Battle Over Development plans for ancient American Indian site
Story-Date: 02:17 a.m. PST Monday   , December 29, 1997

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Battle Over Development plans for ancient American Indian site



SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. (AP) -- Retail developers have encountered
stiff opposition to their project to build a hotel and stores on an ancient
American Indian burial site.

Though small pieces of clam and oyster shells are some of the only scraps
of evidence remaining, the 2 1/2-acre site was once a central point of
Indian activity.

Radiocarbon tests indicate the site was inhabited by humans from as recent
as 450 years ago to more than 5,000 years ago. And human remains have been
uncovered just a few feet under the site's surface, prompting
environmentalists to lobby for the site's preservation.

Yet, in the spring, the Arizona-based SunChase development company expects
to begin construction of a hotel and retail project on and around the site.

Local environmental groups recently pressured the developer to alter
its plans, which the company did. New plans include a landscaped park on
part of the site according to Dennis Breen of Sterling Pacific Management,
manager of the property. Also, only the edge of the project would rest on
the area identified as being formerly occupied by the Sipliskin tribe, a
branch of the Ohlone.

"We think this maintains the integrity of the site, while allowing the
development... to move forward," Breen said.

That concession may not be good enough for local environmentalists, who now
want the entire site left alone.

"We think the area should be left completely as is and not changed one
iota," said David Schooley, founder and president of San Bruno Mountain
Watch, which claims 2,000 members. "This is a cemetery for Native
Americans."

Scientists have concluded the area may be the oldest archaeological site on
the Peninsula. A study of the area done in 1989 at the request of the
original developers of the project determined the site to be significant
under state and federal standards. It is therefore eligible for nomination
to the National Register of Historic Places, the report says.

In addition, state law requires that if American Indian bones are found at
a site, the state Native American Heritage Commission must be notified.

"I understand that Native American remains have been found on San Bruno
Mountain, but so far we have not been notified," said Debbie Treadway, a
spokeswoman for the commission.

South San Francisco officials have hired an archaeologist to confirm the
original report, said Allison Knapp, a planner with the city.



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