PRESERVATION DOCUMENTS:
We were originally prohibited from publishing these documents due to our participation in the Sec 106 Historic Preservation Review and concern for the security of Native American burial sites and other archaeological resources. Now that the consultation process has closed and the site "secured", indeed destroyed, we offer these public documents for your information.
Preservation Documents:
VIEWSHED ANALYSIS - Waterfront Development Corporation - This amateurish WDC document attempted to establish that the proposed development would have no adverse visual impacts. It was rebuffed by the later Determination of Adverse Effects.
02/27/06 - WDC Viewshed Analysis
03/26/06 - LBH Comment on Viewshed Analysis
HARBOR SURVEY - AMEC for Poe Companies - This report eliminated the Harbor as a potential Historic Register candidate. We vehemently protested the methodology and the conclusion. Our opinion has not changed.
03/22/06 - AMEC Harbor Survey
04/18/06 - Protest Letter to Harbor Survey
AREA OF POTENTIAL EFFECTS DETERMINATION - The U S Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) - This document defines the area that will be affected by the proposed development. It is used to create the geographic template for the required determination of adverse effects on historic resources within the viewshed.
04/27/06 - Draft Area of Potential Effects Determination
06/30/ 06 - Comment on Potential Adverse Effects
FINAL DETERMINATION OF ADVERSE EFFECTS - The U S Army Corps of Engineers - This document defines the effects that the proposed development will have on the neighboring historic districts and other archaeological and historic resources listed on or eligible for the National Register of Historic Places.
08/25/06 - Final Determination of Adverse Effects
THE MEMORANDUM OF AGREEMENT - This document is the culmination of the National Preservation Act Sec 106 Review Process and stipulates the measures to be taken by the developers to insure compliance with the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA).
08/25/06 - Draft MOA #1
09/07/06 - WDC Comment on Draft MOA #1
09/06/06 - LBH Comment on the Draft MOA #1
This is the first draft MOA clearly documented the appropriate stipulations required to mitigate damage to the existing historic resources present. This document required the overall design to be historically relevant and more significantly, required proactive discovery of all human burials and investigation of other archaeological resources known to exist in the area. With a few minor requests, the citizen consulting parties accepted this version as generally acceptable.
The developers felt otherwise, refused to comply, and began a concerted campaign of political pressure and appeasement to avoid any proactive mitigation other than that originally required for the failed and obsolete Falls Harbor development of 1994.
09/21/06 - Draft MOA #2
09/28/06 - LBH Comment on Draft MOA #2
This version shows the result of heavy political pressure on the USACE to excuse the developers from doing what had been previously determined as appropriate. This pressure was primarily brought to bear by WDC and their political allies. The alarming erosion of previous determinations prompted the citizen consulting parties to seek relief from the superior federal agency through appeal to the American Council for Historic Preservation (ACHP). The ACHP supercedes the USACE in preservation matters.
10/30/06 - COE Cover Letter to Final MOA #1
10/30/06 - Final MOA #1
This Draft totally gutted the essence of the original Draft MOA to the point that the developers would not be required to do any proactive discovery of human burials and other existing archaeological resources would be generally ignored. After receiving the "Final MOA". We were informed that our request to the American Council on Historic Preservation (ACHP) would be be honored and the ACHP would enter into the consultation process. The ACHP is a major signatory and charged with overseeing the Sec 106 Process as it pertains to compliance with Federal Regulations. As a result, this Final MOA was now a Draft MOA.
11/02/06 - COE Cover Letter to Draft MOA #3
11/02/06 - Draft MOA #3
We received this nearly identical copy of the previous version and were asked to comment. It seems the pressure had finally gotten to the Corps and their documentation and deliveries were now arriving almost daily via Federal Express as compared to the electronic means we had become accustomed to. The communications now seemed rushed and were extremely difficult to digest given the lack of clear revision information and short comment submission deadlines. It was obvious a deadline had been imposed and the process was being pushed to its practical limits.
11/02/06 - COE Cover Letter to Final MOA #2
11/28/06 - Final MOA (Draft #4)
This is the gift that the U S Corps of Engineers presented to the developers over repeated and concerted protests by the citizen consulting parties. Although it did contain token concessions for continued participation by the consulting parties, especially the Native American Tribes, the preservation stipulations had been truncated to serve the developers best interests. Nothing was offered in the public interest.
There is a huge amount of additional material in various formats to organize. More documents will be added soon.
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