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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - Historic Preservation Commission - 10/9/2006 MINUTES HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION OCTOBER 9, 2006 ORO VALLEY COUNCIL CHAMBERS 11000 NORTH LA CANADA DRIVE CALL TO ORDER: 6:00 PM PRESENT: CHAIR PAMELA SARPALIUS VICE CHAIR ROBERT BAUGHMAN COMMISSIONER JIM KRIEGH COMMISSIONER SYBIL NEEDHAM ALSO PRESENT: SARAH MORE, AICP, PLANNING AND ZONING ADMINISTRATOR MARGOT HURST, PARKS AND RECREATION ADVISORY BOARD JENNIFER JONES, RECORDING SECRETARY ABSENT: AL KUNISCH, COUNCIL LIAISON BRENT SINCLAIR, COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR EMILY GRAVES. STUDENT LIAISON CALL TO AUDIENCE Opened and closed with no comment. I. APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF SEPTEMBER 25, 2006 MEETING Commissioner Kriegh requested that an amendment to the minutes be made. Mr. Kriegh stated that under the Student Liaison report the spelling of the teacher's name from was incorrect, it should be Moser. Also, Mr. Kriegh felt that the wording in the last paragraph under Item II., was erroneous and requested that it be removed. MOTION: Vice Chair Baughman MOVED to approve the minutes as amended, Commissioner Kriegh SECONDED the motion. Motion carried (4-0). II. REPORT FROM THE ORO VALLEY HISTORICAL SOCIETY • Book Festival - Oro Valley Historical Society had a booth set up and it was very successful. • October 28th and 29th the Oro Valley Historical Society will have a booth at the Arts in the Park. • Interview process has started. The first interview will be with a gentleman that went to the little white school house by Catalina State Park. • Voting membership is up to 160. • On October 25th at 6:30 pm in the Oro Valley Library, the Hohokam of Honey Bee Village by Desert Archaeology and also on November 16th in conjunction with the Historical Society is a meeting with Desert Archaeology. •A second DVD that was done at Honey Bee Village has been completed and a copy has been given to the Town. III. REPORT FROM STUDENT LIAISON No report for this meeting. IV. REPORT FROM THE PARKS AND RECREATION ADVISORY BOARD LIAISON V. REPORT FROM THE SANTA CRUZ NATIONAL HERITAGE AREA ALLIANCE LIAISON No report for this meeting. VI. REPORT FROM THE HONEY BEE VILLAGE ARCHAEOLOGICAL PRESERVE PLANNING GROUP LIAISON Vice Chair Baughman stated that it was a delight to work with this group and stated that the presentation in Item VII would be his report. VII. PRESENTATION AND POSSIBLE ACCEPTANCE OF THE HONEY BEE VILLAGE ARCHAEOLOGICAL PRESERVE PLAN Sarah More, Planning and Zoning Administrator, introduced the topic and explained that the effort for this item has been a cooperative effort with multi-disciplinary/multi- jurisdictional involvement. Ms. More stated that she is personally and professionally proud to have the following groups working together on this project: • Town of Oro Valley • Pima County • Steve Solomon, Developer of Honey Bee Village • Desert Archaeology • Members of the Tohono O'odham Nation • Community By Design Ms. More explained that the planning group has been meeting over the past seven to nine months, going over the things that are important to everyone as far as where they would end up with a conceptual plan. Ms. More stated that this is a conceptual plan process not a development plan. Ms. More also stated that the planning group made several site visits and she feels that they have come a long way and she is pleased that they are presenting to the Commission. Ms. More introduced Dr. Bill Doelle from Desert Archaeology. Dr. Doelle presented a short overview of the excavations that have been taking place on the Honey Bee Village site. Dr. Doelle stated that Honey Bee Village is a Ball Court Hohokam Village which was occupied from 415 A.D. to 1250 A.D. Dr. Doelle stated that the nearest neighbor was a mile and a half to the west called Sleeping Snake, which was another Ball Court Village. Another Ball Court community is in the Catalina State Park known as the Romero Ruin. Dr. Doelle showed an aerial photo of the site and pointed out that the area that is going to be developed around the preserve is the area they are trenching now. Dr. Doelle also stated that the work that they have been doing has shown that much is present in this village. They have exposed up to 260 prehistoric houses and roughly 120 burials that they are expecting to recover. Dr. Doelle showed a map with a yellow outline and stated that work has been done in the preserve core and the areas inside the yellow lines are trash mounds, where people have discarded their daily trash on an ongoing basis. Dr. Doelle explained that the center of the village is a plaza and all around the plaza is where people were living pretty intensely during this time period. They are expecting between 300 to 400 pit houses to be preserved underground within the preserve area. Dr. Doelle stated that Ball Courts were initially built around 800 A.D. and Honey Bee Village has one of the smaller Ball Courts. Paige Winslet of Community By Design stated that based on all of their work and the work the archaeologists they have come up with a Opportunities and Constraints map which lays out what is out there for consideration and what is out for the opportunity of utilizing. Ms. Winslet presented the following: • Opportunities and Constraints Map showing all the features, including the wall, interpretive opportunity, access points, view points, etc. • Schematic Plan showing the circular road/pathway around the rock enclosure, the different types of wall heights around the site, site features, etc. Commissioner Needham inquired if any of the artifacts that they have found would be on display in the visitors' center or if there was a museum planned. Ms. Winslet replied that Steve Solomon was hoping to have a revolving display on site. Sarah More stated that the next phase is to deliver the proposed Preservation Plan to the Town Council and would like to have on record some kind of endorsement from the Historic Preservation Commission. Ms. More stated that they could bring it back to the Commission or if they were comfortable endorsing the proposed Preservation Plan tonight that would be appreciated. MOTION: Vice Chair Baughman MOVED to accept the presentation as presented with the addendum of a written report to forward to the Town Council. Commissioner Needham SECONDED the motion. Motion carried 4-0. IX. ADJOURN MOTION: Vice Chair Baughman MOVED to adjourn the Historic Preservation Commission at 6:35 p.m. Commissioner Needham SECONDED the motion. Motion carried 4-0. Prepared by: Jennifer Jones Recording Secretary