2014-069 - Final Environmental Impact Report No. 2014-01

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HARBOR BLVD. MIXED USE TRANSIT CORRIDOR PLAN FINAL FIR CITY OF SANTA ANA 5. Environmental Analysis CULTURAL RESOURCES The project area is in a highly urbanized, built out portion of the City and is developed with a mix of commercial and residential uses. The project area also contains the Willowick Golf Course (an operating 18- hole public golf course), Cesar Chavez /Campesmo Park, and Santa Anita Park. Existing uses are shown in Figure 3 -3, Aerial Photograph. Land uses surrounding the project area include a mix of residential uses, which vary widely in character and density and include single - family neighborhoods, apartment complexes, and mobile home communities. Native American Cultural Setting The following information on the timeline and cultures of Native American habitation of the project region is from the Archaeological Assessment prepared by Cogstone, Inc., in February 2013 for the Warner Avenue Widening Project. Timeline Three prehistoric periods are defined in studies of Native American habitation of the region. Milling Stone Period dates back well over 6,000 years ago (8,000 -3,000 radiocarbon years ago) and is characterized by plant collecting, hunting, and fishing. Sites from this period appear to be part of an expansion of settlement to take advantage of new habitats and resources that became available as sea levels stabilized between about six to five thousand years ago. Mortars and pestles were used to process plant materials. Most sites were in coastal areas. Around 3,500 years ago, there is thought to have been a shift to more reliance on hunting. Sites attributed to this period appear to have been occupied by small groups of people. Intermediate Period dates from roughly 3,000 to 1,000 years ago. Sites attributed to this period indicate an increased reliance on coastal resources and continued reliance on hunting and collecting. The bow and arrow was developed in this period. Mortars and pestles and bone tools appeared in greater quantities. Late Prehistoric Period dates from approximately 1,400 years ago to 1769. Villages tend to be larger, and there appears to be an increase in smaller satellite sites, established to support the main village and reflecting seasonal use of a particular area. There seems to be greater use of localized resources and increased trade and social interaction. There is an increase in the number of sites in the area, which some researchers believe is due to population increase. Settlement was expanded into the hills and canyons inland. Cultures The project region was inhabited by the Juaneno, and possibly the Gabrielmo, at the time of European contact. After European contact, many Juaneno at Mission San Juan Capistrano and many GabrieLno were induced to live at Mission San Gabriel in the present -day City of San Gabriel in Los Angeles County. Both groups became known by the names of missions built in their territories. The Juaneno and Gabrielino suffered population decline due to introduced diseases and restrictions on their native reproductive practices by the padres. Most mission Indians were trained as vaqueros (cattle herders), sheepshearers, farm laborers, and domestic laborers and continued in those professions after the missions were secularized. October 2014 Page 5.3 -3