When Metric Giles of the Community Stabilization Project moved into offices on North Dale Street three years ago, he was unimpressed with the view.

A trash-strewn lot next door marked the space where the Rock of Ages Missionary Baptist Church once stood. The city of St. Paul demolished the 1880s-era church for code violations in late 2009.

So Giles, who serves as director of the CSP and is an urban farmer, decided this year to do something about the long-vacant space off Sherburne Avenue. Related Articles St. Paul’s Palace Theatre renovation budget grows by $1 million

St. Paul Academy announces $15M donation for new science wing

St. Paul police want protesters to come get their property

After conferring with church elders, he planted peppers, tomatoes, collard greens, herbs and other low-maintenance vegetables on raised beds surrounded by wood chips. The Frogtown Neighborhood Association, which also leases offices at 501 North Dale St., contributed maintenance funds for grass care.

But sometime last week, Ramsey County officials installed a “No Trespassing” sign in front of the garden, declaring it off-limits to the public.

Fine print on the sign urges the public to call the county if they see anyone violating the order.

Giles and other neighbors say the county’s plans do not include weeding around peppers and tomatoes. “We’ve asked them to remove the garden,” said Ramsey County spokesman John Siqveland. “It shouldn’t be there.”

The property was tax-forfeited in 2013 to the state of Minnesota, which designates counties as stewards of forfeited land until the lots are sold at auction or over the counter.

Siqveland said the county placed six “No Trespassing” signs on vacant tax-forfeited properties throughout Ramsey County last week, and more are coming.

Residents interested in temporary uses of tax-forfeited properties must obtain an insurance waiver and a signed agreement, he said.

“We don’t do them very often,” Siqveland said. “We do not have a policy for long-term uses of unsold properties once they come into our possession.”

The county board has asked staff to pull together information on such properties for a more in-depth discussion early next year.

Giles sees his efforts as an enhancement of the property.

“It even gets people walking by to pick up trash,” he said. “When you see something nice, you want to complement it. This is the best upkeep of the lot since we moved in. From a place of aesthetics, I think it looks pretty good.”

Caty Royce, executive director of the Frogtown Neighborhood Association, posted the following to Facebook: “Before we finally decided to plant a garden there the county took horrible care of the lot. It was (a) garbage strewn wasteland. Now that it’s beautiful and a community sacred space they want to reclaim it for vacantness?????!!!!!”

Giles, who sits on the board of the Frogtown Neighborhood Association, and Royce reached out to the county for an explanation and spoke to a legislative aide for commissioner Janice Rettman, who encouraged them to go through a formal application process to get access to the lot. They thought they had.

Giles said he ran the idea for a garden by Lillie Brown — better known as Ms. Lilllie — a Rock of Ages church elder who also works in his building. She was happy to see a garden grow where her church once stood. The lot was clearly in need of upkeep.

What’s less clear is who owns the actual lot, which was once scheduled to be sold at county auction along with other tax-forfeited properties. That auction item was put on hold when the church sued the city of St. Paul in 2015. Some call the “No Trespassing” sign petty retaliation. Ramsey County officials, however, said they previously sent letters to Giles and the Frogtown Neighborhood Association expressing concern about ownership rights and insurance liabilities.

On June 22, a Ramsey County crew responsible for mowing and tending tax-forfeited properties noticed a pile of mulch and dirt, as well as a food truck on the property. On July 1, Ramsey County issued a letter to Royce asking that the unauthorized activity cease. Royce directed the county to the Community Stabilization Project and the county made the same written request of that organization.

Following the hoisting of a nearby antenna for a new community radio station, a community group threw a party on the site this summer that involved champagne, further heightening the county’s concerns. “When they’re serving alcohol, that’s going to set off some alarm bells in terms of potential liabilities,” Siqveland said.

Rettman, who represents the neighborhood, said Wednesday she was not intimately involved in discussions over the lot, and said county staff had taken the lead.

CHURCH IS SKEPTICAL

Church advocates remain skeptical. “I don’t really think it has anything to do with the garden,” said Linda Ji, an attorney for the church. “I think it has to do with the lawsuit we’re involved in right now. I don’t think the county is happy that the community members went to the church for permission to do the garden.”

In 2015, Rock of Ages sued the city of St. Paul for nearly $900,000 in damages stemming from the church demolition. The case remains in U.S. District Court, with a motion hearing scheduled for late October. County officials say that other than the potential land sale, they’re not involved. “We’re not a party to the suit,” Siqveland said.

Among several issues raised in the suit, Rock of Ages was billed for demolition costs and special assessments such as street maintenance, and then stripped of its tax exempt status. Those debts have snowballed.

“Now the church owes over $80,000 in property taxes, assessments and demolition costs,” Ji said.

These people are now trespassing. To call the police or not to call the police? What would you do? pic.twitter.com/gPS1mHANIm — FredMelo, Reporter (@FrederickMelo) September 12, 2016

The lawsuit alleges the city of St. Paul assembled land for wider sidewalks leading up to the Green Line’s Dale Street Station, and the church was in the way of the proposed “mobility enhancement zone,” an amenity spelled out in one of the city’s seven station area plans. The city has denied those claims.

“They really wanted the land for the light rail station,” Ji said. “We’re saying that land was wrongly taken from the church, and it belongs to the church, not the state. We’re also claiming it’s holy, too.”

Once the demolition was complete, the church planted its steeple cross in concrete at the lot corner nearest the intersection of Dale Street and Sherburne Avenue. Rock of Ages installed a building cornerstone marked 1950, from its previous life as the Church of the Nazarene. The lot still draws the faithful for Good Friday services.

Ji noted that the city demolished the church for alleged code violations and “nuisance” issues but never purchased it outright.

“The city didn’t buy it,” she said. “The lot is in limbo right now.”