HAPB Minutes 05/19/202324.A.i
May 19, 2023
MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE COLLIER COUNTY
HISTORIC/ARCHAEOLOGICAL PRESERVATION BOARD
May 19, 2023
LET IT BE REMEMBERED, the Collier County Historic/Archaeological
Preservation Board in and for the County of Collier, having conducted business
herein, met on this date at 9:30 A.M. in REGULAR SESSION at the Collier
County Growth Management Division — Planning and Regulation, Conference
Room #61Oil 2800 Horseshoe Drive North, Naples, Florida, with the following
members present:
CHAIRMAN: Austin Bell
VICE CHAIR: Barry O'Brien (excused)
Zachary Burch
Candace Johnson
Janice OConnell
Elizabeth "Betsy" Perdichizzi
Henry "Hank" Sentowski
ALSO PRESENT: Ray Bellows, Zoning Manager
Timothy Finn, Planner III
Amanda Townsend, Director, County Museums
Suzanne Miceli, Operations Analyst, Zoning Division
Ailyn Padron, Management Analyst I, Zoning Division
Andrew Youngblood, Management Analyst II
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Any persons in need of the verbatim record of the meeting may request a copy of the audio
recording from the Collier County Growth Management Department.
1. Roll Call/Attendance:
Chairman Bell called the meeting to order at 9:33 a.m.
Roll call was taken and a quorum of six was established.
2. Additions to the Agenda
(No changes)
3. Approval of Agenda
Ms. OConnell moved to approve the agenda. The motion was seconded and passed
unanimously, 6-0.
4. Approval of Minutes: April 21, 2023
Chairman Bell said he had a few minor corrections:
• On page 4, it says Ms. Perdichizzi told the HABP; it should say HAPB.
• On one of the bullets, it says the downtown Marco museum. We don't really have
a downtown, so strike the word "downtown."
• Under the Craighead Laboratory, it says, "We work with them." He wanted to
clarify that "them" means Craighead Laboratory.
• On page 9, it says, "Ms. Townsend asked Ray whether we got a CO approved on
those plans"; it should say "COA."
Ms. OConnell said that on the same page, it says OConnell and should say Ms.
OConnell.
Ms. Perdichizzi moved to approve the January 20, 2023, minutes, as amended. Second
by Ms. OConnell. The motion passed unanimously, 6-0.
S. Old Business
A. Rosemary Cemetery (Plot W) historic designation [Amanda Townsend]
Ms. Townsend reported that:
• There are no setbacks. We're just going through the processes.
• She spoke with county Real Estate Services yesterday and they prepared quitclaim
deeds and sent them to the County Attorney's Office for review.
• They're working on identifying the proper descendants from the property owners
of record, the ones who should sign the quitclaim deeds.
• It gets complicated. There are different appointed personal representatives for Mr.
and Mrs. Pulling, Mr. Benson and possibly Mrs. Benson, so there are four different
people we have to identify who were once court -appointed PRs, Personal
Representatives, for probate of their trusts.
• Once the County Attorney feels comfortable that the right people are signing the
documents, we can start to move forward.
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We're having those conversations with the families and researching court records
to discover who the courts named as their personal representatives.
It's a process.
Chairman Bell noted that it's very complicated, but it sounds like you're malting
progress. We appreciate it. Any questions or comments?
[There were no further questions.]
B. Visit to Historic Sites
Mr. Bellows reported that:
. • This is a follow-up on our previous discussion under New Business, our trip to the
Collier Museum.
• In past years, the Preservation Board has taken field trips to actual historic sites to
see what can be done to help protect historic structures.
• The last trip was to the Olde Marco Inn on Marco Island, but we've taken other
trips to Everglades City, the old homes in and around there. There are some sites
on the National Register there. One of them is the county museum (Museum of the
Everglades).
• There are a lot of historic sites in these rural areas, such as Immokalee, so if we
can start generating a list of potential sites to see or sites that could be eligible for
historic designation, we can start working with those property owners to identify
those sites. We haven't done that in the past.
• It's time to get more proactive, get out there and see if we can generate some
enthusiasm for preservation.
Chairman Bell said that's a great idea. We discussed it a bit at our previous meeting, but
he's never been to all of those historic sites in Collier County. It would benefit us all to be
able to see those and potentially add new ones for historic designation. It sounds like
we're going to start with our June 16t' meeting field trip to the Collier Museum at
Government Center.
