Hotel could occupy Chumash Village site
Archeological study urged before Embassy Suites construction
By Bill Lascher 02/07/2008
Ragged and worn after years and neglect, the nondescript dirt lot at the corner of Figueroa St. and Harbor Blvd. a few blocks south of the San Buenaventura Mission hasn’t quite endured the test of time as well as the 225-year-old structure. Nonetheless, the lot may contain some of the richest artifacts left over from the Chumash village of Shishalop, which first drew Spanish explorers to the land that would become Ventura. Now those riches of the past may be threatened by the pursuit of future riches for Ventura.
“The site is extremely important,” said Roberta Greenwood, the founder of Greenwood & Associates, an archeology firm that has performed a number of major digs in Ventura. “It was probably Cabrillo’s landing point in Ventura and one of the earliest in California. It was a major village and at least one burial was known from there.”
Historic conservationists and a prominent member of the Chumash community want to ensure that developers looking to build a 189-room hotel on the site perform a comprehensive archeological survey there before construction starts. Such a move, they say, would allow site’s historic and cultural significance to be preserved and enable the developers — Grand Prairie, Texas-based T.M. Mian & Associates — to avoid delays further down the line.
Julie Tunamait-Stenslie, a Chumash decedent, Ojai resident, and a member of California’s Native American Heritage Commission (see “Saving Sanctity,” News, 11/21/07), said Shishalop was a large year-round-occupied village stretching from the river mouth to where the Ventura pier current stands and also inland, perhaps as far as the hills. She said the village was also a major port for people who took plank canoes to Hueneme, Mugu and out to the Channel Islands.
“We don’t’ really have much of it remaining,” Tumamait-Stenslie said. “A lot of it has been destroyed.”
The city and developers should do more than recognize the site with a plaque or other recognition, especially if any remains are found at the site, she said. If so, she said, the building plans should be altered so as not to disturb the remains.
Hotel projects of one form or another have been planned for ten years on the site, which held oil storage tanks for most of the 20th century. Mian and Associates’ current proposal would be branded as an Embassy Suites and its tentative design has been approved by Ventura’s Design Review Committee. A new hotel could generate millions of dollars for city coffers from transit occupancy taxes, and city leaders welcome the idea of new beds as the municipality scrambles pay for services in a weakening economy. Subject to the stringent requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), the current proposal must now face a full environmental review, including an examination of the project’s possible impact on archeological resources.
Alan Hurd, a regional vice-president for Mian and Associates, said his company has spent a lot of time over the past few months determining what archaeological work has already been done at the site. He said there haven’t been significant archeological challenges in past projects the company has done.
“Given the sensitivity of the site from both an environmental and historical perspective, as well as the history of the project since Mr. [Tahir M.] Mian has purchased the land, we are moving cautiously, and at this time, we are seeking consent that the planning commission will support the project in its current form,” Hurd said. “Once we have an indication of their support for the project, we will continue with the CEQA process.”
Hurd’s company has not yet conducted any surveys at the site, but he said the company has had preliminary discussions with Greenwood and Associates. He has also met with the San Buenaventura Conservancy, the Downtown Ventura Organization, the Albinger Archeological Museum, the Museum of Ventura County and other Native American and historical groups.
“Upon discovery of any items, we will work to ensure that anything that is uncovered at the site will be treated with the appropriate dignity and respect, and work with the local historical groups to ensure proper placement of the items,” Hurd said.
Patsy Stadelman, a Ventura city planner, said the city will look at how it has dealt with other similar projects and what sort of mitigation measures those have had.
“Our intention has been to preserve the resources and to treat the projects consistently with how we’ve dealt with other projects,” Stadelman said. The public will have a 30-day period to review the environmental review once it is prepared, then the city’s planning commission will vote on the project and any environmental or historical considerations the developers will have to take heed of.
Few know exactly what the site holds, and that’s exactly why it may be wise to conduct an extensive environmental review, said Stephen Schafer, a Ventura conservationist and photographer.
“This is the big one,” Schafer said. “It’s not the one you want to make a mistake on because there will never be another Shishalop village.”
Greenwood and Associates has done work in Ventura for more than 40 years, and the company did do some small work nearby in 1969 during a sewer project. A few artifacts were found then, but, Greenwood said, there has never been a proper excavation on the site because the oil drums were installed so long ago on the surface. On the other hand, the site is surrounded by the Ventura County Fairgrounds, a concrete promenade, Surfer’s Point and an apartment complex.
Greenwood said there are two options for how the site’s historic significance can be protected. An archaeologist could take time doing a careful excavation and preserve information at the site in connection with a Native American representative. Or, she said, monitors could observe construction while the hotel is built.
“That is never satisfactory where there is a known site,” she said. “It disturbs things, it covers things up.”
She echoed Schafer’s argument that all sides will be happier if they cooperate early on.
“If there is monitoring going on, and let’s say a bone is discovered or it’s a very important site, that developer is shut down,” she said. By working cooperatively, plans can be changed to account for any findings. “Usually it’s both time and cost-efficient to do it right in the first place. No developer wants to run into a stop order.”
Tumamait-Stenslie said if the city truly wants to preserve its cultural resources, it must have a broad outlook on history that includes Ventura’s original inhabitants.
“I love for people to come to Ventura,” she said. “I love them to be here, but I’m always for redevelopment in the sense of these older buildings sitting around and decaying, not being used, rather than taking over open space.”
She said it was important to know the names of the people who lived in Shishalop and to honor their memory properly.
“This was the place where they lived,” she said. “They can’t be disregarded and written off to make room for progress.”
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