Appendix I Stage 1 Archaeological Assessment Environment York Region Stage 1 Archaeological Assessment Stouffville Road EA Multiple Lots and Concessions in the Geographical Townships of Whitchurch, Markham, Vaughan, and King South, now the Town of Richmond Hill, County of York, Ontario Licensee: Samantha Markham License: P438 PIF Number: P438-0024-2015 Prepared by: AECOM 410 – 250 York Street, Citi Plaza 519 673 0510 tel London, ON, Canada N6A 6K2 519 673 5975 fax www.aecom.com Project Number: 60322289 Date: December 17, 2015 REVISED REPORT AECOM York Region Stage 1 Archaeological Assessment Stouffville Road EA Statement of Qualifications and Limitations The attached Report (the “Report”) has been prepared by AECOM Canada Ltd. (“Consultant”) for the benefit of the York Region (“Client”) in accordance with the agreement between Consultant and Client, including the scope of work detailed therein (the “Agreement”). The information, data, recommendations and conclusions contained in the Report (collectively, the “Information”): x is subject to the scope, schedule, and other constraints and limitations in the Agreement and the qualifications contained in the Report (the “Limitations”); x represents Consultant’s professional judgement in light of the Limitations and industry standards for the preparation of similar reports; x may be based on information provided to Consultant which has not been independently verified; x has not been updated since the date of issuance of the Report and its accuracy is limited to the time period and circumstances in which it was collected, processed, made or issued; x must be read as a whole and sections thereof should not be read out of such context; x was prepared for the specific purposes described in the Report and the Agreement; and x in the case of subsurface, environmental or geotechnical conditions, may be based on limited testing and on the assumption that such conditions are uniform and not variable either geographically or over time. 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Without in any way limiting the generality of the foregoing, any estimates or opinions regarding probable construction costs or construction schedule provided by Consultant represent Consultant’s professional judgement in light of its experience and the knowledge and information available to it at the time of preparation. Since Consultant has no control over market or economic conditions, prices for construction labour, equipment or materials or bidding procedures, Consultant, its directors, officers and employees are not able to, nor do they, make any representations, warranties or guarantees whatsoever, whether express or implied, with respect to such estimates or opinions, or their variance from actual construction costs or schedules, and accept no responsibility for any loss or damage arising therefrom or in any way related thereto. Persons relying on such estimates or opinions do so at their own risk. 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This Statement of Qualifications and Limitations is attached to and forms part of the Report and any use of the Report is subject to the terms hereof. AECOM: 2012-01-06 © 2009-2012 AECOM Canada Ltd. All Rights Reserved. AECOM York Region Stage 1 Archaeological Assessment Stouffville Road EA Distribution List Hard Copy # PDF Association / Company Name Yes York Region Yes Ontario Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport Yes AECOM Revision Log Revision # Revised By Date Issue / Revision Description AECOM Signatures Report Prepared By: Samantha Markham, MES Professional Archaeologist Report Reviewed By: Adria Grant, BA, CAHP Senior Archaeologist, Practice Lead AECOM York Region Stage 1 Archaeological Assessment Stouffville Road EA Executive Summary AECOM was contracted by York Region to conduct a Stage 1 archaeological assessment for the proposed improvements to Stouffville Road. The study area consists of a 500 metre (m) wide corridor centered on Stouffville Road, from Highway 404 west to Yonge Street, and an approximate 100 hectare (ha) parcel of land where Stouffville Road terminates at Yonge Street (Figure 1 and Figure 2). The study area is located within multiple lots and concessions in the Geographical Townships of Whitchurch, Markham, Vaughan, and King South, now the Town of Richmond Hill, Municipality of York, York County, Ontario. This Stage 1 archaeological assessment was triggered by a Municipal Class Environmental Assessment during the planning stage of the project and to meet the requirements of the Environmental Assessment Act (Ontario Government 1990a). This project is also subject to the Ontario Heritage Act (Ontario Government 1990b). The Stage 1 archaeological assessment has determined that there is high potential for the recovery of both First Nation and Euro-Canadian archaeological resources within parts of study area and a known archaeological site is within its limits. Due to extensive urban development some portions of the study area have been previously disturbed; however, areas of agricultural field, woodlot, and manicured lawn within the study area limits are included as areas where archaeological integrity could remain intact (Figure 6). Stage 2 archaeological assessment is recommended for any areas of potentially undisturbed lands identified in this study as retaining archaeological potential. It should be noted that this Stage 1 assessment is a preliminary study completed during the early pre-planning stages of the Stouffville Road Improvements project and includes lands in which several different routing options are being explored. Once all route alternatives and the overall scope of this project have been determined, all areas of potentially undisturbed lands that may potentially be affected by this project will require Stage 2 archaeological assessment. The Stage 2 archaeological assessment must be conducted by a licensed archaeologist and must follow the requirements set out in the Standards and Guidelines for Consultant Archaeologists (Ontario Government 2011), including: Pedestrian survey at 5 m intervals where ploughing is possible (e.g., agricultural fields). This assessment will occur when agricultural fields have been recently ploughed, weathered, and exhibit at least 80 % surface visibility; Test pit survey at 5 m intervals in all areas that will be impacted by the project and where ploughing is not possible (e.g., woodlots, overgrown areas, manicured lawns); Poorly drained areas, areas of steep slope and areas of previous disturbance (e.g., pipelines, railways, road ROWs, buildings) identified are to be mapped and photo-documented, but are not recommended for Stage 2 survey as they possess low to no archaeological potential. During the background research, a historic church and cemetery were identified in the southwestern portion of the study area. Special consideration and recommendations must be made for the St. John’s Anglican Church and St. John’s Cemetery as historic churches and associated cemeteries significantly increase the potential for finding unmarked burial locations, grave shafts, and/or the recovery of human remains. Given the mid-19th century establishment of the registered St. John’s Cemetery, and its proximity to the Yonge Street Municipal ROW, a high probability exists that unmarked graves and associated shafts may be present adjacent to, or within the ROW. Current fence line or boundaries do not necessarily represent the limits of the cemetery below ground. As a i AECOM York Region Stage 1 Archaeological Assessment Stouffville Road EA precautionary measure, it is recommended that after Stages 1 and 2 archaeological assessments are completed, should any ground disturbing activities be conducted in the vicinity of the historic church, the following activities must be conducted to determine if any grave shafts are present: Stage 3 mechanical topsoil removal must be conducted for all lands