Mr. Bellows said we'll see how that goes.
Chairman Bell asked if the trips would be on their regularly scheduled monthly dates.
Mr. Bellows said we don't want to interfere with everyone's schedules, if possible, so we
can tie it in to a regular meeting date. That way, you'll know it's an (HAPB) date, but if
we need to change it to make it feasible, then we will.
A discussion ensued and the following points were made:
• Can we set the field trip dates immediately at one of our meetings and be
consistent with the time frame?
• We'll be meeting on the road and must record meetings anywhere we go as a
group.
• It must be an advertised meeting location to comply with the Sunshine Law.
• In the past, we've had mobile meetings at other locations.
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• The county has the ability to utilize cars, or we could carpool.
• In some cases, the meeting site may be closer to where somebody lives and in
others, we could meet here and then drive to the Collier Museum at Government
Center.
• It may be easier to tell everyone to meet there instead of here.
Action Item: Schedule meeting locations and times as soon as possible.
6. New Business
A. June 16 HAPB Meeting at Collier Museum at the Government Center
Chairman Bell said it looks like we can meet there, and everything needed is set up to do
a meeting there. Does anybody have thoughts about meeting at the Museum at the
Government Center? He's been there before, but not everyone has, so this is a great
opportunity.
A discussion ensued and the following points were made:
• The museum is a great place to start.
• It would be nice to get a better idea of the Craighead Lab.
• They can meet in the museum's lecture hall space, which has projection capability.
It does not record, but the court reporter can record.
• Ms. Townsend can take them on a tour of the site.
• We would advertise that the meeting will be held at the museum, not here.
• Suzanne Miceli (staff) will check with everyone to ensure it works for everyone
and will send an email as we get closer to next month's date.
B. Erie Drive Extension Petition Waiver of Historic Survey
Mr. Bellows reported that.
• This is a Collier County Petition Waiver application. It's in your agenda packet.
• Under our code, any site that comes in for rezoning or a conditional use requires a
public hearing to change the zoning requirements.
• If it's in an Area of Historical Archaeological Probability — a map that shows
archaeological sites that are known and recorded with the Florida Master Site File
or historic sites — or is in an area based on an archeological study that shows a high
potential of containing archaeological artifacts, we don't want to give a developer
carte blanche to go in there and level it.
• They need a Cultural Resource Assessment by a certified archaeologist to make
sure whatever they're proposing to develop doesn't impact any archaeological
sites.
• This application is a waiver from having to hire an archaeologist. They listed the
conditions and reasons why they should be exempt.
• [The applicant was not present at the meeting.]
Mr. Finn said on CityView it shows it's a PPL (Plans and Plats, a subdivision) Erie Drive
Extension. It's a request for a proposed PPL to construct eight single-family units, with
drainage and utility infrastructure to support the system.
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A discussion ensued and the following points were made:
• It's about five acres of undeveloped land.
• It's close to an Area of Historical Archaeological Probability, but not within one.
Sites like 8CR 241, which is southwest of the subject property and is an
archaeological site, but it's not in an Area of Historical Archaeological Probability.
That's considered an isolated find.
• The maps aren't 100% accurate for existing conditions, but it's like insurance and
there's no evidence of any prior development, according to the aerial view.
• One of the justifications for other waivers in the past is if you have a vacant,
isolated parcel surrounded by development on all four sides that had no
archaeological artifacts, then it was a good reason to submit a waiver.
• Surrounding properties were looked at for archaeological remains; none were
found.
• The county has always had a requirement that, if during construction, any kind of
artifact is found, they must stop work immediately and contact county staff so
someone can go out and investigate.
• It's all surrounded by residential.
• This is the first time the county has seen an applicant interested in this site or who
has filed an application. There may have been people interested and it may have
changed ownership, but this is the first application that has come to the
Preservation Board.
• It's a small parcel with no elevation visible. We only have a map and aerial photo.
• To determine topographical features, the county can use a LiDAR (Light Detection
and Ranging) map.
• If the HAPB is concerned, we can delay a vote and bring it back with a LiDAR
map.
• An applicant doesn't have to show up at the HAPB meeting for their application.
It's nice, but we don't know what the communications were with this applicant.
• A (3D) LiDAR map is like a satellite image of the county that uses infrared and
other systems to show elevation changes, lowlands and wetlands. It shows up in
color and higher lands show up as lighter colors.
