Cultural Resources

GOAL 22. Identify, preserve, restore, and interpret cultural resources[6] in Mono County.

Objective 22.A.

Provide a comprehensive approach to cultural resources management.

Policy 22.A.1. Establish a Cultural Resources Management Program.

Action 22.A.1.a. Develop a Cultural Resources Management Ordinance that includes criteria, standards, and guidelines for identifying, preserving, and protecting the county's cultural resources.

Action 22.A.1.b. Establish a Cultural Resources Management Commission to administer the Cultural Resources Management Program, to identify cultural resources, to apply for cultural resources grants, to act as a liaison with federal, state, and local agencies involved in cultural resources management, and to review development proposals affecting significant cultural resources.

Action 22.A.1.c. Consider membership in the California Preservation Foundation and the National Trust for Historic Preservation to keep apprised of pending legislation, workshops, publications, available funding, educational opportunities and incentive for implementing historic preservation programs.

Policy 22.A.2. Establish a Local Mono County Historic Register of historical or architecturally significant sites, places, historic districts or landmarks.

Action 22.A.2.a. Develop criteria in cooperation with other federal, state, and local agencies to determine which cultural resources are significant.

Action 22.A.2.b. Develop procedures in the Cultural Resources Management Ordinance for the preservation and protection of significant resources, including guidelines for the use of mitigation measures to address the impacts of development on cultural resources.

Action 22.A.2.c. Prioritize sites to be nominated to the National Register of Historic Places and/or as California Historic Landmarks or Points of Historical Interest, as well as routes to be nominated for National Trails designation or the California Trails System.

Action 22.A.2.d. Make recommendations to the Board of Supervisors concerning the local designation of cultural landmarks and districts.

Action 22.A.2.c. Adopt an ordinance establishing that buildings on the Mono County Historic Register shall be deemed “qualifying structures,” eligible to use the State Historical Building Code pursuant to Section 18955 of the Health and Safety Code.

Eligibility criteria for listing shall be as follows:

A property is eligible for consideration to be listed on the Mono County Register if it meets one of the following criteria:

1. Buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places, and/or the California Register of Historic Places shall be automatically eligible to be included on the Mono County Historic Register;
2. It exemplifies or reflects significant elements of Mono County’s cultural, social, religious, economic, political, engineering or architectural history;
3. It is identified with historic persons or with important events in local, state or national history;
4. It embodies distinguished architectural characteristics valuable for a study of a period style or method of construction or is a valuable example of the use of indigenous materials or workmanship;
5. It is representative of a notable work of a master builder or architect.

Policy 22.A.3. Obtain funding to implement the Cultural Resource Management Program.

Action 22.A.3.a. Apply to the State Office of Historic Preservation for Certified Local Ordinance Status and Certified Local Government status.

Action 22.A.3.b. Consult with federal, state, and nonprofit groups concerning the availability of grants and funding for cultural resources preservation and management. Seek funding from available sources.

Action 22.A.3.c. Consider using historic preservation to bolster applications to fund transportation projects including bicycle/pedestrian pathways, grants, etc.

Policy 22.A.4. Encourage private preservation and conservation efforts.

Action 22.A.4.a. Contact owners of privately owned cultural resource sites to discuss long-term plans for the sites and the possibility of obtaining grants or loans for restoration.

Action 22.A.4.b. Encourage productive and economically attractive uses of historic properties and structures.

Action 22.A.4.c. Provide technical assistance to private owners of cultural resource properties wishing to preserve, protect, or restore their properties.

Action 22.A.4.d. Consult with Mono County Economic Development Department to maximize potential advantages of historic preservation of cultural resource properties.

Policy 22.A.5. Encourage a coordinated and cooperative approach to cultural resources management.

Action 22.A.5.a. Work with appropriate federal, state, and local agencies in the development and implementation of the Cultural Resource Management Program.

Action 22.A.5.b. Implement procedures for consulting with local Native American groups and with the California Native American Heritage Commission to ensure that federal and state requirements concerning the preservation and protection of Native American remains are met. Integrate consultation procedures with CEQA requirements.

Action 22.A.5.c. Adopt provisions in the Cultural Resource Management Ordinance to ensure that traditional Native American religious and cultural practices are protected.

