HUNTINGTON BEACH

Archeological finds at Bartlett Park could lead to excavations and possibly jeopardize the city’s plans to build a senior center and golf course on the site. Although city officials said they do not know what the environmental consultant’s findings mean for plans to develop the park, behind the Newland Center at Beach Boulevard and Adams Avenue, City Administrator Ray Silver fears the worst. In a report last month, he stated: “This preliminary discovery may make it impossible to use the site for a multipurpose senior center and may even put serious limitations on the site in terms of its use as a three-par golf course.”

Seashells found intact and above the ground suggest a Native American gathering site, but further tests are needed before the city can be certain, city senior planner Mary Beth Broeren said. No human remains, tools or pottery were discovered, but that is not surprising because no excavations have been made, she said. The shells indicate food that’s been left over, she said.

The exact location of the find is confidential, but there are three primary sites in the park that city consultant Sapphos Environmental Inc. is focusing on, she said. Most, if not all, of the park bluffs are potentially sensitive archeological areas. Excavations have been done in the park since 1935, unearthing Native American artifacts, tools and human remains.