It only took a week.

[mithriltabby]

After finding skeletons in our back yard, obsessivewoman and I were somewhat worried that renovating our back yard could be tied up in bureaucracy long enough to prevent the work being done in time for rhylar and Mimsy’s wedding reception. The Native American Heritage Commission never contacted me, but when I called the coroner to inquire about the matter, she suggested I call them. I left voice mail on the NAHC number, but when they didn’t call back, I tried phoning up until I talked to a human being, who was able to refer me to Debbie Treadway, the scientist in charge of Santa Clara County (who is apparently kept quite busy in meetings a lot). I left her a message, and made followup calls until I got through to her live, at which point she was able to point me at Irene Zwierlein, chairwoman of the Amah Mutsun tribe (an Ohlone subgroup). Everyone at the NAHC was very friendly and easy to talk to; I think they’re just busy enough that interrupting them with a phone call is more effective than waiting for them to get to their backlog of calls to return.

Irene came out this morning to look at the site, and was very pleasant. She said that re-interring bones on our land would require that we note it on the deed, but it’s never been seen to affect property values. (There’s also an option for putting them in a different ground, but that would require a fair amount of paperwork with the county.) She had no trouble with letting the hardscaping proceed while the county paperwork is done in parallel; once the coroner has made her report, Irene can come out and reinter the bones with appropriate ceremony.

So, all in all, one week and a day from finding the bones to a good resolution.

Comments

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Excellent! Glad it was resolved so quickly and with minimum requirements for further fuss on your part.

[racerxmachina.livejournal.com]

Oh, thank goodness! I was concerned that it would be a real hassle for you guys. It's wonderful that it went along smoothly and with civility throughout.

[chuckles48.livejournal.com]

"note it on the deed"?

Why does that sound like an interesting boobytrap.

I presume reinterment under the pond? May I suggest _deep_ under, if possible, to minimize future issues?

[mithriltabby]

Boobytrap?

I’m planning on at least three feet under a spot where we’ll plant something distinctive. Reintering them under the pond would require that we postpone work on the pond until the county gets done with the paperwork.

[chuckles48.livejournal.com]

Hmmmm. Good thought. I'm mostly thinking in the "will not be disturbed, even if someone subsequently decides to redo the back yard" vein.

[mithriltabby]

About the only thing worth digging that deep is a swimming pool, and one of any useful size would utterly dominate the back yard.

[chuckles48.livejournal.com]

Or a basement, and I think you're far enough above the water table (barely, for that neighborhood), that it's feasible.

Just planning for the future in any case.

[kawgirl.livejournal.com]

I'm glad to hear that everything is getting done with a relative minimum of fuss.

Photos of yard

[danine.livejournal.com]

For those who have not seen the state of the yard, here are my photos from July 28. One photo clearly shows the circular hole in the side of the pond left by the removal of the bones, the other hole is obscured by shadow of a tree. My first dealings with Flickr, so let me know if this is not viewable.

http://flickr.com/photos/9415606@N05/sets/72157601213775032/