Action 22.A.5.d. Support efforts to gain tribal recognition for the Mono Lake Indian Community. (See Mono Basin Plan: Page 29: Goal 3; Objective A; Policy 5; Action 5.1)

Objective 22.B.

Identify and inventory cultural resources in Mono County.

Policy 22.B.1. Work with private land owners to conduct a comprehensive inventory of cultural resources on private lands.

Action 22.B.1.a. Work with federal, state, and local agencies to analyze current data on cultural resources in the county, to develop a work program for a cultural resources inventory on private lands in the county, and to coordinate with inventory data on public lands.

Action 22.B.1.b. Investigate cooperative approaches to conducting a cultural resources inventory.

Action 22.B.1.c. Seek public involvement in the inventory process.

Action 22.B.1.d. Seek funding and establish procedures for an ongoing update of the inventory.

Objective 22.C.

Preserve, protect, and restore (where appropriate) the cultural resources of Mono County.

Policy 22.C.1. Future development projects shall avoid potential significant impacts to cultural resources or mitigate impacts to a level of non-significance, unless a statement of overriding considerations is made through the EIR process.

Action 22.C.1.a. Future development projects with the potential to significantly impact cultural resources shall provide an analysis of the potential impact(s) prior to project approval. Examples of potential significant impacts include:

1. disrupting or adversely affecting a prehistoric or historic archaeological site or a property of historic or cultural significance to a community or ethnic or social group, or a paleontological site except as a part of a scientific study; and/or
2. conflicting with established recreational, educational, religious or scientific uses of the area.

The analysis shall:

1. be funded by the applicant;
2. be prepared by a qualified person under the direction of Mono County;
3. assess the cultural resources in the general project vicinity;
4. describe the impacts of the proposed development upon cultural resources within the project site and on surrounding areas; and
5. recommend project alternatives or measures to avoid or mitigate impacts to cultural resources.

Mitigation measures shall be included in the project plans and specifications and shall be made a condition of approval for the project.

Action 22.C.1.b. Develop criteria in cooperation with other federal, state, and local agencies, to determine which cultural resources are significant.

Action 22.C.1.c. Develop procedures in the Cultural Resource Management Ordinance for the preservation and protection of significant resources, including guidelines for the use of mitigation measures to address the impacts of development on cultural resources.

Action 22.C.1.d. Prioritize sites to be nominated to the National Register of Historic Places and/or as California Historic Landmarks or Points of Historical Interest, as well as routes to be nominated for National Trails designation or the California Trails System.

Action 22.C.1.e. Make recommendations to the Board of Supervisors concerning the local designation of cultural landmarks and districts.

Policy 22.C.2. Explore all available measures, including the purchase of easements, dedication to the County, tax relief, the purchase of development rights, the formation of a local land trust, and the consideration of reasonable project alternatives in order to avoid development on or adjacent to culturally sensitive sites.

Policy 22.C.3. Establish buffer zones around significant cultural resource sites to protect the integrity of the resource, as well as the integrity of the setting.

Action 22.C.3.a. Work with the State Department of Parks and Recreation to address compatible land uses adjacent to State Historic Park properties.

Action 22.C.3.b. Encourage the State to purchase properties adjacent to State Historic Park properties in order to prevent impacts from future adjoining incompatible uses.

Action 22.C.3.c. Support the acquisition of areas with cultural resource values by federal or state land management agencies or land conservation organizations.

Action 22.C.3.d. Protect existing open space and/or designate or acquire open space around identified cultural properties to provide buffer space and to protect historic settings.

Action 22.C.3.e. Encourage other federal, state, and local agencies, as well as private individuals and organizations, to provide buffer zones around cultural properties.

Policy 22.C.4. Restore and maintain significant cultural resource sites.

Action 22.C.4.a. Adopt policies and standards in the Cultural Resource Management Ordinance for the maintenance and restoration of significant cultural resources.

Action 22.C.4.b. Establish a fund for the purchase, maintenance, and restoration of significant cultural resources.

Action 22.C.4.c. Study the potential of amending the General Plan to establish a cultural resource overlay designation and/or local cultural resource or historic districts. Parcel owner consent shall be obtained prior to rezoning property for historic preservation or listing on County register.

