Tuolumne County Municipal Code Ch. 14.10 Project Review Procedures and

STANDARDIZED RESOURCE MANAGEMENT CONDITIONS

Sections:

• 14.10.010 Purpose.

• 14.10.015 Applicability.

• 14.10.020 Process for determining when building permits are discretionary.

• 14.10.030 Exemptions.

• 14.10.040 Procedure to assess potential impacts to cultural resources.

• 14.10.050 Discovery of cultural resources.

• 14.10.060 Avoidance of cultural resources.

• 14.10.070 Cultural resources studies and preparation of cultural resource management plans.

• 14.10.080 Data recovery excavations.

• 14.10.090 Capping.

• 14.10.100 Advisory agency notifications.

• 14.10.110 California Historical Resources Information System (CHRIS).

• 14.10.120 Human remains.

• 14.10.130 Emergency projects.

• 14.10.140 Conditions attached to permit.

• 14.10.150 Standard condition of approval for county entitlements.

• 14.10.160 Preconstruction meetings for discretionary projects

• 14.10.170 Violation; enforcement.

chapter is to establish consistent project review procedures and provide standard conditions for managing cultural resources.

Chapter shall apply to any land development project that requires one or more discretionary entitlements and to any land development project that requires a well permit, sewage treatment and disposal permit, grading permit or building permit except as provided in Section 14.10.030.

building permits are discretionary. A determination of when building permits, other than building permits for demolition which are governed by Chapter 14.08, are discretionary shall be made by the community development department pursuant to Flow Chart 14.10(A) and subject to the exemptions listed in Section 14.10.030.

exempt from the provisions of this Chapter:

A. Well, sewage treatment and disposal, and grading permits and building permits, other than building permits for demolition, are exempt in all zoning districts from the provisions of this Chapter when necessary to alleviate a threat to public health and safety as determined in writing by the chief building official, director of environmental health, director of community development, or director of public works, as appropriate.

B. Building permits which will not increase the size of the existing building or structure (e.g., maintenance, remodeling) within the R-3, C-O, C-1, C-2, C-K, C-S, M-1, M-2, MU, BP and K zoning districts shall not be deemed discretionary for the purposes of this Chapter, regardless of the age of the building or structure involved; however, alterations to buildings or structures located in the H or HDP combining zoning districts may be subject to a conditional use permit, which is discretionary.

C. Building permits for structural modifications for existing structures for all zoning districts except the R-3, C-O, C-1, C-2, C-K, C-S, M-1, M-2, MU, BP and K zoning districts.

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Flow Chart 14.10(A) Determining When Building Permits Are Discretionary Building Permit Required Review Database of Cultural Resources /a/ Permit for Construction Exempt from this Chapter /c/ Permit for Construction Not Exempt from this Chapter /c/ Database Indicates Resource Present /a/ Database Indicates Resource Absent /a/ Resource Cannot be Avoided /b/ Permit Discretionary Resource Can be Avoided /b/ Permit Ministerial /a/ Per Section 14.10.040 /b/ Per Section 14.10.060 /c/ Per Section 14.10.030

impacts to cultural resources.

A. The community development department shall review the County's Database of Cultural Resources for all well, sewage treatment and disposal, and grading permits and for building permits other than building permits for demolition and assess whether the proposed permits have the potential to disturb known cultural resources. This in-house review of the County's database by the community development department, excluding site inspections, resource evaluations, preparation of a cultural resources management plan and implementation of resource management provisions, shall not exceed two working days from the date the application for the permit is received by the community development department.

1. For parcels located within a defined urban community or on parcels less than two gross acres in area, when a search of the database indicates that no known cultural resources are located within the boundaries of the subject parcel, then the standard condition described in Section 14.10.150 shall be attached to the permit.

2. For parcels located outside of a defined urban community or on parcels two or more gross acres in area, when a search of the database determines that no known resources occur within the proposed area of disturbance, then the standard condition described in Section 14.10.150 shall be attached to the permit.

3. For parcels located within a defined urban community or less than two gross acres in area, when a search of the database indicates that a cultural resource is known to occur within the boundaries of the subject parcel, then the community development department will evaluate the likelihood that the resource will be disturbed by the proposal pursuant to Section 14.10.040(B).

4. For parcels located outside of a defined urban community or on parcels two or more gross acres in area, when a search of the Database of Cultural Resources indicates that a cultural resource is known to occur within the proposed area of disturbance, then the community development department will evaluate the likelihood that the resource will be disturbed by the proposal pursuant to Section 14.10.040(B).

