Staff detected and acted on John Laing Homes' violation of Special Condition 19. This is not a mystery or an issue of vagueness. This Condition was definitively, deliberately and clearly placed on the Permit by the Commission at the Oceanside meeting on Oct. 11, 2000 at the urging of the late Acjachemen Elder Lillian Robles. Robles appeared despite her fatal illness, and took time from her supervision of the annual *Pilgrimage for the Ancestors* on that early October day.

As Lillian Robles stated, "...we have played by the rules, fought in the wars, payed our taxes...these burial grounds are all we have left...".

Seldom, if ever, has the Commission reacted to modify a permit based on oral presentations, such as they did when Robles testified. They responded to 'reasonably mitigate' any significant disrespect to our First Nation, which is in accordance their lawful powers under Sect. 30244. Hellman, and of course their successors JOHN LAING HOMES, were going to be required to respect the last cultural relics and burial grounds of the Gabrieleno/Tongva.

The Commission's intent was deciphered over a period of months, and finally approved at a meeting in Los Angeles on Thurs., June 14, 2001.

There was no way to derail the court's order that the 70 houses must be allowed under the permit given them by Rusty Areias' vote in Eureka, CA on Wed., Sept. 9, 1998. A lawsuit overturned the "golf course on top of the wetlands" based on Sect. 30233, but the law did not protect 18 acres of the Hellman mesa, even though it did protect Bolsa Chica's mesa. The importance of upland habitat in the health of the wetlands has only recently been recognized. A court decision based in part on Sect. 30240 extended protection to uplands such as Bolsa Chica's, but the Court and the Commission ignored that in the case of Hellman Mesa and its 9 acres of delineated raptor foraging area.

After this illegal permit was overturned, the Commission, as required, deleted the golf course, and expanded the wetlands to be saved to 157 acres including 9 pilfered acres of raptor foraging area, plus 13 acres of "nature park" at Gum Grove.

What about the graves? What the Commission could do, at Robles' urging, to salve its collective conscience:

A. Authorize an archaeological investigation, to try to find any "resources". They spun off a "mini- permit" to do this, but, as was likely, even a diligent long-planned study failed to find the ancestors;

B. Place Special Condition 19 on any bulldozing, so that if (as actually happened) the ancestors were "unexpectedly" discovered by bulldozers, they would be treated with respect. Special Condition 19 required, among other things:
1. Native American monitors must be present during all grading activities, and there must be communication with the Native American community and with on-site archaeologists;
2. If, unexpectedly, ancestors were uncovered, the Monitors have the authority to stop the bulldozing until a plan was devised;
3. These conditions must be included in all construction documents.

When the ancestors were bulldozed, instead of stopping, John Laing Homes continued to bulldoze. The Monitors were repeatedly ignored as they tried to enforce the Coastal Permit. When this finally came to the attention of the Coastal Commission, John Laing Homes still continued to ignore the Special Condition; finally,

"Monitors had to circle their cars and stand in the way of gigantic machines, angry threats to their safety, calls to arrest them for "trespassing" when they were summarily 'dismissed' for doing their job, and sneers and abuse from the angry straw-bosses of John Laing Homes".

John Laing Homes project manager, J. Madrid, now claims that "none of this happened", but, according to the staff report, Laing is STILL not willing to abide by special condition 19, which they dispute as to substance at this late date.

Whatever happened on the ground on site may never be proven; what is certain is that the project was shut down, and the guilty developer argues against the Permit, still not willing to
respect the ancestors.

Here is their excuse:

"...subsection F.1. does not apply because the discovered human remains are not archaeological features..."

Staff replies: "...The archaeological feature...is a burial ground. The NAHC Glossary defines 'feature' as '[a] large, complex artifact or part of a site such as a hearth, cairn, housepit, rock alignment or activity area'. A burial ground is an activity area. both the MLD and the NAHC support this position. Accordingly, the remains constitute a burial ground and therefore, subsection F.1. applies to the discovery of the remains...".

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JOHN LAING HOMES is stonewalling staff, refusing to comply, and hoping that the Commission will not extend the "Cease and Desist" order. If the Commission backs staff, and the wording of the Permit, then JOHN LAING HOMES is expected to come up with a "treatment plan" to re-inter the ancestors that they dug up, and any others discoverd in future excavation.

They should consider the plan approved by the Tongva,
http://SealBeach.org/map.htm

This plan asks for ORA-264, where most of the bodies were found, to be retained as a Cemetery, and some 7 houses moved to accomodate. This is not too much to ask, considering the blatant disregard in which JOHN LAING HOMES evidently holds the Coastal Act.

Should the Commission not back staff, and lets the Cease and Desist Order expire, bulldozing would resume on the project. It would take legal action to enforce the Special Conditions, with potential for irreversible damage to cultural resources in the meantime.

The light of publicity must shine on this decision, showing JOHN LAING HOMES to be flouting the law and disrespecting ancient Native American graves. Please attend the meeting, and/or send a letter using the utility on http://sealbeach.org/jlh.htm

/Doug
562-430-2495
or cell phone 714-496-1567

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