• LiDAR maps are important if you're dealing with wetlands and rezone
applications. Applicants are usually trying to justify the development and will
show their LiDAR maps. County engineering staff will review those and say their
drainage and flow should go this way based on the LiDAR maps because that
shows you where the highlands and lowlands are and helps show where the flow
goes.
• Typically, we don't receive LiDAR maps for these waivers.
• It's slightly out of the HAPB's scope.
• There's an isolated find nearby on the map. Even though this is a low Area of
Historical Archaeological Probability, once it's disturbed and excavated, there's no
going back.
• Chairman Bell wanted to point out the isolated find because it's a new request for
some members. However, it's probably not even within the two miles on the map.
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• The nature of the isolated find is probably on the state's Master Site File; staff can
email it to members later. It wasn't done because it's not part of the site.
• It's probably very unlikely that there would be anything on these five acres.
• The gray area shows a flow way.
• Sites near water have a greater potential for archaeological artifacts and that's why
it shows up as an Area of Historical Archaeological Probability on our map. If this
application were within that, staff probably would not support a waiver and would
force them to submit a Cultural Resource Assessment.
Mr. Burch said he spoke to Ray before this meeting because he (Burch) has a close
relative who works for Grady Minor. Out of an abundance of caution, he'll abstain from
voting or anything on the issue.
Chairman Bell thanked him and asked if anybody is prepared to make a motion.
Ms. OConnell made a motion to accept the Erie Drive Extension Waiver Request for
Petition No. PL20220003965. Second by Ms. Johnson. The motion for a waiver passed
unanimously, 5-0; Mr. Burch abstained.
Mr. Bellows said we will bring the signature page to you to sign after the meeting.
C. Collier County Guide to Historic Sites Update
Chairman Bell said at the last meeting, we talked about possibly writing an introduction
or adding some context to the guide. There's an introduction based on previous materials
the lab wrote. Suzanne sent out an e-mail with some of that information on April 21. Has
anybody had a chance to review that?
Mr. Bellows told the IIAPB:
• After discussing it with Suzanne and Tim, we'd like to keep an ongoing list and
maybe make that part of our spreadsheet of our "to-do items" and always keep a
list of new sites we want to add to the guide.
• We should start providing a narrative of what makes it historically significant, so
when we update the guide, we'll have an ongoing list of those items.
• In past years, producing the guide took longer.
• We should be able to just take it to a printer, so if we keep a list, we can track and
update it better.
• It's on the agenda so we can add it to our spreadsheet as an ongoing item. That
way, whenever anybody finds something, we can put it on the list and bring it to
the Preservation Board for members to discuss.
D. Cultural Resource Assessment Survey for the Silver Strand Mine Property
Mr. Bellows said this is another example of where they would not qualify for a waiver.
They submitted a Cultural Resource Assessment and it's for earth mining excavation.
Chairman Bell told the HABP.
• The report was done by ACI and Maranda Kles maybe joining us on a Zoom call.
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• He reviewed it and everything was exemplary in the report.
• They did shovel tests at 25-meter intervals in areas that appear to be tree islands.
They didn't just do 100-meter or 50-meter intervals, they were focused on features
within the property that were more likely to be sites.
• They came back with 169 negative shovel tests and no historic resources
discovered.
• The report is cut and dry and means we can move forward and accept the results.
• Does anyone have comments or questions?
Mr. Burch said obviously, if they find anything, once they start, they would have to stop
and do further analysis or an investigation.
Mr. Bellows told the HAPB:
• A good thing about the process is they have an archaeologist conduct a study and if
there are recommendations to help preserve the artifacts or site, information is
presented to the HAPB.
• In the HAPB's vote, you can support, modify or alter that recommendation.
• Staff will take that to the Collier County Planning Commission for a hearing on an
earth mining application.
• The Planning Commission will know staff s and HAPB's recommendation about
archaeological artifacts and will make a recommendation to accept or modify
those.
• It then goes to the Board of County Commissioners for final adoption.
• The HAPB's recommendations are brought to the Board so they can decide
whether they should approve this excavation.
Chairman Bell asked if Ms. Kles had any additional comments about the report or wanted
to say anything else.
Ms. Kles said this site falls within the CERP area, the Comprehensive Everglades
Restoration Plan, which was developed by the Army Corps in 2008/ That's why we were
particularly interested in the tree islands, as those would have been slightly elevated areas
that Native Americans would have taken advantage of historically. That's what we really
tried to focus on, and we also made sure to look through the historic military maps and the
Copeland map from 1947 to make sure there weren't any other historic features that we
should be concerned about. To her dismay, we found nothing, but that's to the client's
advantage.
