MOUNT VERNON — A Mount Vernon resident is asking Mount Vernon City Council members to recommend the Municipal Planning Commission reconsider its decision regarding a housing development on Newark Road.
The commission approved the comprehensive plan for Liberty Crossing, a planned neighborhood development, on Jan. 12. City council has given two readings to legislation accepting the commission’s recommendation.
The third reading is on Monday night’s council agenda. Council will have a public hearing at 6:45 pm for comments.
Citing several areas of what he calls “materially false and misleading information” presented to the commission, Robert Everett wants the commission to reconsider its approval. Chief among his reasons is the assertion that there are no archaeological resources within the development area.
Over the years, Everett said he has found numerous artifacts on his property — the family farm — on the east side of Newark Road. He found more when he dug the foundation for a garage 10 or so years ago and when he planted his orchard.
“We found artifacts in every hole for every tree we planted,” he said. “Sometimes we’d pick them up, and sometimes we’d throw them back in the hole because that’s where they’re supposed to be.”
He also found surface artifacts on the west side of Newark Road when the Stuller family owned the land prior to 1992. RJM Land Development now owns the land, which is the site of the proposed housing development by Highland Real Estate.
Everett registered the artifacts with the State Historic Preservation Office in October 2022. The site is registered as Site #33-KN588.
“We found a boar’s tusk, we found a scraper tool within 5 feet of the boar’s tusk, we found meat-making tools indicating this is a work site,” he said. “That means people are living here.”
Other finds include core materials of Coshocton flint and white Hopewell flint.
“They would trade for the core materials and bring back the core and make tools,” he explained. “The white Hopewell flint came from that knoll right across from (my) driveway. That’s why the (site) boundary goes across the road.”
Everett also found a smooth, round rock that could be a nut cracker or a pestle.
“If it is a pestle, there’s a mortar out there somewhere,” he said.
Everett said that when he started describing his finds to the preservation officer, the officer referred to them as working man’s tools.
“I sent them photos, and that’s when the whole conversation started that this was an encampment, a potential village, a work site,” he said. “My initial thought was if you are going to destroy (the land), at least document it so history can be preserved. Then the archaeologists picked it up and said this is something important.
“I am not an archaeologist; I am an enthusiast. I don’t know what this stuff is. I am reacting to their ‘Oh, this is amazing,’ without really knowing why it’s amazing,” he said.
Everett said the site and artifacts are definitely prehistoric.
“Whether we have two or three civilizations represented, the state will know,” he said. “It’s possible we have two civilizations. I think that is part of the ‘wow’ on my initial submission of the pictures, but the state has to determine that.
“If they do think it’s multiple civilizations, it takes the importance to a new level,” he added.
Everett said the significance of his finds is that it is a “pretty clear documentation of a way of life.”
“It’s our history, it’s our culture,” he said. “It should not just be dismissed.”
Highland Real Estate previously commissioned an archaeological study of the development area through Weller & Associates. Weller’s report was a literature review that included documentation of archaeological resources to the west of the Liberty Crossing development.
The review showed no resources within the actual development area. However, Everett’s site, which is partly in the development area, was not yet listed in SHPO’s database.
The State Historic Preservation Office has recommended a Phase 1 Archaeological Survey to identify additional resources that might be located within the parcel.
Krista Horrocks, project reviews manager with SHPO, said site investigations are conducted in two ways: surface collection and a shovel test unit investigation.
Surface collection involves walking the parcel looking for artifacts. This method is quicker and cheaper than shovel testing and is usually done in agricultural fields.
Shovel testing involves digging up a 50-centimeter-by-50-centimeter area (roughly 20-by-20 inches) every 15 meters over the entire parcel. Archaeologists dig until they reach soil that is so old no human would have touched it. In Ohio, that depth is about 18 inches.
Horrocks said the developer is responsible for coordinating survey work; the SHPO does not have that jurisdiction. The SHPO gets involved if a project involves federal or state funding or permitting.
“To our knowledge, this project does not yet have state or federal involvement which would cause them to formally coordinate with our office,” she said.
Chris Kelley, community engagement director for Highland Real Estate, said that after discussion with Weller & Associates, an SHPO-approved consultant, “we have concluded further action is not required at this time.
“We understand and respect Krista’s recommendation as it’s a good representation of SHPO’s general interests as a historical preservation office. If there are significant remains discovered during engineering, that will, of course, trigger an appropriate response according to applicable laws and regulations,” he said via email.
Additional considerations
In addition to the discovery of prehistoric artifacts and activity areas within the proposed development site, Everett said in a Feb. 14 letter to council members that the assertions that the Mount Vernon real estate market is “hot” and there is a need for more housing are “seriously misleading and incorrect.”
He said housing prices in Mount Vernon are far below the average for the state, and housing appreciation in the city is among the lowest in the state.
He feels additional housing needs stemming from the “Intel effect” is speculation and points to other nearby communities that are more desirable for Intel employees and that already have or are building housing developments. He also says the planning commission applied a subdivision density standard that is more suitable to major urban areas, not a rural community.
Additionally, Everett said the proposed entrance to the development is unsafe, deadly, and reckless. He believes the only safe and competent access to the development is from Blackjack Road.
For all of these reasons, Everett believes city council should return the approval issue to the planning commission for reconsideration.
