November 15, 2017 Paul P. Breckenridge LEED AP BD+C
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November 15, 2017 Paul P. Breckenridge LEED AP BD+C Senior Architect Department of Public Works and Facilities | Capital Improvements 175 Fulweiler Avenue Auburn, CA, 95603 Subject: Cultural Resources Inventory Update for the Placer County Government Center Master Plan Update Project, Auburn, CA Dear Mr. Breckenridge: This letter documents Dudek’s review of, and update to, cultural resources investigations conducted for the Placer County Government Center (PCGC) Master Plan Update Project (project), located in Auburn, California (Figure 1). The County of Placer (County) is the lead agency responsible for compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). Review of cultural resources technical information, fieldwork, and reporting for this project has been conducted by Adam Giacinto, RPA, who meets the Secretary of the Interior’s Professional Qualifications Standards. Records on file at the North Central Information Center (NCIC) indicate that the entirety of the PCGC area has been subject to previous investigations by qualified archaeologists and architectural historians. As of the date of the NCIC records search, conducted August 1, 2016, no additional cultural resources had been recorded within the proposed project area since preparation of the Draft EIR Public for the DeWitt Government Center Facility Plan (2003–2010) by North Fork Associates in 2003 (NCIC Report ID 006745B). Technical studies prepared in support of this environmental document appear to have been completed to appropriate standards and sufficiently considered impacts to cultural resources. Three cultural resources have been recorded within the Placer County Government Center project site. Two of these will be impacted by the project, including the National Register of Historical Resources (NRHP) listed World War II-era DeWitt General Hospital District (District) and the Ophir Canal. This later resource has since been added as a contributing feature to the District. The remaining resource identified within the project area consists of a prehistoric Native American bedrock milling site. This resource will not be impacted, and will be avoided by project design. Subject: Cultural Resources Inventory Update Placer County Government Center Master Plan Update Project, Auburn, CA PROJECT LOCATION AND DESCRIPTION Placer County is proposing an update of the 1993 Comprehensive Facilities Master Plan for the PCGC. The project site is located west of the City of Auburn within the census designated area of North Auburn. The site falls within Public Lands Survey System (PLSS) area Township 13 North, Range 8 East, Section 32; and on the Auburn 7.5’ United States Geological Society (USGS) Quadrangle (Figure 2). The project site is located west of State Route 49 (SR 49), between Bell and Atwood Roads (Figure 3). The project site includes the following seven parcels: APNs 051-120-061-000, 051-120-010-000, 051-110-013-510, 051-120-064-000, 051- 120-065-000, 051-120-066-000, and 051-120-067-000. The PCGC primarily supports County offices, facilities, warehouse space, and functions, as well as a Home Depot home improvement store located on 10 acres of leased land at the eastern side of the campus. These facilities are a mixture of modern buildings and older World War II-era buildings associated with the DeWitt General Hospital. Nearly all of the PCGC area has been previously developed (approximately 140 acres). The PCGC area includes approximately 40 acres of undeveloped land, all of which has been subject to varying degrees of past modification by agriculture, drainage improvements, used for storage, or for other purposes. The PCGC campus consists primarily of one- and two-story structures, including some of the original World War II–era DeWitt General Hospital barracks-style hospital buildings and more contemporary facilities that have replaced the hospital buildings over the last several decades. While many of the original buildings from the DeWitt General Hospital remain on site, building demolition and construction have occurred over the last 30 years, beginning with construction of the Finance and Administration Building in the late 1980s. The Auburn Main Jail and Juvenile Detention Center were constructed on the site in the early and mid-1990s. In the early 2000s, the County demolished several of the original DeWitt General Hospital buildings to allow for the construction of the Auburn Justice Center and the Community Development Resource Center buildings. Most recently, the County constructed a new animal services center in the western portion of the campus. The proposed plan consists of various development types: county facilities, retail/service commercial, offices, multifamily and single-family residential units; public park facilities and trails; and open space. The plan proposes modifications to existing roadways; new roadways at key locations to provide greater connectivity; improvements to transit, bicycle, and pedestrian facilities; and corresponding circulation connections. 9635 2 November 2017 Subject: Cultural Resources Inventory Update Placer County Government Center Master Plan Update Project, Auburn, CA REGULATORY FRAMEWORK State of California The California Register of Historical Resources In California, the term “historical resource” includes “any object, building, structure, site, area, place, record, or manuscript which is historically or archaeologically significant, or is significant in the architectural, engineering, scientific, economic, agricultural, educational, social, political, military, or cultural annals of California” (Public Resources Code (PRC) Section 5020.1(j)). In 1992, the California legislature established the California Register of Historical Resources (CRHR) “to be used by state and local agencies, private groups, and citizens to identify the state’s historical resources and to indicate what properties are to be protected, to the extent prudent and feasible, from substantial adverse change” (PRC Section 5024.1(a)). The criteria for listing resources on the CRHR, enumerated in the following text, were developed to be in accordance with previously established criteria developed for listing in the NRHP. According to PRC Section 5024.1(c)(1–4), a resource is considered historically significant if it (i) retains “substantial integrity,” and (ii) meets at least one of the following criteria: (1) Is associated with events that have made a significant contribution to the broad patterns of California’s history and cultural heritage (2) Is associated with the lives of persons important in our past (3) Embodies the distinctive characteristics of a type, period, region, or method of construction, or represents the work of an important creative individual, or possesses high artistic values (4) Has yielded, or may be likely to yield, information important in prehistory or history To understand the historic importance of a resource, sufficient time must have passed to obtain a scholarly perspective on the events or individuals associated with the resource. A resource less than 50 years old may be considered for listing in the CRHR if it can be demonstrated that sufficient time has passed to understand its historical importance (see 14 CCR 4852(d)(2)). The CRHR protects cultural resources by requiring evaluations of the significance of prehistoric and historic resources. The criteria for the CRHR are nearly identical to those for the NRHP, and properties listed or formally designated as eligible for listing in the NRHP are automatically listed in the CRHR, as are state landmarks and points of interest. The CRHR also 9635 3 November 2017 Subject: Cultural Resources Inventory Update Placer County Government Center Master Plan Update Project, Auburn, CA includes properties designated under local ordinances or identified through local historical resource surveys. California Environmental Quality Act As described further in the following text, the following CEQA statutes and CEQA Guidelines are of relevance to the analysis of archaeological, historic, and tribal cultural resources: PRC Section 21083.2(g) defines “unique archaeological resource.” PRC Section 21084.1 and CEQA Guidelines Section 15064.5(a) define “historical resources.” In addition, CEQA Guidelines Section 15064.5(b) defines the phrase “substantial adverse change in the significance of an historical resource.” It also defines the circumstances when a project would materially impair the significance of a historical resource. PRC Section 21074(a) defines “tribal cultural resources.” PRC Section 5097.98 and CEQA Guidelines Section 15064.5(e) set forth standards and steps to be employed following the accidental discovery of human remains in any location other than a dedicated ceremony. Commission (NAHC) to resolve disputes regarding the disposition of such remains. In addition, the Native American Historic Resource Protection Act makes it a misdemeanor, punishable by up to 1 year in jail, to deface or destroy a Native American historic or cultural site that is listed or may be eligible for listing in the CRHR. California Health and Safety Code Section 7050.5 California law protects Native American burials, skeletal remains, and associated grave goods, regardless of their antiquity, and provides for the sensitive treatment and disposition of those remains. California Health and Safety Code Section 7050.5 requires that if human remains are discovered in any place other than a dedicated cemetery, no further disturbance or excavation of the site or nearby area reasonably suspected