata. A couple of us thought it was a cool idea, so we started meeting. Others joined us over the next few months.” Plath, who has masters degrees in fine arts and architecture, designed the project.

The Commons’ members decided early on to try to reduce the impact of their project on the environment. This led them to look for an infill site within the urban core, rather than build on open or agricultural land. In 1993, they selected and purchased an old truck repair facility that included a 7,000-square-foot shop building.

Emphasizing Reuse

In 1994, renovation started on the existing structure. According to the Commons’ website, the essential frame was saved including “the main structure and the sturdy old timbers” that held it up. This required “many Saturday work parties [that] consisted of nail-pulling and lumber sorting.”

“The old truck shop would have been just as easy to tear down,” explained Plath. “But we wanted to be a showcase for sustainable practices, including reuse. The old plywood and lumber were reused in the renovated floors, walls, and ceiling; we used recycled paint. We cleaned and reused the original light fixtures.”

Today the old truck shop is the common house, which includes a large kitchen, dining area for common meals, art and dance space, guest room, wood shop, laundry, and six commercial spaces rented to businesses and nonprofits. Some residents work in the building, reducing their need to commute. The common house is also rented frequently for meetings, parties, and other events.

The tables in the common house were built from reused plywood. The patio leading from the common house to the other units was made of bricks that came from a torn down building in nearby Eureka. The pathways around the property were made from recycled brick and concrete.

Seventy percent of the wood used in the framing and cabinets in the residential buildings came from sustainable lumber harvested from Garberville and from a sustainable forest near Lake Almanor owned by the Collins Pine Company. Lumber from both these locations has been certified as sustainable by the Forest Stewardship Council which has its offices in the common house.

The cabinets were made of waste wood from the local mills. This includes tan oak, which is considered scrap by the lumber mills. Wainscoting and trim came from old-growth redwood lumber salvaged from a barn in nearby McKinleyville.

All the outside decking is recycled plastic lumber. The flooring in the units is recycled Douglas fir which came from a company in McCloud that tears down old buildings and remills the lumber.

Floor covering in the common house is carpet made from recycled soda pop bottles and marmoleum which is the original linoleum made from linseed oil and cork. These materials are also used for floor covering in the units in addition to cork and bamboo, both considered renewable.

Energy Efficiency

Recycled newspaper insulation is used in both the common house (R-19) and the residential units (R-11). All roofs are plumbed for hot water solar but only three homes have it thus far; one unit also has photovoltaic panels. All buildings use radiant heating, have dual pane windows, share common walls, and were designed to capture passive solar and natural light. "We added some extra windows and sky lights," explains Plath. "So there is no need to turn on lights in the day time."

In all kitchens, there is a cold storage pantry which is passively cooled by a floor vent that draws up cold air from under the building and an attic vent which lets the hot air escape. The concept came from the Community Center for Appropriate Technology located on the HSU campus. "The pantry is about 58 degrees," explains Plath. "In the summer, this is cool enough for vegetables and most condiments. It allows residents to have smaller refrigerators."

Sharing Practices
Sharing of common facilities is fundamental to the concept of co-housing. About three-fourths of the residents do their laundry in the common laundry room. Only one resident has their own washer and dryer, which they share with their closest neighbors. Residents also share equipment such as the site’s lawnmower and equipment in the wood shop.

About 60 percent of the residents use the 3,600- square-foot organic garden and compost area. The residents collectively maintain the other on-site landscaping, including a small lawn area in and around the units, and the native riparian plants they put in next to the marsh area.

Common meals are prepared three times a week; about two-thirds of the residents participate at any given meal. Meals are planned by preassigned groups and usually cost about $4.50 a person.
The common house guest room and large dining/party area allowed for smaller units as people can use those spaces for their guests or large parties.

Since the site is within walking distance of local shopping and services, there is less need for car use although nearly all residents have cars. At this point there isn’t any car sharing, although one woman has converted her basement into a common bike storage area.

Contact information:
Marsh Commons
101 H Street
Arcata, CA, 95521
(707) 825-9096
www.northcoast.com/~startrak/index.html

Joyce Plath
955 12th Street
Arcata, CA, 95521
(707) 825-9096
joyceplath@aol.com

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Last updated: August 01, 2008