Appendix B – Cultural Resources Supporting Documentation

Appendix B – Cultural Resources Supporting Documentation

Appendix B Cultural Resources Supporting Documentation Rincon Consultants, Inc. 180 North Ashwood Avenue Ventura, California 93003 805 644 4455 OFFICE AND FAX [email protected] www.rinconconsultants.com December 10, 2019 Project No: 18-06588 Maruja Clensay Senior Planner Community Development Department City of Ventura 501 Poli Street, PO Box 99 Ventura, California 93002 Subject: Updated Historical Resource Assessment and Summary of Existing Studies for the Property Located at 297-299 East Main Street, Ventura, California 93002 Dear Ms. Clensay: This memorandum was prepared by Rincon Consultants, Inc. (Rincon) for the City of Ventura (City) to update the historical resource assessment and summarize the existing studies prepared for the property located at 297-299 East Main Street in Ventura, California. Rincon understands this memorandum will be used to provide cultural resources data for the Anacapa Courts Mixed Use Project (project), located on an 0.50-acre parcel in the Urban Core (T6.1) zone district of the City’s Downtown Specific Plan (DTSP). Rincon understands the project includes development of a four-story mixed-use building with approximately 3,850-square feet of street level commercial space, a 41 space ground level parking garage, and 24 residential condominium units, including 4 inclusionary units, arranged around a central courtyard and atrium space, over a podium. The project site is vacant, save for a small, unoccupied roadside eatery, the Top Hat Restaurant (subject building). The Top Hat Restaurant was determined eligible for listing in the NRHP by the California Historical Resources Commission; it is therefore listed in the California Register of Historical Resources (CRHR) and is considered a historical resource for the purposes of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). Located within the DTSP area, the project is also subject to the DTSP Historic Resource Design Guidelines, as defined in DTSP Article V, Section 5.20.000. The Top Hat Restaurant is also a contributor to Main Street Commercial Historic District and falls within the boundaries of the Mission Plaza Historical District, listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). The project has also been previously reviewed by Rincon and the City of Ventura Historic Preservation Commission (HPC) for review and comment. In March 2017, the HPC directed staff and the project proponent to attempt to incorporate the Top Hat Restaurant into the project design and to rehabilitate the building and return it to use as a restaurant. In response to these recommendations, the project applicant revised the project plans in October 2017, which were subsequently reviewed by Rincon in 2018 to consider their compliance with the DTSP Historic Resource Design Guidelines and the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties (Secretary’s Standards) (Rincon Consultants 2018). At that time, Rincon found that the project plans, while conceptual, either complied or could be brought into full or partial compliance with the Standards and the DTSP Historic Resources Design Guidelines. Rincon recommended project revisions to facilitate this compliance and the input of a qualified historic preservation professional to identify and implement project design elements that will Environmental Scientists P l a n n e r s E n g i n e e r s Anacapa Courts Mixed Use Project facilitate compliance with the Secretary’s Standards. The HPC reviewed the October 2017 project plans in September 2018 and provided comments confirming the project conceptually complied with the Secretary’s Standards pending the retention and rehabilitation of the Top Hat building and design modifications relating to massing and materials. Since this time, the project plans have again been revised. This memorandum serves to address cultural resources considerations through a California Historical Resources Information System (CHRIS) records search, Native American scoping, and a summary of existing cultural resources studies. Methods Rincon completed a review of the previous and current designs of the project to determine if the previous recommendations remained valid. Existing studies relating to the archaeological sensitivity of the project location were also reviewed and supplemented by completion of a search of the Native American Heritage Commission’s (NAHC) Sacred Lands File (SLF) and a records search at the South Central Coastal Information Center (SCCIC). Rincon has not reviewed the proposed rehabilitation plan for the Top Hat Building as it was not yet completed at the time of this study. Rincon cultural resources staff also did not conduct a site visit or an analysis of archaeological resources. Cultural Records Search