SEAL BEACH : Archeological Firms to Review Projects

Three consulting firms have been chosen to help city officials determine how new developments affect the city’s “archeological resources.”

The consultants were selected from among seven firms last month by a special panel that included members of the city’s new Archeological Advisory Committee. The City Council approved the selections last week.

The firms are Chambers Group Inc. of Irvine, Environmental Research Archeologists of Los Angeles and Interdisciplinary Research Inc. of Altadena.

The city will call on the firms to inspect areas where new developments are proposed and report on whether each project would harm anything of archeological or historical significance.

Such a procedure was mandated by the City Council last year when it approved new archeological rules, which included the formation of the archeological advisory panel.

The council action came after much debate over a proposal to build homes on the Hellman Ranch property off Seal Beach Boulevard. Some claimed that the land might once have been an Indian burial site.

Chambers Group will handle the first archeological review, Unocal’s proposal to make modifications to a pumping station.