Tel: 909 824 6400 Fax: 909 824 6405
April 15, 2024
Updated December 31, 2024
Matthew Esquivel, Senior Project Manager
Warmington Residential, Southern California Division
3090 Pullman Street, Costa Mesa, CA 92626
Re: Update to Cultural Resources Survey
Tentative Tract Map No. 37764, Assessor’s Parcel No. 136-220-016 City of Riverside, Riverside County, California
CRM TECH Contract No. 4101
Dear Mr. Esquivel:
At your request, CRM TECH has completed an update to a previously completed cultural resources survey on approximately 8.8 acres of agricultural and former agricultural land in the City of Riverside, Riverside County, California. The subject property of the study, Tentative Tract Map No. 37764, consists of what is currently Assessor’s Parcel No. 136-220-016, located on the easterly corner of La Sierra Avenue and Victoria Avenue, in a portion of the El Sobrante de San Jacinto land grant lying within T3S R6W, San Bernardino Baseline and Meridian (Figs. 1, 2).
The study is part of the environmental review process for the proposed subdivision of the property for single-family residential development. The City of Riverside, as the lead agency for the project, required the study pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA; PRC §21000, et seq.) and the City’s Cultural Resources Ordinance (Title 20, Riverside Municipal Code). The purpose of the study is to provide the City with the necessary information and analysis to determine whether the proposed project would cause substantial adverse changes to any “historical resources,” as defined by CEQA (PRC §5020.1(j); Title 14 CCR §15064.5(a)(1)-(3)), that may exist in the project area.
Background
In 2014, McKenna et al. of Whittier, California, conducted a standard Phase I cultural resources survey for a proposed residential development project on the same parcel (McKenna 2014; see Attachment A). As a result of that study, a site of historical age was recorded that coincided with the entire project area. Designated 33-023901 (CA-RIV-11736H) in the California Historical Resources Inventory, the site represented an orange grove that had been cultivated on the property since 1902, along with associated irrigation features and a wind machine (ibid.:18-21). At the end of the 2014 study, McKenna (ibid.:28-39) concluded that Site 33-023901 did not meet any of the established significance criteria and thus did not qualify as a “historical resource” under CEQA. In 2019, McKenna et al. updated the 2014 study and again concluded that no significant cultural resources were present in the project area (McKenna 2019; see Attachment B). Since there had been no change to the property, however, no supplemental research or field investigations were performed at the time (ibid.).
2 Figure 1. Project location. (Based on USGS Riverside West and Lake Mathews, Calif., 7.5’ quadrangles)
3 Figure 2. Recent satellite image of the project area.
4 As 10 years have passed since the last known fieldwork on this property, the present study was designed and implemented to update the findings of the 2014 study. Research procedures completed during this study included an update to the historical/archaeological resources records search, a Sacred Lands File search, supplemental historical background research, and a field inspection of the project area. A summary of the methods and results of these procedures is presented below, along with the final conclusion of the study.
Historical/Archaeological Resources Records Search
On February 8, 2024, CRM TECH archaeologist Nina Gallardo, B.A., completed the records search at the Eastern Information Center (EIC), University of California, Riverside. The results of the records search indicate that the 2014 McKenna et al. survey remains the only systematic cultural resources study within the project area (Fig. 3). Since the completion of that survey, the only study that has involved the project location or any of the adjacent properties is a linear survey along a water pipeline alignment within the La Sierra Avenue right-of-way, which also took place in 2014 (Fig. 3).
The records search further indicates that no additional cultural resources have been identified within or adjacent to the project area since 2014. Within a one-mile radius, the records search identified a total of 24 previously recorded cultural resources, an increase of 10 from the 14 resources reported in the 2014 McKenna et al. survey. None of these localities was found in the immediate vicinity of the project area, and thus none of them requires further consideration during this study.
One of the 24 known cultural resources within the scope of the records search, Site 33-011361, represents the original segment of Victoria Avenue built in the 1890s, which is now listed in the National Register of Historic Places (Bricker and Tearnen 2000). That segment of Victoria Avenue ends at the intersection of Boundary Lane, roughly a half-mile to the northeast of the project location. The segment adjacent to the project boundary, built in the early 20th century (USGS 1901; 1942), has not been recorded as a potential “historical resource.”
