It is the intent of this article to establish a Cultural Resources Protection Overlay District, within which construction and development activities requiring either a building permit, site plan approval, subdivision approval or authorization by a Town department head for Town-sponsored activities on Town land or in Town street rights-of-way, which activities exceed specific site disturbance thresholds depending on proximity to known burial and other sensitive sites, will be required to conduct appropriate cultural resource investigations for the purpose of identifying the existence of burial sites, human remains, associated funerary artifacts, and other culturally sensitive archeological sites; and to ensure that such sites, remains and artifacts are undisturbed to the maximum extent practicable.
The provisions of this article shall apply to lands in the Town, outside the Shinnecock Indian Nation and Incorporated Villages and encompassing properties in the following areas:
A.
Cultural Resources Protection Area A: areas of greater sensitivity encompassing the Shinnecock Fort site, Sugar Loaf Hill burial site and other areas of sensitivity identified in the "Phase IA Cultural Resources Survey for Shinnecock Hills, Sebonac and Environs," superimposed upon the Zoning Map of the Town of Southampton and delineated as "Cultural Resources Protection Overlay District Area A," as same may be updated from time to time as a result of new information from ongoing investigations.
B.
Cultural Resources Protection Area B: areas of general sensitivity beyond the more sensitive area of the Shinnecock Fort site and Sugar Loaf Hill burial site, superimposed upon the Zoning Map of the Town of Southampton and delineated as "Cultural Resources Protection Overlay District Area B," as same may be updated from time to time as a result of new information from ongoing investigations.
C.
Cultural Resources Protection Area C: inactive and/or abandoned family burial sites, identified on the "Town of Southampton Historic Cemetery List," superimposed upon the Zoning Map of the Town of Southampton and delineated as "Cultural Resources Protection Overlay District Area C," as same may be updated from time to time as a result of new information from ongoing investigations.
As used in this article, the following terms shall have meanings as indicated:
NEW YORK STATE STANDARDS FOR CULTURAL RESOURCE INVESTIGATIONS
Standards established by the New York Archaeological Council (NYAC) and adopted by the New York State Office of Parks Recreation and Historic Preservation (NYS OPRHP), as may be amended from time to time. These standards can be located at <https://nysarchaeology.org/nyac/professional-standards/>.
PHASE II CULTURAL RESOURCE INVESTIGATION: SITE EVALUATION
The primary goals of Phase II Cultural Resource Investigations are to obtain detailed information on the integrity, limits, structure, function, and cultural/historical context of an archaeological site sufficient to evaluate its potential National Register eligibility as more fully outlined by the NY Archaeological Council standards referenced herein.
PHASE III CULTURAL RESOURCE INVESTIGATION: DATA RECOVERY
Phase III Cultural Resource Investigations are required if an archaeological/historical resource listed on or eligible for inclusion on the State or National Register of Historic Places (SHPO) is identified and impacts to this resource by a proposed project are anticipated. When a data recovery plan is developed, it should be based on a balanced combination of resource-preservation, engineering, environmental and economic concerns. Mitigation may take the form of avoidance through project redesign, reduction of the direct impacts on the resource with data recovery on the portion to be destroyed, data recovery prior to construction, recordation of structural remains, and/or a combination of the above, as more fully outlined by the NY Archaeological Council standards referenced herein.
SITE DISTURBANCE
Disturbance, excavation or regrading of the ground surface associated with all forms of construction, development, landscaping, and vegetation removal in conjunction with any application to the Town Building Division or to the Town Planning Board for site plan or subdivision approval.
Portions of the
Overlay District are designated as Critical Areas of Particular Concern with Respect to Locations having Social, Cultural, Historic, Archaeological or Educational Importance, pursuant to the State Environmental Quality Review Act and §
157-10 (Environmental Quality Review, Critical areas) of the Code of the Town of Southampton.