RMA

For discretionary projects, the County shall require the following:

• Projects shall be designed to protect existing resources and shall avoid potential impacts to the maximum extent feasible¹.
• If determined necessary by the County, an archaeological or paleontological and/or Native American monitor shall be retained to monitor ground-disturbing activities during construction.
• If any materials or artifacts are discovered during ground disturbance and/or construction activities, construction shall halt until a qualified archaeologist, paleontologist, or Native American monitor can access the discovery. A report or memorandum shall be prepared by the qualified monitor documenting any findings and identifying recommendations for protection or avoidance of discovered resources. Recommendations or mitigation identified by the qualified monitor shall be implemented prior to commencing

1. “Feasible” means that this mitigation measure shall be applied to future discretionary projects under the 2040 General Plan when and to the extent it is “capable of being accomplished in a successful manner within a reasonable period of time, taking into account economic, environmental, legal, social, and technological factors” as determined by the County in the context of such future projects based on substantial evidence. This definition is consistent with the definition of “feasible” set forth in CEQA (Pub. Res. Code, § 21066.1) and the CEQA Guidelines (§ 15164). The County shall be solely responsible for making this feasibility determination in accordance with CEQA. or continuing project activities and/or construction.

During project-specific environmental review of discretionary development, the County shall define the project’s area of potential effect for historic buildings and structures. The County shall determine the potential for the project to result in historic resource impacts, based on the extent of ground disturbance and site modification anticipated for the project. The potential for adverse impacts to historic resources shall also be determined pursuant to the requirements and protocol set forth in the Ventura County ISAG and Cultural Heritage Board Ordinance.

Before altering or otherwise affecting a building or structure 50 years old or older, the project-applicant shall retain a qualified architectural historian according to the Secretary of the Interior Standards, to record it on a California Department of Parks and Recreation DPR 523 form or equivalent documentation, if the building has not previously been evaluated. Its significance shall be assessed by a qualified architectural historian, using the significance criteria set forth for historic resources under CEQA Guidelines Section 15064.5. The evaluation process shall include the development of appropriate historical background research as context for the assessment of the significance of the structure in the county and the region. For buildings or structures that do not meet PRC 5024.1 or the CEQA criteria for historical resource, no further mitigation is required.

1.  If the building or structure can be preserved on site, but remodeling, renovation or other alterations are required, this work shall be conducted in compliance with the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties.
2. If a significant historic building or structure is proposed for major alteration or renovation, or to be moved and/or demolished, the County shall ensure that a qualified architectural historian thoroughly documents the building and associated landscape and setting. Documentation shall include still and video photography and a written documentary record/history of the building to the standards of the Historic American Building Survey or Historic American Engineering Record, including accurate scaled mapping, architectural descriptions, and scaled architectural plans, if available. The record shall be prepared in consultation with State Historic Preservation Officer and filed with the Office of Historic Preservation. The record shall be accompanied by a report containing site-specific history and appropriate contextual information. This information shall be gathered through site specific and comparative archival research, and oral history collection as appropriate.
3. If preservation and reuse at the site are not feasible¹, the historical building shall be documented as described in item (2) and, when physically and financially feasible¹, be moved and preserved or reused.
4. If, in the opinion of the qualified architectural historian, the nature and significance of the building is such that its demolition or destruction cannot be fully mitigated through documentation, the County shall reconsider project plans in light of the high value of the resource, and implement more substantial modifications to the proposed project that would allow the structure to be preserved intact. These could include project redesign, relocation or abandonment. If no such measures are feasible¹, the historical building shall be documented as described in item (2).

1. “Feasible” means that this mitigation measure shall be applied to future discretionary projects under the 2040 General Plan when and to the extent it is “capable of being accomplished in a successful manner within a reasonable period of time, taking into account economic, environmental, legal, social, and technological factors” as determined by the County in the context of such future projects based on substantial evidence. This definition is consistent with the definition of “feasible” set forth in CEQA (Pub. Res. Code, § 21066.1) and the CEQA Guidelines (§ 15164). The County shall be solely responsible for making this feasibility determination in accordance with CEQA. or continuing project activities and/or construction.