Sacred Lands File Search
On February 7, 2024, CRM TECH submitted a written request to the State of California Native American Heritage Commission (NAHC) for an update to the Sacred Lands File search completed on the project vicinity during the 2014 study. In response, the NAHC stated in a letter dated February 28 that the Sacred Lands File identified no Native American tribal cultural resources in or near the project area. The NAHC recommended that local Native American groups be consulted for further information and provided a referral list of potential contacts for that purpose. The NAHC’s reply is attached to this report in Attachment C for reference by the City of Riverside in future government-to-government consultations with the pertinent tribal groups, if necessary.
Historical Research
As a part of this study, CRM TECH archaeologist Hunter O’Donnell, B.A., pursued additional historical background research using sources not referenced in the 2014 study, primarily aerial and 5 Figure 3. Previous cultural resources studies in the vicinity of the project area, listed by EIC file number. Locations of historical/archaeological resources are not shown as a protective measure.
6 satellite photographs of the project area. Taken between 1931 and 2023, the aerial and satellite photographs are available from the Nationwide Environmental Title Research (NETR) Online website, the Google Earth software, and the Geospatial Collection of the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB).
The 2014 study established that the project area was used for horticulture at least by 1900-1902, and it found no evidence of any residential use of the property from historical maps or census data (McKenna 2014:11-13). Early aerial photographs of the property, however, show what appear to have been a residence and an ancillary building near the western corner of the property in 1931 and 1938, just to the east of the intersection of La Sierra Avenue (historically Taylor Street) and Victoria Avenue (UCSB 1931; 1938). By 1948, both of these buildings had been removed, and trees had been planted in their place (NETR Online 1948).
After that, the project area was completely covered by the citrus grove until sometime between 1998 and 2002, when some of the trees in the easternmost portion of the parcel were removed (NETR Online 1948-2002; UCSB 1962; Google Earth 1994-2002). All of the built-environment features observed in that area during the 2014 survey, such as the play area and the paved driveway with a circular turnaround at the end, were built or installed over the next few years, along with a few sheds and what appear to have been trailers (NETR Online 2002-2009; Google Earth 2002-2009). Since then, most of the structures have been gradually removed (NETR Online 2009-2020; Google Earth 2009-2024).
Field Inspection
On March 13, 2024, Hunter O’Donnell carried out the field inspection of the project area. The survey was conducted at an intensive level by walking between the rows of orange trees in a series of parallel northwest-southeast transects spaced approximately 15 meters (50 feet) apart. Ground visibility was generally poor throughout the project area due to the accumulation of fallen leaves and areas of dense, low-lying vegetation growth (Fig. 4). Considering the extent of past ground disturbance in the project area, however, the ground visibility was deemed not to be a major hindrance to the survey efforts.
During the field inspection, a prehistoric (i.e., Native American) isolate was found adjacent to a concrete irrigation head in the citrus grove, consisting of a large portable granitic metate with two milling slicks on the surface (Fig. 5). The metate measures 60.7 x 38.5 x 21.2 centimeters, with one slick measuring 30.8 x 15.9 centimeters and the other 21.6 x 15.4 centimeters. Both slicks exhibit a moderate amount of polish with the high points noticeably worn down. At some point a cement mix was splashed on the artifact, probably during construction of the nearby irrigation line, resulting in more than 17 pieces of hardened concrete affixed to its surface, including within one of the slicks.
Given the clear evidence of past disturbances to the ground nearby, the artifact is unlikely to be in situ. The isolate was recorded into the California Historical Resources Inventory under the temporary designation of 4101-1, pending assignment of a permanent identification number by the EIC (see Attachment D).
7 Figure 4. Current condition of the project area. (Photograph taken on March 13, 2022; view to the southeast)
Figure 5. Granitic metate recorded as Isolate 4101-1.
(Photograph taken on March 13, 2024)
Figure 6. Master valve at the eastern end of Site 33-
023901. (Photograph taken on March 13, 2024; view
to the west)
8 Site 33-023901 was found to be largely in the same condition as originally recorded in 2014, although the orange grove and its trees appeared to show signs of neglect, while the modern features in the eastern portion of the site, such as the driveway and the sheds, had fallen into disrepair. A notable discrepancy from the 2014 site record is the location of the master valve bearing the “SNOW MFG. CO., LA CAL” steel gate stamp. The site record indicates that it was found along Victoria Avenue, but the master valve encountered during the survey, which bears the same steel gate stamp and matches photographs in the 2014 documentation (Fig. 6), is located in the eastern corner of the property, 110 feet southeast of the end of Millsweet Place and 630 feet southeast of Victoria Avenue.