Chairman Bell said he wondered if they were surprised because it seemed like you might
find something, especially around the tree islands.
Ms. Kles said yes, but it's just south of the Immokalee area and it wasn't as widely
inhabited as we might think. We put forth a good -faith effort, but she's not surprised by
the results.
Chairman Bell thanked her for joining and commended her on the report. He asked if
there was a motion to accept the report.
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Ms. Perdichizzi made a motion to accept the Cultural Resource Assessment Survey for
the Silver Strand Mine Property. Second by Ms. Johnson. The motion passed
unanimously, 6-0.
E. Calusa Mound Discussion
Chairman Bell said we have a speaker in the audience on this, Andrew Blitch, who
reached out to him by email on May 5th and was concerned about the possible destruction
of a Calusa mound on a parcel near his property, so he (Bell) asked county staff if it was
OK if they had an email exchange. He reached out to Andrew on May 8th to say he could
speak to the HAPB about this at the meeting, so it was added to the agenda.
Mr. Blitch told the SAPB:
• In 1983, his father bought five acres in the Estates, off 13th Avenue Southwest, and
built a house:
• The neighbor next door, a friend who also had five acres, allowed us kids to play
on his five acres, but he never developed it and it's still not developed. It's all
wooded.
• About 20 feet past the property line, there's a raised section of land, about 20
inches off the ground, a slope that you must step up onto. It's about 20 feet by 20
feet, the size of this room. It's been there the whole time.
• His father always said it was a Calusa mound. The previous owner never
developed it and sold the property 1 %z to two years ago.
• The new owners recently had a survey crew there, but they haven't done anything
yet.
• He assumes they plan on building houses there one day.
• The mound is about 20 to 30 feet away from his father's property line and it's hard
to see if you're standing on his property because it's overgrown with cabbage
palms, Brazilian pepper and ferns.
• He wanted to know what could be done to alert the owner.
Mr. Sentowski asked what his concerns were about the mound.
Mr. Blitch said he doesn't want it to be destroyed and doesn't think the new owner knows
about the mound. His family is probably the only ones that know. What can be done
without the new owner being angry at him for denying him the ability to build on property
he just bought? He wasn't sure how to go about this. He fears the new owner will destroy
it when he clears the property to build his house. It doesn't affect his own property, but he
doesn't want an archaeological site to be destroyed.
Chairman Bell said we don't want archaeological sites to be destroyed, either. It's hard to
know, without knowing the property location, where it falls on the map and whether it's in
a known Area of Historic and Archaeological Probability. If they were to develop the site,
they'd have to come to the county to do that, but it sounds like you don't think it's known.
Mr. Bellows reported that:
• There are several scenarios we have to look at.
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• How is the property currently zoned and can they develop without coming to the
county? If so, then there's no application that would come to our attention
immediately.
• There is a requirement through the Building Department when they get a building
permit to warn people what to do if they find an archaeological artifact during
construction.
• A building permit doesn't require them to submit a Cultural Resource Assessment.
They don't check to see if they're in an Area of Historic Archaeological
Probability, but they get a notice to be alert for those things.
• If you have a concern, we can do more checking and let the Building Department
know this could be an issue and we could require them to come in.
Mr. Blitch said it's zoned Residential Estates and they can build a house and there's no
zoning they'd have to change, in his opinion. They don't know about it and have no clue
that it's there. That's why he's hesitant about it.
Mr. Bellows said if you can provide that address, we could look at it on our maps. If
there's an issue there, we'll let the building official know and they can flag the site.
Mr. Blitch said he'd have to look it up on the County Appraiser's website and can find it
really quickly.
Mr. Bellows said he could email him or Tim to follow up on it.
Ms. OConnell said it's a prudent thing to do. It's like a warning. This is a potential and
maybe if you wait until certain things fall into place, it's going to be too late. You never
know who's going to go messing around and disturb something that you're not going to be
able to take back. Further investigation would be prudent on our part to try to reach out as
delicately as possible, maybe in advance of any formal application filing, to make them
aware, strictly in the interest of wanting to preserve the site. Hopefully, they understand
where you're coming from.
Mr. Blitch said he has no idea and hasn't met them, but he hopes so.
