P&Z Acts To Protect Historical

And Archaeological Sites

By Andrew Gorosko

Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) members have created a set of land use regulations intended to preserve the significant archaeologic, historic, and cultural features of land proposed for subdivisions and resubdivisions.

Following a May 7 public hearing, P&Z members, in a 4-to-1 vote, approved the regulations, deciding that such preservation is worthwhile and is consistent with the 2004 Town Plan of Conservation and Development.

Voting in favor were P&Z Chairman Lilla Dean, Robert Mulholland, Richard English, and Daniel Cruson. P&Z member Dennis Bloom dissented. The new subdivision regulations take effect on May 18.

The intent of the rules is to have subdivisions and resubdivisions laid out to preserve all significant historic, archaeologic, cultural, and natural features on a site. Such features would be depicted on a specialized map.

Town historian Daniel Cruson, who is a P&Z alternate member, formulated the preservation regulations with Land Use Agency Director George Benson.

Basically, sites identified as being of archaeological, historical, or cultural interest would be subject to progressively more levels of research, depending upon the relative quality of a site.

The regulations create a mechanism through which sites proposed for subdivisions or resubdivisions would be subject to physical research before construction occurs in order to determine whether the properties hold historic value or prehistoric value. The regulations create a means to determine whether a given site holds physical items of value before those items would be destroyed by the construction process.

An archaeological review would accompany subdivision/resubdivision applications. If a site is found to be significant, additional study would be performed by a recognized professional archaeologist. Costs would be covered by the applicant.

If a development site holds special merit, the applicant would be required to preserve significant areas through permanent preservation easements that would provide perpetual rights for limited archaeological research there.

Alternately, an intensive archaeologic survey could be conducted at the applicant’s expense. Such a study would identify portions of the site that could be developed without damaging the site’s “archaeological, historical and cultural context, significance and integrity.”

The regulations describe how the P&Z could maximize the protection and the in-place preservation of archaeological resources on a site.

An approved subdivision map would delineate areas to be preserved and protected from development and also specify the conditions for those areas’ use. The applicant would be responsible for covering all costs related to a preservation program.

Discussion

Before the P&Z approved the regulations, members discussed the issues involved in creating such land use rules.

Mr Cruson explained that the rules seek to allow a property to be checked before any development occurs in order to determine the site’s archaeological, historic, and cultural value. The regulations would put the financial burden of such research on the person who proposes developing the property, he said.

The town’s computerized Geographic Information Systems (GIS) database would be used as a tool in helping identify sites of research value, he said. The research value of a given site would determine the extent of research required there, he said.

Ms Dean noted that there are no schedules listed in the regulations, leaving it unclear how much time it would take to perform the research.

Mr Cruson responded that it would be wise for developers to perform the research before a development application is submitted for P&Z review.

Mr Bloom objected to an applicant being required to cover the costs of site research. The town should be required to perform such research, not the applicant, he said.

Mr Benson said that based on the content of the town’s GIS database, sites with research value could be quickly identified. The town would provide the first phase of research via its GIS database, he said.

“I don’t see this [set of regulations] as stopping development,” Mr Benson said. The rules create an opportunity to preserve valuable items, he said.

“This is not a development stopper,” Mr Cruson said, adding that the rules create a mechanism for archaeological research before a site is physically disturbed.

The town already possesses information in its GIS database concerning the potential archaeological value of various properties, he said. Some areas in town, however, have not had any basic archaeological research performed on them, he said.

“This shouldn’t be an adversarial process,” Mr Cruson said.

Resident Robert Hall is an attorney who often represents applicants seeking to subdivide property, and at the public hearing, Mr Hall expressed concerns about putting too much confidence in the information about local archaeology stored in the GIS database. People invest too much confidence is in such computerized geographical information systems, he said.

Mr Cruson noted that the information in the town’s GIS database comes from reputable sources.