Cultural Resources Guidelines and Policy Development Services
Laws requiring the identification and preservation of cultural resources are constantly changing. To help agencies follow all legal regulations before approving a new project, the Cultural Resources Department at ECORP Consulting provides Cultural Resources Guidelines and Policy Development Services.
The preparation of cultural resources protocols requires far more than just a solid archaeological background – it requires expertise in cultural resources laws and regulations, planning law, and CEQA, which is a unique skill set not common among archaeological consultants. However, ECORP has the experience preparing guidelines and protocols for cultural resources, tribal consultation, and monitoring for jurisdictions across the state.
Management Plans, Resource Guidelines, and Standard Operating Procedures for Project Proponents
Compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), and local regulations can benefit from the preparation of Cultural Resources Management Plans (CRMP) and Historic Preservation Plans (HPP).
These plans are designed to:
- Summarize the federal, state, and local regulations applicable at a project location
- Identify known resources within the boundaries of the project
- Provide proactive and reactive procedures and management recommendations for compliance
ECORP drafts Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) to ensure that project proponents and lead agencies remain in compliance with CEQA, NEPA, and other relevant laws. This includes protecting cultural resources at a project site but extends to all other environmental resources as well including biological resources, air quality, water quality, noise and groundbourne vibrations, and others.
SOPs drafted by ECORP are designed to protect, monitor, and mitigate damage to all cultural and environmental resources as required by CEQA/NEPA.
Cultural Resources Guidelines and Policy Development Services for Government Agencies
Additionally, ECORP works with government agencies at the local, state, and federal levels and help draft standard operating procedures and agency-approved guidelines for implementing state and local laws and regulations.
For example, the City of Carlsbad retained ECORP to update its existing and outdated cultural resources guidelines to comply with more recent changes to state law and City policy. The update was developed by ECORP, in consultation with City staff, tribes, and the public to:
- Be user-friendly for City staff, by including process flow charts, compliance verification forms, and processing checklists that collectively standardize the implementation of the Guidelines and increase efficiency
- Include resources for cultural resources and paleontological consultants that ensure that the work products provided for review by city staff are consistent in terms of level of detail and format, which will contribute to greater efficiency in city staff review and result in fewer denials or requests for further information
- Clearly define the role that Native American tribes would have in future discretionary and ministerial actions by the City
- Establish standard mitigation measures and conditions of approval, including those for tribal monitoring and participation
- Be clear, have established timeframes, and provide built-in accountability that removes the uncertainty from the compliance process that could reduce the number of challenges from private developers on the need for specific procedures
The Guidelines were awarded a Certificate of Merit for Outstanding Planning Document for a Plan, Policy or Ordinance from the San Diego Chapter of the Association of Environmental Professionals in 2017. The Guidelines were further recognized with a Merit Award by the California Association of Environmental Professionals for Environmental Resource Document in 2018.
Drafting and Updating Municipal Codes
At the local level, we draft or update municipal codes for county and city governments to help manage cultural resources within the municipality. This is necessary when state laws change over time, resulting in a conflict between a municipal code and state law. ECORP assists agencies in reviewing their existing municipal code and providing updated language for approval regarding:
- Tribal consultation
- Compliance with applicable requirements for CEQA
- Historic districts
- Demolition permit approval process for historic buildings
National Historic Preservation Act, Section 106 Compliance
Of the many outcomes of Section 106 consultation, federal agencies may be required to develop and execute agreements, such as:
- Memorandum of Agreements (MOAs) are intended to resolve adverse effects to historic properties for an undertaking. These agreements are very specific to the project, and can often require a combination of avoidance, minimization, and mitigation measures that become conditions of approval for aconstruction or new land-use operations.
- Programmatic Agreements (PAs) are similar, but typically are developed for long-range or program-level projects for which impacts cannot be known or determined in advance.
- Historic Property Management Plans (HPMPs) present the measures to be implemented to avoid or otherwise minimize impacts to historically significant elements of the built environment, including homes, bridges, commercial buildings, historic districts, and other architecture.
The development and negotiation of MOAs and PAs requires a sophisticated knowledge of laws, coupled with extensive experience in Cultural Resources Management (CRM) which is uncommon among CRM firms. ECORP’s Cultural Resources Department, however, includes a team of skilled archaeologists, architectural historians, and cultural resources consultants who have successfully developed, negotiated, and filed MOAs, PAs, and HPMPs for projects across California.
Contact ECORP For Cultural Resources Guidelines and Policy Development Services
To learn more about how ECORP can help you to comply with all the required cultural resources guidelines, contact ECORP Consulting today.