P&Z Seeks Archaeological And Historic Preservation Measures

By Andrew Gorosko

The Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) is proposing a set of land use regulations intended to preserve the archaeological, historical, and cultural features of sites proposed for subdivisions and resubdivisions.

The P&Z is scheduled to open a public hearing on the proposed regulations when it meets at 7:30 pm, Thursday, April 16, at the town offices at 31 Peck’s Lane.

P&Z members said at their April 2 session that as a procedural matter, the hearing would be opened on April 16, but then immediately adjourned and reconvened at a later date.

Draft copies of the proposed regulations are available for review at the land use agency offices at 31 Peck’s Lane.

Town Historian Daniel Cruson, who is a P&Z alternate member, said April 2 that he has been working on formulating the proposed regulations with Land Use Agency Director George Benson.

“This is not a development stopper,” Mr Cruson said of the proposed rules.

The regulations would create a mechanism through which sites proposed for subdivision or resubdivision would be subject to physical research before construction occurs in order to determine whether the properties hold any historic value or prehistoric value, he said.

The proposed regulations would create a means to determine whether a given site holds physical items of value before those items would be destroyed by the construction process, he said.

The intent of the proposed rules is to have subdivisions designed in order to preserve all their significant, natural, cultural, historical, and archaeological features.

If a development site is considered to hold items of value, based on the content of applicable reference documents, an archaeological assessment and report would be required to accompany the development application.

That study would be performed at the applicant’s expense and be conducted by a recognized professional archaeologist.

When areas are found to be archaeologically “significant,” an additional, more detailed study would be conducted and report written at the applicant’s expense.

That report would identify locations at the site which have archaeological and historical significance, as well as locations there without such significance.

If the P&Z determines a development site to hold “significant archaeological or historical merit,” it could require the applicant to preserve those areas of merit through permanent preservation easements that would provide perpetual rights for limited archaeological research there.

Alternately, an intensive archaeological 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 proposed regulations contain requirements describing how the P&Z could maximize the protection and the in-place preservation of archaeological resources on a site. Such preservation efforts would become a condition of a subdivision approval.

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.