Rohnert Park Update

As I posted back in August (http://rml-sulumhasscientia.blogspot.com/2007/08/rohnert-park-federated-indians-of.html) the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria efforts towards building a casino development up in Rohnert Park would be worth watching as it is a perfect example of how local governments and the general public do influence such endeavors and might possibly reflect what may or may not happen in our valley should the Chumash ever seek to expand.

Here is the latest development up in Rohnert Park, a community of about 40,000 about 50 miles north of San Francisco.

A former Petaluma City Council member is leading an effort to place an advisory measure on a 2008 Sonoma County ballot regarding possible construction of the casino and resort complex in Rohnert Park.

Attorney Mike Healy is planning to draft the measure concerning Graton Rancheria tribe’s plans to build a $450 million complex west of Highway 101 in Rohnert Park. The measure would be similar to the one he drafted in 2006, in which 79 percent of Petaluma voters opposed the possible building of a casino in southern Petaluma.

Only this time, residents of the entire county, not just one city, would vote on the measure.

“There was talk about putting an advisory measure on a Rohnert Park ballot, but the city can’t do so due to an agreement with the tribe,” he said.

After the measure is drafted, it can be placed on a ballot if approved by the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors, Healy said. The measure also could be put on a ballot through a petition.

Healy expects that the federal and state governments would pay close attention to the results of the measure.

“They both play roles in approving or disapproving casinos,” he said.

The measure probably won’t be ready for the February 2008 ballot, but could be on the June or November ballot, Healy said.

Sonoma County Supervisor Mike Kerns, who hasn’t spoken with Healy about the possible advisory measure, reconfirmed the board’s opposition to a casino in Rohnert Park, and said he “assumes that most people would be against creating a casino” in a vote, but he questioned whether such a measure would be put on a county ballot and is concerned about the costs involved.

“I’m willing to discuss such a measure, but it seems to me that the vote be a symbolic gesture, without any teeth, and could be a waste of time,” he said. “And it could be costly to put it on the ballot — the (Sonoma Marin Area Rail Transit) sales tax measure in 2006 cost the county $200,000.”

“Congress gave the tribe the right to buy the land, and took out the no-gaming clause,” he said.

Many local residents have expressed concerns that a casino and resort in Rohnert Park would exacerbate environmental, traffic, water shortage and crime problems.

“For people who don’t live in that immediate vicinity, traffic would be one of the biggest problems,” Healy said.

Each day, the complex would generate some 18,000 vehicle trips, the equivalent of an entire lane on Highway 101, according to a county assessment.

Assemblyman Jared Huffman, D-San Rafael, claims that the tribe doesn’t have a right to build the casino, anyway, because the California constitution gives the state jurisdiction over all its land unless an area was left in the control of a tribe when the state was formed or unless the state formally cedes jurisdiction to the federal government. Greg Sarris, chairman of Friends of the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria, refutes Huffman’s claim, saying that state law does not supersede federal law.

Local residents are concerned that opening a casino in Rohnert Park would open the door for one in southern Petaluma. The Dry Creek Rancheria Band of Pomo Indians, which operates River Rock Casino in Geyserville, purchased land there in 2005. Although the tribe is using the land for agriculture, it applied for the federal government to take it into trust, which could allow a casino to be built there.

“This county doesn’t have the resources to support two major casinos,” said Bill Kortum, a former Sonoma County supervisor. “And the governor (Arnold Schwarzenegger) has the power to say no. He has said that if a community doesn’t want a casino, he won’t let it be built.”

Friends of the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria claim that the tribe has worked to mitigate impacts of the proposed complex in Rohnert Park. The group contends that the site was selected after considerable consultation with county and city representatives, and that it is collaborating with the county on an extensive environmental review, which is expected to be finalized in April. The land could be taken into trust after environmental issues are addressed.

“Much of the opposition to the tribe’s plans is based on hysteria and misinformation,” said Susan Moore, president of the support group. “The tribe has been trying to do everything right during this process.”

In 1920, the federal government recognized the Graton Rancheria Tribe — consisting of Coastal Miwok and Southern Pomo Indians who came to Sonoma and Marin counties several centuries ago — by buying a 15-acre tract of land for it near Graton. The tribe’s land was split among three members, all of them now dead, when Congress abolished 41 of California’s rancherias.

The tribe’s federal recognition eventually was restored, and in 2003 it partnered with Station Casinos of Las Vegas to buy 360 acres west of Rohnert Park, and announced plans to build a casino.

“This tribe had everything taken from it,” Moore said. “Over 80 percent of its children drop of out of school by the ninth grade, and most of their parents don’t have high-paying jobs. By building the casino, the parents want to give their children a chance, but they also want to contribute to the welfare of the entire county.”

Under an agreement with Rohnert Park, if the complex is built, for 20 years the city annually would receive $5 million in general funds and $4 million in charitable giving for education and other city priorities, as well as money to help address drug and gang problems and nearly $18 million in one-time funding for roads and improvements, Sarris said.

The support group asserts that the complex wouldn’t be merely a casino: It would include a hotel, restaurants, a spa and many types of entertainment. The group claims that the tribe would offer several thousand new jobs, and has voluntarily entered into enforceable agreements with labor unions.

And in September, Moore announced that the tribe might build a hospital in Rohnert Park to help address medical needs of Sonoma County residents if and when Sutter Medical Center in Santa Rosa closes.

Article:
http://www1.arguscourier.com/article/20071121/NEWS01/71120033