Policy 22.C.5. Implement incentives to encourage private preservation and conservation efforts.

Action 22.C.5.a. Develop tax incentives for the preservation or faithful restoration of properties with identified cultural resource value. Consider implementation in Mono County of the Mills Act; 1986 Tax Reform Act, Marks Historical Rehabilitation Act, among other tax incentives.

Action 22.C.5.b. Adopt the State Historic Building Code, in lieu of the Uniform Building Code, for significant historic structures.

Action 22.C.5.c. Establish requirements in the Cultural Resources Management Ordinance for compatible alterations and additions to historic structures.

Action 22.C.5.d. Allow minor variations from land use designation requirements (e.g., setbacks, parking standards) to maintain the historic quality of cultural properties.

Action 22.C.5.e. Consider adopting fee waiver provisions to include waiving development permit fees for site review, site development, and conditional use permits for work done on Mono County Historic Register and National Register structures that is consistent with the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Treatment of Historic Properties with Guidelines for Preserving, Rehabilitating, Restoring and Reconstructing Historic Buildings.

Action 22.C.5.f. Consider reducing or waiving building fees for structures using the State Historical Building Code.

Action 22.C.5.g. Demolition Permits: require approval of a new development plan and issuance of required Grading and/or Building Permits and review by the Historic Preservation Commission or documentation of an imminent safety hazard (as defined by the Health and Safety Code) prior to issuance of a demolition permit for buildings with historic designations. The Historic Preservation Review Commission shall also review all demolition permits for buildings 50 years of age or older in any zoning district or a cultural resources study shall be required prior to approval of a demolition permit.

Objective 22.D.

Interpret and make accessible to the public cultural resources in Mono County where feasible and appropriate.

Policy 22.D.1. Develop cooperative interpretation and education programs on cultural resources in Mono County.

Action 22.D.1.a. Work with federal, state, and local agencies and organizations to inventory existing interpretive and educational programs and to develop additional interpretive and educational programs, including living history programs.

Action 22.D.1.b. Utilize handouts developed by the USFS, the BLM, and the State Department of Parks on the restrictions on gathering artifacts or damaging cultural properties and the penalties involved in violations, and shall make these handouts available at existing visitor facilities.

Objective 22.E.

Promote Mono County's cultural resources, when feasible and appropriate.

Policy 22.E.1. Highlight Mono County's cultural resources, when feasible and appropriate, in promotional materials.

Action 22.E.1.a. Work with federal, state, and local agencies and organizations to develop a list of which cultural resources and activities in the county can be promoted without adverse harm to the resource.

Action 22.E.1.b. Encourage the USFS, the BLM,, local Chambers of Commerce, and the Town of Mammoth Lakes to include cultural resources and activities in promotional materials.

Action 22.E.1.c. Encourage local communities and Chambers of Commerce to develop and promote local historically oriented special events.

Action 22.E.1.d. Encourage local communities and agencies to support and promote traditional folk arts such as Native American arts and crafts and traditional Western crafts.

Action 22.E.1.e. Study the feasibility of establishing a County historic designation program, with roadside markers.

Objective 22.F.

Set an example for cultural resources management through proper private and public stewardship of the county’s cultural resources.

Policy 22.F.1. Promote cultural resources management practices by demonstrating proper stewardship of the County’s cultural resources.

Action 22.F.1.a. Retain the Mono County Cultural Resource Commission as an advisory agency to review projects on or involving County property, with the potential to impact cultural resources.

Action 22.F.1.b. Enlist the Mono County Cultural Resources Commission to inventory all County-owned properties more than 45 years old.

Policy 22.F.2. Administration of the actions listed in this Element is the shared responsibility of the Board of Supervisors, Community Development Department, and the Mono County Cultural Resources Commission with the Community Development Department serving as the primary administrator at the direction of the Board of Supervisors. Cooperating agencies include the Mono County Economic Development Department, the Mono County Historical Societies (various) and the California Office of Historic Preservation.

[6]In Mono County, cultural resources include buildings, sites, structures, objects and districts of interest to Mono County, the region, California and the nation. The term "cultural resources" includes both archaeological and historical resources.