Tribal Cultural Resources Assessment for 10850 Riverside Drive, Toluca Lake, City of Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, California
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TRIBAL CULTURAL RESOURCES ASSESSMENT FOR 10850 RIVERSIDE DRIVE, TOLUCA LAKE, CITY OF LOS ANGELES, LOS ANGELES COUNTY, CALIFORNIA June 2017 PREPARED FOR SRG LLC 9735 Wilshire Boulevard, Suite 416 Beverly Hills, California 90212 PREPARED BY SWCA Environmental Consultants 150 South Arroyo Parkway, 2nd Floor Pasadena, California 91105 This page intentionally left blank Tribal Cultural Resources Assessment for 10850 Riverside Drive, Toluca Lake, City of Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, California Prepared for SRG LLC Inc. 9735 Wilshire Boulevard, Suite 416 Beverly Hills, California 90212 Attn: Fred Delijani Prepared by Chris Millington, M.A., RPA and Erica Nicolay, M.A. SWCA Environmental Consultants 150 South Arroyo Parkway, Second Floor Pasadena, California 91105 (626) 240-0587 www.swca.com SWCA Project No. 044070.00 SWCA Cultural Resources Report Number 17-319 June 21, 2017 Keywords: Tribal Cultural Resources; CEQA; negative results; Riverside Boulevard, Lankershim Boulevard; Assessor Parcel Numbers 2423-009-034, 2423-009-041, 2423-009-042, 2423-009-045, 2423-009-050, and 2423-009-051 Toluca Lake, City of Los Angeles, Los Angeles County; San Fernando Valley; Township 1 North, Range 14 West; 7.5-minute USGS topographic quadrangle, Burbank, California Tribal Cultural Resource Assessment for 10850 Riverside Drive, Toluca Lake, City of Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, California MANAGEMENT SUMMARY Purpose and Scope: SWCA Environmental Consultants (SWCA) was retained by SREG, LLC, (SREG) to conduct a tribal cultural resources review and sensitivity assessment in support of the proposed development at 10850 Riverside Drive in the neighborhood of Toluca Lake in the City of Los Angeles (City), Los Angeles County, California. SREG proposes the construction, use and maintenance of an approximately 142,519-square foot mixed-use development including the adaptive reuse of an extant six story commercial building, and the construction of a five-story mixed use building with two subterranean parking lots (project). The proposed project is located on a 1.89-acre lot comprising the following assessor’s parcel numbers [APN]: 2423-009-034, 2423-009-041, 2423-009-042, 2423-009-045, 2423-009-050, and 2423-009-051) (project area). As Lead Agency, the City identified the need for additional work to address tribal cultural resources for purposes of project compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), specifically tribal cultural resources as defined under Assembly Bill 52 (AB 52). The following report documents the methods and results of a Sacred Lands File (SLF) search through the Native American Heritage Commission (NAHC), a records search of the California Historical Resources Information System (CHRIS), and background research used to determine the presence of tribal cultural resources or their likelihood of being encountered within the project area. The study was conducted in compliance with CEQA, Public Resources Code (PRC) Section 5024.1, Section 15064.5 of the Guidelines, and Sections 21083.2 and 21084.1 of the Statutes of CEQA (Governor’s Office of Planning and Research 1998). PRC Section 5024.1 requires the identification and evaluation of historical resources to determine their eligibility for the California Register of Historical Resources (CRHR). The CRHR is a listing of the state’s historical resources, and indicates which properties are to be protected from substantial adverse change, as defined in CEQA, to the extent that is prudent and feasible. Dates of Investigation: On June 5 2017, Ms. Nicolay conducted a search of the CHRIS records at the SCCIC. The search included any previously recorded cultural resources and investigations within the project area and surrounding 0.5-mile (0.8-km) area. Concurrent with the CHRIS records search in June 2017, SWCA also reviewed property-specific historical and ethnographic context research to identify information relevant to the project area. As part of the process of identifying cultural resources in or near the study area, SWCA Project Manager Chris Millington contacted the NAHC to request a review of their Sacred Land File on June 8, 2017. A response from the NAHC was received on June 12, 2017. Findings: No previously recorded tribal cultural resources were identified in a CHRIS records search within the project area or a 0.5-mile radius. The NAHC’s SLF search did not identify any site specific information with respect to tribal lands or sites for the project area. The Gabrieleno/Tongva village of Kaweenga was reported to have been located within 1 mile south of the project area. In general, the proximity of the project area to permanent water sources (the Los Angeles River), the past use of a trails (e.g. El Camino Real), and activities within historic rancho territories by Native Americans, increase the probability of archaeological remains occurring. Agricultural and ranching activity in the early twentieth century would have disturbed any superficial or near-surface deposits. The continued development of the project site throughout the remainder of the twentieth century including the construction and demolition of various buildings on the lot would have further compromised any archaeological deposits that may once have been present. Soil reports show that deeply buried natural soils remain below the asphalt that are conducive to the preservation of archaeological material associated with Native American use of the area. Based on the known use of the area and depositional setting, the presence of deeply buried archaeological material cannot be ruled out. Overall, SWCA finds the project area has a low to moderate sensitivity for containing undocumented tribal cultural resources in the form of buried prehistoric or historic Native American archaeological remains. SWCA Environmental Consultants i Tribal Cultural Resource Assessment for 10850 Riverside Drive, Toluca Lake, City of Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, California Recommendations: No mitigations measures are recommended for impacts to known tribal cultural resources. However, because areas within the project area have at least some potential for containing deeply buried tribal cultural resources, SWCA recommends mitigation measures for avoiding impacts to undocumented tribal cultural resources. Mitigation measures include: retaining a qualified archaeologist to carry out mitigation measures; preparing a monitoring and mitigation plan; implementing a cultural resource worker training program; and the monitoring of all construction activities. If inadvertent tribal cultural resources are encountered during construction work in the area should stop until an archaeologist is able to make a determination of significance. If human remains area encountered during construction activities, work at the site should stop until the Los Angeles County Coroner is able to make a determination of origin and deposition pursuant to the State of California Health and Safety Code Section 7050.5 and PRC Section 5097.98. Disposition of Data: The final report and any subsequent related reports will be submitted to SRG LLC, the Los Angeles Department of City Planning, and the SCCIC at California State University, Fullerton. Research materials and the report are also on file at the SWCA Pasadena Office. Tribal Cultural Resource Assessment for 10850 Riverside Drive, Toluca Lake, City of Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, California CONTENTS MANAGEMENT SUMMARY ................................................................................................................... I INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................................................... 1 PROJECT DESCRIPTION ....................................................................................................................... 1 REGULATORY SETTING ....................................................................................................................... 5 STATE.................................................................................................................................................... 5 California Environmental Quality Act ............................................................................................. 5 PROJECT SETTING ................................................................................................................................. 6 ENVIRONMENTAL SETTING ............................................................................................................ 7 CULTURAL SETTING ......................................................................................................................... 7 Prehistoric Overview ....................................................................................................................... 7 ETHNOGRAPHIC OVERVIEW ........................................................................................................... 9 Native American Communities in the San Fernando Valley ......................................................... 10 HISTORIC OVERVIEW ..................................................................................................................... 20 Spanish Period (1769–1822) .......................................................................................................... 20 Mexican Period (1822–1848) ........................................................................................................ 21 American Period (1848–Present) ..................................................................................................