SAN DIEGO -- A state commission on Native American heritage has ruled that the land where an East County reservoir is being built is a sanctified tribal cemetery and ceremonial ground, tribal officials announced Saturday.

The commission also voted to ask the state Attorney General's Office to take legal action to prevent further desecration of the land, said Robert Scheid, spokesman for the Viejas Band of Kumeyaay Indians.

The Padre Dam Municipal Water District has begun construction on its Padre Dam Ridge Hill project, consisting of a reservoir and pumping station on about two and a half acres near Lake Jennings Park Road and Old Highway 80, south of Lakeside.

Archeology experts hired by the water district said in a report that the reservoir site held high densities of Native American remains, pottery shards and grave goods "unparalleled in the San Diego County region," Scheid said in a prepared statement.

A San Diego judge issued a temporary restraining order last week, halting construction at portions of the site where the remains were found.

The matter came before the California Native American Heritage Commission Thursday in San Diego. After testimony from the water district, Viejas tribal officials and other organizations, the commission voted unanimously to declare the site a Native American ceremonial and burial site, Scheid said.

Scheid said the commission also recommended steps, including relocating the project. He said legal action by the state Attorney General may be necessary to prevent further desecration of the remains.

The Viejas Band will seek a preliminary injunction against the water district at a San Diego Superior Court hearing on June 25.

The Viejas Band were designated as the most likely descendents of those buried at the site more than 100 years ago. They hold the 1,600-acre Viejas Indian Reservation near Alpine, about 35 miles east of San Diego.