§ 8178-3.2.2. Methodology.

a.

The Planning Division shall perform a preliminary assessment of the proposed project and all areas that will be disturbed and the depth of disturbance. As part of the assessment, the geologic formation in which the project shall be located, and its relative paleontological importance, shall be identified using the following table:

Table 1
GEOLOGIC FORMATION	TYPE	GEOLOGIC AGE	PALEONTOLOGICAL IMPORTANCE
Artificial fill	af	Holocene	None
Active beach deposits	Qb	Holocene	None. Deposits displaced or disrupted
Active coastal eolian (sand dune) deposits	Qe	Holocene
Active coastal estuarine deposits	Qes	Holocene
Active wash deposits within major river channels	Qw	Holocene
Wash deposits	Qhw1/ Qhw3	Holocene	None. Deposits disrupted or displaced
Alluvial fan deposits	Qhfy/Qhf/Qhff	Holocene	None. Deposits displaced or disrupted
Alluvial deposits and colluvial deposits	Qha	Holocene
Stream terrace deposits	Qht	Holocene	None. Deposits displaced or disrupted
Paralic deposits of the Sea Cliff marine terrace	Qhps	Holocene	Moderate
Landslides deposits	Qls	Holocene/Pleistocene	None Deposits displaced or disrupted
Paralic deposits of Punta Gorda marine terrace	Qppp	Pleistocene	Moderate
Undivided mass-wasting deposits	Qpmw	Pleistocene	None Deposits displaced or disrupted
Alluvial deposits	Qpa	Pleistocene	Moderate
Alluvial deposits	Qoa	Pleistocene	None. Deposits displaced or disrupted
Casitas formation	Qca	Pleistocene	Moderate
Saugus Formation	Qs	Pleistocene	High
Las Posas Formation	Qlp	Pleistocene	Moderate to High
Santa Barbara Formation	Qsb	Pleistocene	Moderate to High
Pico Formation	Tp/Tps/Tpsc	Pliocene	Moderate to High
Sisquoc Formation	Tsq	Pliocene/Miocene	Moderate
Undivided diabase and mafic hypabyssal intrusive rocks	Tdb	Miocene	None
Monterey Formation	Tmy	Miocene	Moderate
Topanga Formation	Tt/Tts	Miocene	Moderate
Conejo Volcanics	Tcv, Tcvab, Tdb	Miocene	None
Vaqueros Sandstone	Tv/Tvs	Oligocene	Moderate to High

 

* Table 1 Legend—Paleontological Importance:

Bureau of Land Management Paleontological Classifications:

Paleontological Resource, High—Geologic units containing a high occurrence of scientifically significant fossils known to occur and have been documented, but may vary in occurrence and predictability. Surface disturbing activities may adversely affect these paleontological resources in many cases.

Paleontological Resource, Moderate—Geologic units may contain vertebrate fossils or scientifically significant non-vertebrate fossils, but where occurrences are widely scattered. The potential for a project to be sited on or impact a scientifically significant fossil locality is low; however the potential still exists.

Paleontological Resource, Low—Geologic units that are not likely to contain vertebrate fossils or scientifically significant non-vertebrate fossils. Units are generally younger than ten thousand (10,000) years before present in sediments that exhibit significant physical and chemical changes. The probability for impacting vertebrate or non-vertebrate or plant fossils is low.

Paleontological Resource, None—No potential for geologic units to contain vertebrate fossils because the formation is Conjeo volcanics, granite or basalt, or the area that will be disturbed is imported or artificial fill.

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b.

The Planning Division shall utilize the results of its preliminary assessment as follows:

1.

No further assessment is required for the following areas unless important paleontological resources are discovered during earth moving activities:

• The proposed development is located on artificial fill, igneous or metamorphic rock.

• If the underlying geologic formation is located in an area of Quaternary Deposits (alluvium), Holocene and Pleistocene epochs, and has an importance rating of Low or None.

2.

An assessment of the proposed development, which shall be conducted by a qualified paleontological consultant or registered geologist, shall be required for the following:

• If the underlying geologic formation is located in an area of Quaternary Deposits (alluvium), Holocene and Pleistocene epochs, and has an importance rating of Moderate, Moderate to High, or High.

• If the underlying geologic formation is located within the Tertiary geologic period, Pliocene, Miocene, Oligocene epochs.

The assessment shall include literature and archival reviews at the appropriate museum (Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County or other curating facility), consultations with geologists and paleontologists knowledgeable about the paleontological potential of rock units present in the vicinity of the proposed project, and a field survey of the areas where earth-moving activities such as grading, trenching, drilling, tunneling, and boring are proposed.

3.

If the assessment determines that there is a potential for important paleontological resources to be buried at a depth beneath alluvium or artificial fill that will not be disturbed by earth-moving activities, documentation from a qualified paleontologist or registered geologist shall be submitted demonstrating that the project will have no impact on paleontological resources.

4.

Where as a result of the assessment, the qualified paleontological consultant, with approval by the Planning Director, determines proposed earth-moving activities have the potential to disturb important paleontological resources, the qualified paleontological consultant shall prepare a Paleontological Resources Monitoring and Mitigation Plan (PRMMP) that includes:

• Documentation of the location of recorded fossil sites within the area of proposed development;

• Documentation of other stratigraphic levels, as determined necessary by the paleontological consultant or registered geologist;

• Verification or modification of the level of paleontological importance assigned to each formation within the area of proposed development;

• Identification of any potential adverse effects from the proposed development on important paleontological resources;

• Evaluation of all mitigation opportunities pursuant to Section 8178-3.2.4, including siting and design alternatives to avoid impacting the resources;

• Identification of alternatives where there is a potential to impact important paleontological resources; and

• Procedures for preconstruction coordination including informing construction personnel of the possibility of encountering fossils, how to recognize paleontological resources, and proper notification procedures, discovery procedures, and where approved, sampling and data recovery, cataloguing, and museum curation for specimens and data recovered.

5.

The documentation or PRMMP shall be reviewed for adequacy by the Planning Director and shall be subject to approval as part of the permit application for the development.

6.

For those projects requiring a PRMMP, after all earth-moving activities are completed, a final report shall be submitted to the Planning Director for approval. The final report shall include but not be limited to the following:

• Documentation of the location of any paleontological resources identified during earthmoving activities;

• Description of the paleontological importance;

• The curation location; and

• Documentation of the monitoring activities.

7.

The qualified paleontological consultant shall inform the Ventura County Cultural Heritage Board of important paleontological resource discoveries.

(Ord. No. 4492, § 6, 6-21-2016)