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KITTITAS COUNTY <br />COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT SERVICES <br />COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT SERVICES BOARD OF COUNTY <br />COMMISSIONERS <br />2023 STUDY SESSION STAFF REPORT <br />STUDY SESSION DATE: October 9, 2023 <br />TOPIC; Cultural Resource Reports <br />ACTION REQUESTED: Authorize CDS staff to engage with the Colville Tribe on <br />revising the Cultural Resources reporting criteria. <br />LEAD STAFF: <br />Jamey Ayling, Planning Manager <br />RECOMMENDATION: <br />Authorize CDS staff to engage in discussion with affected tribes and DAHP on a compromise <br />with Cultural Resources Survey requirements. <br />BRIEFING SUMMARY: <br />• Currently, the Colville Tribe is requesting cultural resource surveys on nearly all permit <br />applications; <br />• Staff desires negotiating inadvertent discovery plans for small projects. <br />• Alternatively, the tribe can conduct the surveys with the county obtaining access from <br />permit applicants. <br />BACKGROUND: <br />As part of project review, most planning applications require some level of notification and <br />request for comments. As projects increase in complexity, the number of comments tend to <br />increase and become more specific. Recently, within the last six to nine months CDS staff has <br />noticed a trend with the comments as they relate to cultural resource requirements. Whenever a <br />notice is sent to the Colville Tribe on a project, we tend to get the same scanned letter in return. <br />The letter is appreciated and in no way are we trying to downplay the importance of protecting <br />cultural resources, however, there is a large economic impact to requiring such a study on small <br />projects where the likelihood of discovering any artifacts is unlikely and could be addressed by <br />requiring an inadvertent discovery plan be put in place. Staff is unaware of any artifacts that <br />have been discovered through any of the recent cultural resource surveys that have been <br />conducted. These studies have proven to be an upfront delay on the project and money spent on <br />a survey to turn up no results that could have been put into the project to keep costs down and <br />make housing closer to affordable. <br />Page I of 2 <br />Community Development Services "Work Session Staff Report", 2023 <br />