B. If the community development department can reasonably determine that the cultural resource will not be disturbed by the proposed project based on an in-house review, then the standard condition established in Section 14.10.150 shall be attached to the permit. If the community development department cannot determine that the cultural resource will be avoided based on an in-house review, then the community development department staff shall conduct a site inspection to determine if the cultural resource may be impacted by the proposed project pursuant to the provisions of Section 14.10.040(C).

C. For parcels located within defined communities as designated in the Tuolumne County General Plan or of less than two acres in area, site inspections shall encompass the entire parcel. For parcels located outside of defined urban communities, site inspections shall encompass the proposed area of disturbance. If a site inspection reveals that no cultural resources are present, then the standard condition established in Section 14.10.150 shall be attached to the permit. If a site inspection identifies a cultural resource, then the process in Section 14.10.050 shall be followed.

A. If a site inspection conducted pursuant to Section 14.10.040 reveals a cultural resource within the proposed area of disturbance and the resource will not be impacted by the proposed activity, then community development department staff shall:

1. Record the cultural resource on DPR 523 forms per the Instructions for Recording Historical Resources, by the State Office of Historic Preservation, March, 1995, as may be amended; assign a National Register of Historic Places designation of 7 to the resource on the DPR 523; prepare a simple map of the resource location; retain one copy of the DPR 523 in the Tuolumne County Database of Cultural Resources and forward copies of the DPR 523 forms to the California Historical Resources Information System (CHRIS); and

2. Photodocument the resource in accordance with the guidelines for photodocumentation established by the board of supervisors; and

3. Attach the standard condition established in Section 14.10.150 to the permit.

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B. If the inspection reveals that a cultural resource may be disturbed, the provisions established in Sections 14.10.060 and 14.10.070 shall apply.

Community development department staff shall, in addition to recording and photodocumenting the cultural resource as required in Section 14.10.050, work with the project proponent to avoid cultural resources discovered pursuant to Section 14.10.040. Avoidance shall be accomplished, at the expense of the project proponent, by relocating or re-designing the project to avoid the cultural resource; and/or incorporating cultural resources within parks, green space, or other open spaces; and/or deeding the cultural resource into a permanent conservation easement. If the boundaries of the cultural resource cannot be precisely located, a qualified professional shall be present on the parcel during site disturbance and the standard condition established in Section 14.10.150 shall apply. If avoidance is infeasible, then the provisions of Section 14.10.070, shall apply.

preparation of cultural resource management plans. For any land development project that requires one or more discretionary entitlements or if avoidance of a cultural resource discovered pursuant to Section 14.10.040 is infeasible, as described in Section 14.10.060, then it shall be determined whether a cultural resource study is required.

A. Chart 14.10(B) and Flow Chart 14.10(C) shall be used to determine if, when and what type of cultural resource study is required for a discretionary project.

B. When a cultural resource study is required, it shall be performed by a qualified professional.

C. When a cultural resource study is required, it shall be conducted according to the standards established by the State Office of Historic Preservation and the Secretary of the Interior's standards and guidelines and shall include consultation with the local Native American Tribes.

D. When a cultural resource study is required, the project proponent shall provide the community development department with a copy of the background research map obtained by the cultural resource professional conducting the study from the Central California Information Center of CHRIS.

E. When a cultural resource study determines the resource to be significant, then a resource management plan shall be prepared by the qualified professional and shall be implemented. The management plan shall include photodocumentation as prescribed in the guidelines for photodocumentation established by the board of supervisors.

recovery, through use of data recovery excavations, shall be used as a last resort.
When a data recovery excavation is required pursuant to a resource management plan prepared pursuant to Flow Chart 14.10(C), excavations shall be limited in area to only those portions of the parcel where cultural resource disturbance cannot feasibly be avoided and when data recovery is determined by a qualified professional to be required to mitigate the impact to the cultural resource.

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When capping is required as part of a resource management plan as established

pursuant to Flow Chart 14.10(C), the cultural resource shall be covered with a layer of chemically stable soil before construction on top of the resource only after recordation and site indexing of the cultural resource by a qualified professional. Alternative methods of capping which are generally accepted by qualified professionals and approved by the community development department may be considered on a case-by-case basis.

Chart 14.10(B) When to Require a Cultural Resource Study for Discretionary Projects

A survey for cultural resources shall be required if one of the following applies to the project site:

9 The project site contains or is adjacent to a parcel that contains known archaeological or historic sites based on the County's Geographical Information System Database, or confirmation from an advisory agency, or US Geological Survey topographical maps, or the 1882 Beauvais Map, or the 1907 Thom Map, or the 1879 Dart Map, or Assessor's Parcel Maps, or GLO Plat Maps, or Sanborn Maps, or Skidmore Plats, or other recognized reference resource.