Ms. Townsend suggested the property owner might be amenable to, at a minimum,
discovering if there's anything that can be learned from the site prior to its disturbance,
which could lead to a higher expense if professionals have to be hired. If the property
owner were cooperative, is there a resource like the Florida Public Archaeological
Network (FPAN) or someone who could provide them with free resources? We're
assuming he may be able to develop by right and we would be more successful providing
free resources rather than having them incur expenses.
Chairman Bell said that would be a good avenue to explore, especially with FPAN
because they deal with this. They've been monitoring sites after Hurricane Ian for erosion
and other emergency situations. They might be willing to "ground truth" if they had
permission to get on the property so a registered professional archaeologist could verify
that it's an archaeological mound.
Chairman Bell said yes, that's what they're there for, so that would be a good avenue to
explore. Any other ideas or comments?
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[Mr. Blitch said he'd look up the parcel while they're discussing this, and Chairman Bell
told him to go ahead.]
Mr. Sentowski asked who would initiate a preemptive strike letter to the new owner.
Would that come from your department, Ray?
Mr. Bellows said if we can get the folio number, we'll look it up now on our map, and if it
shows that it's in an Area of Historical Archaeological Probability, staff can send the
Building Department an e-mail saying this folio number is in an Area of Historical
Archaeological Probability and pursuant to the section of the code, this property owner
needs to address that by hiring a certified archaeologist to understand what's in there prior
to issuing a building permit. That will show up as a red flag in our CityView database, so
building permits don't accidentally get issued.
Chairman Bell said, and if it's not a known Area of Historical Archaeological
Probability?
Mr. Bellows said there's no need to do anything.
Chairman Bell said there's nothing we really can do.
Ms. Johnson asked if a find as significant as that has been discovered in an area that
doesn't have probability. That seems like a pretty significant archaeological site to not be
in an area of suspected probability.
Chairman Bell said at some point, all of these sites had to be discovered and the map was
built around them, grew over time and continues to be regularly updated as more sites are
uncovered. He doesn't have a simple answer.
Mr. Bellows told the SAPB:
• We have to rely on the maps, which show where existing and high potential sites
are.
• If a site is in a high potential area, at the time of zoning or planning, they would be
required to do a Cultural Resource Assessment or seek a waiver.
• The problem is that properties like the Estates were zoned prior to the county
adopting the Preservation Ordinance, so they weren't required to submit a Cultural
Resource Assessment back then.
• That's where the accidental discovery language comes in and the Building
Department can issue warnings, or in this case, a notice of a potential
archaeological site.
• We can flag the site and let the property owner know and work with them, but if
it's not in an Area of Historical Archaeological Probability, they just get the
standard warning: If you find anything during construction, you need to stop.
Ms. OConnell noted that it only goes out once they've applied for a building permit. Do
we have any examples of people going out, moving dirt and disturbing the site before they
go for a building permit?
Mr. Bellows said there are a lot of Code Enforcement cases, so there are a lot of people
who don't follow the rules.
Ms. OConnell said she was trying to delicately comment about her concern. Sometimes
people don't realize they shouldn't touch anything until they follow a certain process and
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they blaze a trail and start messing around with everything and then it's too late to take
anything back. It's great that we have safeguards in place, when they follow the proper
steps and channels, but when they don't, she doesn't know what remedy we have other
than a warning.
Mr. Bellows said there was a famous case in Chokoloskee, an investigation about six or
seven years ago. A property owner dug up a road that cut through a property that led to a
mound, which turned out to be an archaeological mound. Fortunately, a member of the
Preservation Board was notified, Patty Huff, and she raised the issue here and we put in a
stop -work order. That was a county road and it went through a lawsuit and they ended up
having to put the road back. They did a Cultural Resource Assessment. Unfortunately, a
lot of it was bulldozed a bit, but that's what happens when people don't go through the
county approval process.
Mr. Burch asked if it were possible for the county to send a letter to the registered
property owner from this board to say we've been made aware that there may be a Native
American burial mound on your property, something of potential significance, and we
urge you to exercise proper due diligence before you make any changes to the property. It
wouldn't be threatening or demanding that they do anything, just an awareness letter so
they know. That way, there's no lengthy process we have to go through. It's just a letter.
Ms. Perdichizzi said perhaps the letter could include Amanda's suggestion that they may
want to contact FPAN to conduct an assessment or dig test.