It is possible that a second master valve was once located along Victoria Avenue but has since been removed, but it seems unlikely. An update to the 2014 site record is presented in Attachment D.
No other cultural resources were encountered within the project boundaries during the field inspection, and no remnants of the buildings observed in the 1930s aerial photographs were found at their former locations. Scattered modern refuse was noted across the project area, but none of the items was of any historical/archaeological interest.
Conclusion and Recommendations
In summary of the research results presented above, Site 33-023901, consisting of the entire citrus grove in the project area and associated features, and Isolate 4101-1, consisting of a granitic metate, were the only cultural resources identified within the project area during this study. Site 33-023901 was previously determined not to be eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places or the California Register of Historical Resources or for local designation by the City of Riverside (McKenna 2014:28-39), and this study has not discovered any new information that would necessitate revisiting that conclusion. Therefore, the site does not appear to constitute a “historical resource” under CEQA provisions. Isolate 4101-1, a locality with fewer than three artifacts, by definition does not qualify as an archaeological site due to the lack of contextual integrity. As such, it does not meet the threshold of a potential “historical resource” and requires no further consideration in the CEQA compliance process.
Based on these considerations, the present study concludes that no “historical resources” are known to be present within the project area. Therefore, the final conclusion of the 2014 study that no known “historical resources” would be affected by the development of the property (McKenna 2014:39) remains valid and appropriate. However, in light of the recent discovery of the isolated metate in the project area from uncertain provenience and the presence of previously recorded prehistoric sites nearby (see McKenna 2014:16), CRM TECH recommends that all grubbing, grading, trenching, excavations, and other earth-moving activities reaching beyond the disturbed surface soil, generally speaking up to two feet in depth, be monitored by a qualified archaeologist to ensure the timely identification and, if necessary, protection of any buried deposits of prehistoric cultural remains. The monitoring program should be coordinated with the local Native American groups, who may wish to participate. Under this condition, CRM TECH further recommends that the proposed project may be cleared to proceed in compliance with the cultural resource provisions.
Thank you for this opportunity to be of service. Should you have any questions or need additional information, please feel free to contact our office.
9 Sincerely,
Daniel Ballester, M.S.
Field Director, CRM TECH
References Cited
Bricker, Lauren Weiss, and Janet L. Tearnen
2000 USDI/NPS NRHP Registration Form: Victoria Avenue, Riverside County, CA (NPS 00001267-0000, CHRIS Site No. 33-011361). On file, Eastern Information Center, University of California, Riverside.
McKenna, A. Jeanette
2014 A Cultural Resources Investigation of Assessor Parcel No. 136-220-016, TTM 36317, Located in the City of Riverside, Riverside Co., California. On file, Eastern Information Center, University of California, Riverside. (See Attachment A) 2019 TTM No. 36317 @ La Sierra and Victoria, Riverside, Riverside Co., California. On file, Eastern Information Center, University of California, Riverside. (See Attachment B) Google Earth
1994-2024 Aerial photographs of the project vicinity; taken in 1994, 2002, 2003-2006, 2009, 2011-2014, 2016-2020, and 2022-2024. Available through the Google Earth software.
NETR (Nationwide Environmental Title Research) Online
1948-2020 Aerial photographs of the project vicinity; taken in 1948, 1959, 1966, 1967, 1980, 1985, 1994, 1998, 2002, 2005, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2018, and 2020. http://www.historicaerials.com.
UCSB (University of California, Santa Barbara)
1931-1962 Aerial photographs of the project vicinity; taken in 1931, 1938, and 1962. https://mil.library.ucsb.edu/ap_indexes/FrameFinder/.
USGS (United States Geological Survey, U.S. Department of the Interior) 1901 Map: Riverside, Calif. (15’, 1:62,500); surveyed in 1897. 1942 Map: Riverside, Calif. (15’, 1:62,500); aerial photographs taken in 1939.
ATTACHMENT A
2014 CULTURAL RESOURCES STUDY