9 The project site includes Table Mountain, tunnels, adits, shafts, mills, surface workings, waste rock piles, ditches, linear terrain modification (e.g. ditches or roads no longer in use), structure pads, rock retaining walls, concrete foundations or similar indications of mining or historic-era activities.

9 The project site contains physical evidence of prehistoric and/or historic features and artifacts found during site inspections by the Planning Division. This evidence includes, but is not limited to: bedrock mortars; petroglyphs; flaked or ground stone; dark soil in comparison to surrounding soils; historic-era artifacts of glass, ceramic, or metal; buildings or structures 50 years of age or older; foundations or other portions of buildings or structures 50 years of age or older; or mature non-native vegetation (e.g. Chinese trees-of-heaven with 8” or larger diameter at breast height, black locust trees, orchards, roses, periwinkle or similar non-native vegetation) indicating historic or prehistoric human habitation, farmsteads, and burial sites.

9 The project site contains or is within 100 meters (328’) of a river, spring, or perennial or intermittent stream (identified as a blue line stream on the USGS quadrangle maps).

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Flow Chart 14.10(C) Cultural Resources Studies and Resource Management Plans

Reconnaissance Study & Recordation Per Chart 14.10(B)

Disturbance of All Resources Disturbance of Some Resources Avoidance of All Resources /a/ Intensive Survey to Evaluate Resources to be Disturbed Resources Significant Resources Not Significant No Further Study /a/ Prepare and Implement Resource Management Plan /a/ Preparation of Resource Management Plan may be required to clarify measures for adequately avoiding resources.

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following advisory agencies with special expertise related to the county's resources shall be notified during the review process for discretionary entitlements subject to California Environmental Quality Act review, at a minimum: the Tuolumne Me-Wuk Tribal Council, Central Sierra Me-Wuk Cultural and Historic Preservation Committee, the Chicken Ranch Band of the Me-Wuk Indians, the Tuolumne County Historical Society, the Southern Tuolumne County Historical Society, and the Tuolumne County Museum.

Information System (CHRIS). Copies of all cultural resource studies and DPR 523 form(s) prepared by or for Tuolumne County shall be sent to the California Historical Resources Information System, Central California Information Center, by the community development department.

discovered on a project parcel on private lands, then the provisions of state law [Public Resources Code Section 5097.9 et seq. and California Health and Safety Code Sections 7050.5-7054.1 and 8100 et seq.] pertaining to the handling of human remains shall apply and supersede the provisions of this Chapter.

maintain, repair, restore, demolish, or replace property or facilities damaged or destroyed at a disaster stricken area in which a state of emergency has been proclaimed by the Governor shall be exempt from the provisions of this Chapter.

granting a permit subject to this Chapter, the decision making body shall attach whatever conditions are reasonable and necessary to fulfill the intent and purpose of this Chapter. Issuance of a permit may be made subject to guarantees and evidence that attached conditions are being or will be met.

entitlements. The county entitlements cited in Section 14.10.040 and discretionary entitlements subject to the California Environmental Quality Act shall include a standard condition addressing the discovery of cultural resources during the project's construction phase. The condition shall:

A. Provide that work shall stop immediately and a qualified professional shall conduct an evaluative survey to evaluate the significance of the cultural resource. If the cultural resource is determined to be significant, then a cultural resource management plan shall be prepared by the qualified professional to establish mitigation measures to offset the impacts to the cultural resource.

B. Provide for contingency funding for implementing appropriate management or mitigation measures as required in (A), above;

C. Establish that appropriate measures to manage the resource shall be undertaken as established in (A), above; and

D. Specify that construction work which does not affect the cultural resource may continue on other parts of the parcel.

discretionary projects. Prior to issuance of a grading or building permit, whichever occurs first, a preconstruction meeting shall be held to discuss conditions of approval attached to a discretionary entitlement. The preconstruction meeting shall review the conditions of project approval and verify understanding of all such conditions. To adequately address conditions related to cultural resources management, notifications of preconstruction meetings shall be sent, at a minimum, to the project contractors, the project proponent or his representative, Native American representatives if the resources involve Native American cultural resources, the individual or individuals who prepared the cultural resources survey and management report, the community development department and other agencies responsible for overseeing the construction phase of the development project.

violation of this chapter shall be enforced as provided for in Chapter 1.10 of the Tuolumne County Ordinance Code. (Ord. 3035 § 5, 2009; Ord. 2280 § 17 (part), 1999).