Mr. Burch said we could do that relatively quickly before any potential damage happens.
It's more of an awareness thing to tell them we want to share this information.
Ms. OConnell said she wasn't certain they should be issuing a letter before a staff
member can officially visually check and confirm what Mr. Blitch is saying.
Mr. Blitch said the Parcel ID/Folio No. is: 37928320000 (Leandros Investments LLC,
4660 First Ave. NW). He assumes they'd have to get the property owner's permission to
go onto the property to look, but they can go on his property, although it's hard to see
from there due to overgrowth.
Mr. Bellows told the IIAPB:
For purposes of informing the property owner of a potential archaeological site, we
can check our maps to see if it's in an Area of Historical Archaeological
Probability.
As a courtesy, this board can send an informational letter saying that it's come to
our attention that the site has an archaeological artifact and if there is any future
development proposed, we can provide some contact information about who to
deal with when addressing an archaeological site that's on our maps.
Ms. OConnell said that's probably all we're going to be able to do until they start a
formal process, but at least it helps put the property owner on notice and possibly spares
them some potential future action that could be quite costly.
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A discussion ensued and the following points were made:
• Mr. Bellows there's nothing worse than getting halfway done with a project, only
to be stopped because you've cut into an archaeological site, and then your work
crew has to stop. It's very expensive.
• Mr. Blitch said if they do get the property owner's permission, he'd probably have
to show them where it is on the five acres because it's hard to find on five acres.
• Mr. Bellows said the first step is a notification that there is potential and then it
would be flagged in our system as a potential archaeological site. When somebody
files a building permit, that's when the county will tell them they have to address it
and get a Cultural Resource Assessment done, and there's no way the county
would issue a permit until that's done.
• Mr. Blitch said there was a Planning Commission meeting about a property on the
same road yesterday, the general area, 13t' Avenue Southwest between Green and
Pine Ridge Roads.
• Mr. Bellows said he spent four hours at the meeting. It was near this property and
judged to be outside any Area of Historical Archaeological Probability, so it went
to the Planning Commission without us looking at it.
• The folio number Mr. Blitch provided is not in an Area of Historical
Archaeological Probability.
• Mr. Blitch said the property the Planning Commission considered is down the
road.
• Mr. Bellows said they can't hold this property owner up at the building permit
stage because there's nothing for us to say there is anything there. The only way to
prevent accidental discovery of artifacts during construction is when they're in
construction. We have no leverage to tell them to do something when they're
outside that area. Our code only addresses properties within an Area of Historical
Archaeological Probability. We can only enforce the accidental discovery during
construction.
• Mr. Blitch said he understood, but maybe they could still send a letter. He showed
them the property on a map, noting it was less overgrown when he was a kid. No
one's ever dug into it, so it's perfectly preserved, he'd assume. He said he hadn't
observed any artifacts, pottery or tools because there's vegetation and debris on top
of it.
• Ms. OConnell suggested he reach out to the new owner if the HAPB's hands were
tied.
• Mr. Blitch feared they'd be angry if they couldn't build on the property. The five
acres are broken into two 2%2-acre vacant lots and the mound is on one. He
assumes they could still build on it even if they had to protect that mound. They
could still build at the front of the property.
During a discussion with Mr. Bellows, the following points were made:
• All development has to meet setbacks, so the Estates area has a 75-foot front yard
setback and a 75-foot rear -yard setback and 30 feet on the sides.
• Depending on the size of the lot, in general there's plenty of room to build a house
and keep out of any potential archaeological site.
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• The question is how does the county or the Preservation Board inform somebody
about a potential when it doesn't show up on any official record?
• It would just be a courtesy letter that says, "Please be advised that there may be an
archaeological site on your property." We could leave Mr. Blitch's name out of it.
It would be a letter from the Preservation Board saying the property owner might
want to explore that before getting too far along with development plans. That way
they could design their house away from that.
• Does the county or board have a precedent for this or is the board stepping outside
its scope and setting a bad precedent?
• This is a public meeting, so Mr. Blitch's concern about retaliation is possible if
someone researches the minutes.
• The HAPB has reached out to property owners before to ask them if they're
interested in participating in a preservation program and provided them with
informational documentation. This would be similar, and we'd provide the rules
and regulations of our Land Development Code, which addresses when the HAPB
takes official action.
