PRESERVATION POLICIES

Policies for Preservation of Native American Mounds

These policies will allow for the proper care of the East St. Louis Native American Mounds which are buried at an average depth of 15'. At present, there are no guidelines that indicate the types of structures allowed on these specific sites.

The following ordinances are based on the probability and the quality of archaeological evidence. In general, Native American mounds and Native American artifacts take precedence when determining the type of construction and its location to the source of any discovery. From the center of each archaeological discovery, preservation zones radiate from 100 feet to a 1/4 of a mile. For Native American mounds the restrictions on construction are more severe than Native American artifact findings. More than likely, mounds and artifacts are closely correlated, and when artifacts and mounds are discovered in the same place, preservation guidelines will take precedence for the Native American mound. However, these guidelines will assume the possibilities for existence of major artifact findings outside of the mound structures.

There are different preservation zones for residential, commercial, and industrial structures. There are also regulations that restrict the construction for roads, parks, and other recreational areas. The factors used in determining these criteria are:

Nature of Disturbance- Anything that has the potential to affect the archaeological findings is a disturbance. A disturbance can be direct, as in the digging of for foundations, basements, utilities, etc. The disturbance may also be indirect through compaction of soil layers from built structures or chemical runoff from local factories.

Nature of Land Use- Land use can threaten archaeological findings because of the life span of their occupancy on that land. The degree of difficulty involved in their deconstruction may affect future plans for archaeological excavation. For example, mobile home parks are easily relocated and have a low impact on the land, versus a large factory which is mostly permanent or at least extremely difficult to move. It also has a greater impact on the land.

Depth of Artifacts- The depth and location of artifacts in East St. Louis is varied and largely unknown in many areas. Even Native American mounds can range from being twenty feet below the earth's surface to being a gentle rise, barely breaking the surface of the ground by a couple of inches. Once the depths of the site are determined, it is important to consider the size and type of constructions and plantings that may be acceptable. Obviously, these would have an impact on the land and the soils underneath the houses or trees. Such things as tree roots and building foundations could disturb underlying archaeological evidence.

Quality and Evidence of Remains- It only makes sense that quality and quantity of archaeological remains will be next to the larger mounds, and those artifacts and mounds that will most likely be in tact are probably on vacant land or are buried deep below the ground. The sites where there are more artifacts and higher level of quality should take a priority in preservation over others.

Sites Not Currently Located Inside Preservation Zones

1. Owner of property not wanting to build:

If a person already owns his/her property and has no desire to build any structures, and is not already in a boundary of another preservation zone, there is no need for archaeological investigation.

2. Owner of property wanting to build:

If a person already owns his/her property and has no desire to build a structure and is not already in a boundary of another preservation zone, there is need for archaeological investigation. The owner must have an archaeological consultation by an authorized archaeologist. They will determine how much testing should be done, such as core sample and/or contextual analysis of the site.

If archaeologists determine that the site has significant findings or high archaeological potential, then he/she will issue an ASEP test.

If archaeologists determine that there are no findings, or that the site has little or no potential, then the owner of the site may continue with any type of law abiding construction.

If the ASEP test is conducted and a score of 15 points or more results, then the owner must abide by the New Construction Regulations, otherwise, a score less than 15 points may continue with any type of law abiding construction.

3. Selling and purchasing of property:

It is the responsibility of the buyer of a piece of property to investigate the status of preservation marked for the property he/she desires.

The city archaeologists will assume overall responsibility for documenting any archaeological results and zoning locations, effective zoning dates, and costs incurred during site investigation. This information will be made available to the City Planning Commission and to the general public.

Archaeological Site Evaluation for Preservation (ASEP)

Diameter of Native American Mound:

1 - Below 15' in diameter or non-existant

2 - 15' - 49.9'

3 - 50' - 149.9'

4 - 150' - 299.9'

5 - 300' and over in diameter

Height of Native American Mound:

1 - Below 10' high

2 - 10' - 19.9'

3 - 20' - 29.9'

4 - 30' - 39.9'

5 - over 40' high

Depth of Native American Mound: (Post Disturbance)

1 - Deeper than 15' or non-existant

2 - 10' - 15'

3 - 3' - 9.9'

4 - 0' - 2.9'

5 - Above Grade

Proximity of Site to Other Mounds:

1 - More than 1/2 mile (2640') from a mound

2 - Between 1/4 mile (1320') and 1/2 mile (2640')

3 - 700' - 1319.9'

4 - 100' - 699.9'

5 - Closer than 100' to mound

Current Land Use: (considers easiest site to preserve)

1 - All road classifications

2 - Commercial / Industrial uses

3 - Multi-family residential units

4 - Single-family residential units

5 - Agricultural / Woodland / Vacant uses

Depth of Artifacts:

1 - Deeper than 30' or non-existant

2 - 20' - 30'

3 - 10' - 19.9'

4 - 3' - 9.9'

5 - above grade - 2.9'

Proximity to Other Clusters of Artifacts:

1 - More than 1/2 mile away

2 - From 1/4 to 1/2 mile

3 - From 700' up to 1/4 mile

4 - 100' up to 700'

5 - Closer than 100' to another cluster of artifacts

Quantity of Artifacts in Cluster:

1 - 5 or less artifacts

2 - Between 5 and 10 artifacts

3 - Between 10 and 20 artifacts

4 - Between 20 and 30 artifacts

5 - Over 30 artifacts

New Construction Regulations

Zoning Labels:

In accordance with the diagrams below these restriction zones have been developed with the following in mind:

2 - The potential for finding archaeological information is directly proportional to the proximity of the mound: The closer you are
to the mound means you'll find more archaeological information.

3 - Since mounds contain the most information and usually more artifacts, zoning ordinances for mounds will take precedence
over any conflicting zoning ordinances for artifacts.

A. Residential:

1. Single story slab units, mobile homes, & trailers:

a)Will not be allowed within 200' of known Native American Mounds.

b)Will not be allowed within 100' of known Native American Artifacts.

2. Any single-story residence not lying within category 1, two-story with or without basement, and any other larger single-family structure:

a) Will not be allowed within 300’ of known Native American Mounds.

b) Will not be allowed within 200’ of known Native American artifacts.

3. Any multi-family housing (including apartments, condominiums, town houses, etc.):

a) Will not be allowed within 400’ of known Native American Mounds.

b) Will not be allowed within 300’ of known Native American artifacts.

B. Commercial

1. Strip malls, shopping malls, and restaurants:

a) Will not be allowed within 400’ of known mounds.

b) Will not be allowed within 300’ of known Native American artifacts.

2. Individual shopping units

a) Will not be allowed within 400’ of known mounds.

b) Will not be allowed within 300' of known Native American artifacts.

C.Indudstrial:

1. Any business or company categorized as manufacturing or industrialized

a) May not be allowed within 1/4 mile of known mounds or Native American artifacts

D. Roads:

a) Areas within 400' of known Native American artifacts or Native American mounds will be limited to local roads
b) Roads will be placed for limited disturbance to Native American mounds
c) No roads will be allowed within 50’ of known mounds

E. Parks & Recreation:

1. Parks and areas of recreation will be designed for low impact on sites with known mounds and Native American artifacts

a) Parking lots and driveways will be made of crushed stone (paved surfaces require a more compacted subgrade)

b) Limited access trails should be mulched not paved

c) Trees are not to be placed on top of known mounds

d) Low impact plantings are required in areas of known mounds and Native American artifacts

BACK TO MAIN PAGE