Results On November 6, 2019, Rincon conducted a records search of the California Historical Resources Information System (CHRIS) at the SCCIC at California State University, Fullerton. The search was conducted to identify all previously recorded cultural resources and previously conducted cultural resources studies within a 0.5-mile radius of the project site. The CHRIS search included a review of the NRHP, CRHR, the Archaeological Determination of Eligibility list, and the California State Historic Resources Inventory list. A complete list of the records search results is included as an attachment. Rincon’s cultural resources records search identified ninety-seven (97) previously conducted cultural resources studies within the 0.5-mile radius of the project site. The project site is within the study area of seven (7) of these prior studies, as shown in Table 1. Table 1 Previous Cultural Resource Studies of the Project Site Report Number Author(s) Year Title VN-00091 Bove, Frederick J. 1977 An Archaeological Assessment Report for the Proposed Central Business Redevelopment Project in the City of Ventura, California VN-00709 Anonymous 1980 (Duplicate of VN-1732) Archival Study/historic Overview Downtown San Buenaventura Redevelopment Study Area VN-01631 Anonymous 1978 Draft Environmental Impact Report Downtown Redevelopment Project City of San Buenaventura VN-01732 Wlodarski, Robert J. 1980 Archival Study/historic Overview: Downtown and Hatheway, Roger San Buenaventura Redevelopment Study G. Area Page 2 Anacapa Courts Mixed Use Project Report Number Author(s) Year Title VN-02531 Greenwood, Roberta S. 2005 Phase I Cultural Resource Investigation, and Dana N. Slawson Proposed Development at the Northwest Corner of Main and Palm Streets, Ventura VN-02546 Whitley, David S. 2001 Phase I Archaeological Survey of the Mission Inn Study Area, City of San Buenaventura, Ventura County, California VN-03297 Foster, John M., 2012 Archaeological Assessment and Recovery, E. Roberta S. Greenwood, Main Street and N. Palm Street, City of Michael Kay, and Ventura Jennifer Foster The cultural resources records search identified 70 previously recorded cultural resources within the 0.5- mile search radius of the project site. Of these, three (3) resources were located within, or overlap the boundaries of, the project site. These resources are identified in Table 2. Table 2 Previously Recorded Resources within the Project Site Primary Resource Recorder(s) Number Trinomial Type Description and Year(s) P-56-000004 CA-VEN- Prehistoric N/A 1948 (Hoover, M.B. and H.E. & E.G. 000004 Site Rensch); 1951 (Eberhart) P-56-150222 N/A Protohistoric The Mission 1974 (Capito, James R., Robert District Historical Lopez, and Myrle Kirk, Historic District Preservation Commission) P-56-152835 N/A Historic Top Hat Burger 2005 (S. Scafer, San Buenaventura Conservancy) Building Palace Native American Scoping As part of the background research process of identifying cultural resources for this project, Rincon contacted the NAHC on November 12, 2019 and requested a SLF search of the project site and vicinity (Appendix B). Rincon received a response from the NAHC on November 19, 2019 which stated the SLF search had been completed with “negative” results. The City will conduct government-to-government consultation required under Assembly Bill (AB) 52 with interested Native Americans as a separate effort. Historical Resources Impacts Analysis Rincon previously concluded that the October 2017 project plans, though conceptual in nature, appeared capable of conforming to the Standards for Rehabilitation and therefore avoiding a significant adverse impact as defined by CEQA. Recommendations were presented at that time to retain an experienced historic preservation professional to provide ongoing Standards and DTSP compliance review. Since this time the project has been minimally modified through the following revisions: Page 3 Anacapa Courts Mixed Use Project • Redesign of door and window program • Wood windows replaced by dark, anodized aluminum windows • Masonry lintels replaced by dark anodized metal headers • Enclosure of balconies • Cementitious siding replaced with belden brick veneer • Color of ceramic tile bulkhead changed from brown to teal • Bulky bay removed and replaced with flush floor-to-ceiling windows • Addition of copper finish cladding and colored feature glass to central projection • Aluminum storefronts expanded and exposed steel I-beam frame and glazed tile added Because the project appears largely as it did when previously analyzed by Rincon in 2018, there is no information to indicate the previous findings and recommendations would not longer be applicable. Further, Rincon understands a rehabilitation plan is being developed which will ensure that the project will

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