(A) Any qualified professional archaeologist who proposes to excavate an archaeological site shall apply to the Planning Director for an archaeological excavation approval. Applications for archaeological excavation approvals shall be in a form approved by the Planning Director.
(B) Every application for an archaeological excavation approval shall contain the following information:
(1) The name, address and qualifications of the responsible archaeologist;
(2) A description and map of the exact location of the site to be excavated;
(3) A specific project termination date, not to exceed one year. Any written report required as a condition of the approval shall be filed with the Director within one year of issuance of the approval. This report shall be available for review only on a need to know basis, in order to keep known sites confidential. If the plan is to be made available to the general public it will not include the specific location of any archaeological resources. Confidential reports shall be noted as such on the cover;
(4) A statement of the goals of the excavation project, and the methods and techniques to be employed in the excavation and analysis of the data and a research design as set forth in county guidelines available at the county’s Planning Department;
(5) Plans to ensure that the artifacts and records will be properly preserved for scholarly research and public education, and that the Native American artifacts will ultimately be disposed of in a manner satisfactory to the Native American Heritage Commission or its designee;
(6) A plan for disposing of any Native American human remains that are discovered on the site in a manner satisfactory to the native American Heritage Commission or its designee; and
(7) A statement of reasons why excavation of the site will be of value to local Native American groups or to humankind generally.
(C) Any archaeological excavation application shall be reviewed by the Planning Director or his or her designee. The approval shall contain whatever conditions the Planning Director, after consultation with local Native American Heritage Commission and/or the local historical society determines to impose in order to promote the purposes of this chapter. The conditions shall include but not be limited to an agreement to provide a list of all items removed, the date of removal and the present location of the items. The list shall be signed by the permittee. The Planning Department shall forward the list to the California Archaeological Site Inventory. The archaeological excavation approval may also include a provision requiring publication of the data and report according to current professional standards.
(D) The Planning Director may issue the approval authorized by this section on an emergency basis, without requiring the detailed application form, the consultation process, and the written approval conditions provided for in divisions (A), (B) and (C) of this section whenever there exists, as to a specific site, an immediate and clear danger that artifacts, culturally significant materials or any information that might be derived therefrom, will be destroyed or lost due to natural or human causes before the normal archaeological approval process could be completed. All appropriate scientific methods shall be used during such emergency excavations, and any artifacts or materials recovered shall be disposed of as provided in division (B) of this section.
(1966 Code, § 5B-9) (Ord. 610, § 9)