Rohnert Park Update – Feds Take Land Into Trust For Tribe

Federal officials yesterday announced a decision to take 254 acres into trust for the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria. The land is just off Highway 101 in Sonoma County.

The tribe still needs a finalized environmental review, then must negotiate a state gaming compact with the Governor before it can build a planned 760,000-square-foot casino complex with a 300-room hotel near Rohnert Park. Local opponents have fought for five years against this casino.

In 2000, U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer backed restored tribal status for Graton in legislation that, unlike an earlier bill, allowed the possibility of a casino. The project has raised a furor from opponents in both Marin and Sonoma counties since the tribe picked out the land in 2003.

In a statement Wednesday, Graton chairman Greg Sarris played down the federal decision as "just one of several steps in the long process to reestablish a reservation and build a resort."

A 30-day judicial review period for the decision began Wednesday.

Marilee Montgomery of the Stop the Casino 101 Coalition, said the group planned court fights that could hold up the project for years, including a challenge to the federal government's right to take the land in trust.

"This is a big deal, but if it goes forward at all, it's going to be a real tough row for them to hoe," she said.

The land sits just outside city limits, a few blocks west of the freeway.

George Forman, an attorney for other tribes, said Graton faces a big hurdle in securing a state compact. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has run into roadblocks in the Legislature as he pushes gambling expansion for casino tribes in exchange for a bigger share of casino profits.

Assemblyman Jared Huffman, D-San Rafael, called the Graton bid "the purest form of reservation shopping" and pledged to fight any compact the governor signs.

"This is a unique situation, unlike many of the compacts we've seen where gaming has been proposed on legitimate tribal land," he said. "This is not legitimate tribal land."

Though Schwarzenegger has said he opposes urban gaming, under federal law the state must negotiate in good faith with tribes that have land eligible for gaming.

"If they approach us and they have eligible land, we would have to go into negotiation with them if they wanted," said spokesman Aaron McClear.

Full Article:
http://www.mercurynews.com/breakingnews/ci_9186610?nclick_check=1