• If the HAPB wanted to take official action to historically designate a site, there's a
process to send certified mailings to a property owner and provide notice. We
could invite them to this meeting so they can participate in a discussion about
whether a historic designation should be made. That way the property owner
knows up front all along.
• The first few times the Preservation Board tried to designate a site where the
property owner did not seek the designation, we presented it to the Board of
County Commissioners and they said they would not designate a site unless the
property owner wants to participate, so we typically don't do that anymore.
• This would be more informational, so there's no problem letting a property owner
know that they may have an archaeological site on their property.
Ms. Perdichizzi said it's a good idea to let them know because they might be proud to
have an archaeological site on their property and they'd want to preserve it. She proposes
that the HAPB sends the property owner a letter about a potential site and if they want to
investigate further, they can contact FPAN to possibly test it and provide them with
information.
Mr. Bellows said the Preservation Board would have to make a motion to vote to have an
informational letter sent out to that property owner.
Ms. Perdichizzi made a motion to send an informational letter to the property owner for
Folio No. 37928320000 to inform them of a potential archaeological site on the property
and provide resources to investigate it further. Second by Mr. Burch. The motion
passed, 4-2; Ms. OConnell and Mr. Sentowski voted nay.
A discussion ensued over how the letter would be drafted by staff, reviewed by the HAPB
and whether it would be signed by the chair.
Mr. Blitch said he could come to meetings about this if it's discussed further.
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Chairman Bell thanked Mr. Blitch for joining them and bringing the site to their
attention.
Action Item: Staff will draft a letter to the Property owner of Folio No. 37928320000,
telling the owner about a possible archaeological site on the property and resources to
investigate that, such as FPAN.
7. Review of Project and Activity Log
[The board already discussed Rosemary Cemetery above; nothing further.]
8. Public Comments:
None (see Calusa mound discussion above)
9. HAPB Comments
Mr. Burch said a lot of us were at the Centennial event in Everglades City and the next
day. Amanda did a great job, especially in Everglades City, as did the other speakers.
Mr. Bellows said it was a really great presentation.
Mr. Burch noted it was a really good event and a great time for everyone to celebrate the
county's Centennial on both days, but especially the one in Everglades City.
Chairman Bell apologized for not being able to join them at the event because his child
was sick. He came the next morning and was prepared with some remarks, but the meeting
went in a different direction. He wanted to acknowledge the role county staff plays in
historic preservation and the remarkable job they do keeping the HAPB on track and
providing them with all the knowledge they have.
Mr. Bellows thanked him for that.
Mr. Sentowski said he constantly drives by a potential developed site on Santa Barbara
and Davis Boulevard by the YMCA where they're busting up the concrete again and
again. Can you provide a little background on that site?
Mr. Bellows told the IMPB:
• That property is a Planned Unit Development and is zoned for mixed -use,
commercial and residential.
• The county has a process that requires a Site Development Plan before anybody
can clear, fill or build on the site and anything they do must be provided on the
Site Development Plan.
• They provided a Site Development Plan for a small, minor structure and they were
allowed to bring in fill because it's way below flood elevation.
• Unfortunately, the property owner wasn't diligent, and let the person leasing one
site on the property to bring in a lot of fill and he turned it into what looks like a
landfill.
Mr. Sentowski said he drives by and sees more trucks coming in with more stone work to
be cut up and crushed. He wondered if he was taking that from another site and using that
site as a quarry.
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Mr. Bellows said the neighbors filed Code Enforcement complaints and the original
assessment was that there are no rules that say that somebody wanting to fill their land
couldn't bring in rock and crush it to help fill it, but when that assessment was made, Code
Enforcement closed the case, and then it kept steamrolling. Fortunately, there is now new
ownership and they're cleaning it up, but it takes a while. There have been three or four
Board of County Commissioners meetings to address the issue. Unfortunately, they
brought it in so quickly and it takes a long time to clear the site.
10. Adjournment
The next HAPB meeting will be held at 9:30 a.m. on June 16, 2023, at the Collier
Museum at Government Center.
Ms. OConnell moved to adjourn the meeting. Second by Ms. Perdichizzi. The motion
passed unanimously, 6-0, and the meeting was adjourned.
There being no further business for the good of the County, the meeting was
adjourned by order of the chairman at 10:40 a.m.
HISTORIC/ARCHAEOLOGICAL PRESERVATION BOARD
OX4� 6Z4 't
Austin Bell, Chairman
These minutes were approved by the board on , as presented (check
one) , or as amended
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