Several Coastal Chumash members on Thursday demanded that a local developer allow them to visit the proposed site of 20 homes in the Santa Barbara foothills, saying the area may contain the buried remains of up to 200 of their ancestors.
At the county Planning Commission hearing on the Preserve at San Marcos project, the Chumash called for a full evaluation of the site and accused developer Jeff Bermant of ignoring their concerns and intimidating individual members.
The opposition is the latest volley in a barrage of criticism leveled at the four-year-old project, which must clear the planning panel before going to the Board of Supervisors for final approval. At the end of Thursday's special hearing, the fourth, commissioners voted to delay their decision until January, although it was the role of native grasses and not bones that led to that.
At least two of the proposed homes fall within an area cited as a possible village and cemetery site in a 2001 archaeological report commissioned by Mr. Bermant. Although Mr. Bermant's later environmental study acknowledges part of the site, it overlooks the much larger area described in the report.
The Chumash members want to study the entire area before Mr. Bermant builds any new homes.
Posted by gandlwoods at December 17, 2004 09:29 AM