Chumash Council Rebukes MGM Ranch Developer for Excavation

A Chumash Indian group has criticized a developer for allowing excavation at an archeological site on the former MGM Ranch.

Indians who visited the ranch last weekend found an eight-inch-deep trench at a site the Chumash consider one of the most significant in the Conejo Valley, said Richard Angulo, chairman of the California Indian Council Chumash.

“The site was disturbed and left open,” Angulo said. “It should have been covered up.”

The property is the site of the Rancho Conejo development, a large housing and industrial complex to be built by Shapell Industries.

Stephen C. Reddy, an attorney for the Indian council, said a preliminary investigation of the site indicated no burial grounds were disturbed. However, Shapell has promised to investigate whether artifacts were taken, Reddy said.

Officials for Shapell were unavailable for comment.

The Chumash council and the Sierra Club are suing Thousand Oaks and Shapell in an effort to preserve archeological and environmental resources on the 1,862-acre development site.

They say the property should not be disturbed until the lawsuit is resolved.

Indian activists say the developer will destroy significant artifacts if it proceeds with a plan to build 1,000 houses, 400 apartments and a 102-acre industrial park.

The council has challenged a study by Shapell’s archeological expert, who argues that the artifacts can be dug up and saved in a museum.