City supports more oversight for casino proposals

<p>The Petaluma City Council has signed on as a supporter of Assemblyman Jared Huffman's legislation calling for the state to consider local sentiment about where casinos are built.</p><!-- Nothing to do. The paragraph has already been output --><p>The council on Monday unanimously endorsed ACR 56, an Assembly resolution that suggests an advisory vote in the local jurisdiction where Indian gaming is proposed.</p><p>The bill, authored by Huffman, D-San Rafael, would also encourage the governor of California not to negotiate a gaming compact with a tribe seeking to build a casino until the land has been taken into trust by the federal government and until local support has been demonstrated.</p><p>In a 2006 advisory vote, Petaluma voters overwhelmingly opposed the possibility of a casino on land south of town owned by the Dry Creek Band of Pomo Rancheria.</p><p>The tribe, which operates River Rock Casino in Geyserville, has said it does not intend to build a casino on its Petaluma land.</p><p>— Argus-Courier</p>