Mission Viejo : Compromise Resolves Indian Burial Matter

The county Planning Commission agreed Tuesday to allow representatives of the Juaneno Band of Mission Indians to enter the site of a residential development if human remains are found during construction.

The compromise represents “kind of a middle ground between what the Indians wanted and what the Mission Viejo Co. wanted,” said Mark R. Tomich of the county Environmental Management Agency.

The Juanenos had asked the commission to order that tribal representatives be allowed on the site during grading for the 1,240-unit project in northeast Mission Viejo in case Indian burial sites or artifacts were excavated during work, Tomich said.

But the Mission Viejo Co., builder of what is planned as a residential retirement community, said Indian representation was unnecessary.

“We are already required by state law and county conditions to have a count-certified archeologist on site during grading, and he is bound to stop grading if any human remains are found,” Wendy Wetzel, spokeswoman for the company, said.

Tomich said Juaneno representatives noted that the remains of 11 Indians were found in 1978 during excavation of the nearby Oso Dam, and they were concerned that more remains might be found during grading of the site, which is north of Portola Parkway and south of Oso Dam.

Tomich said the commission ruled that if additional human remains are found, the state Native American Heritage Commission will be consulted to help develop a plan to rebury the remains.