County officials are still in the dark about whether the Dry Creek Rancheria Band of Pomo have submitted an application to declare their 277-acre parcel of land south of Petaluma as sovereign land. Many have long feared the tribe has plans to build a casino on the land, fears that were amplified with recent news that the tribe is struggling financially.
After submitting Freedom of Information Act requests to the Bureau of Indian Affairs' regional office last fall, Sonoma County Supervisor David Rabbitt said Wednesday that officials still haven't heard anything on the status of the tribe's application. Federal code states that agency's should respond to FOIA requests within 10 days.
"Part of what we're trying to change right now is that sometimes local jurisdictions don't even know, or are the last to know, that an application has been made," Rabbitt said. "Once we get a letter, they want comments within a pretty quick turnaround - 30 days. Thirty days to minimalize a large development on your doorstep is not really enough time."
The "fee-to-trust" land acquisition process enables the federal government to take property out of state and local control, and hold it in trust for a group or entity, such as the Dry Creek tribe. That group or entity then enjoys sovereign control over the land, making it impossible for local jurisdictions to have any say over what is built on the land, or to collect property and/or sales tax from businesses located there.
Petaluma and the county not only face losing oversight of the land if it is taken into federal trust, but they are also kept out of the loop during most of the opaque, bureaucratic process that leaves local jurisdictions with limited options to oppose any decisions.
"The BIA isn't recognizing the importance of local governments being in the loop," Rabbitt said.
Because of the lack of transparency and information from the BIA, Rabbitt has relied on conversations with the tribe's chairman, Harvey Hopkins, for updates on their application to put the land in federal trust.
Hopkins previously said he wants the land declared sovereign so the tribe can avoid paying taxes on it, not to establish a casino. The somewhat unusual process allows BIA staffers to work with tribes for months and even years to compile the elements needed to complete a fee-to-trust application, but local government agencies are only given a tight 30 day window to respond, which is why officials are eager to know its status.
Monitoring the tribe's application became even more essential with recent news that the tribe is struggling financially with its River Rock Casino.
The Geyserville casino expected to see a 30 percent drop in revenue after the posh Graton Resort and Casino opened in Rohnert Park last fall, but loses have been higher than anticipated. Hopkins told The Press Democrat that approximately 100 employees have left River Rock due to the new casino. The tribal government has been reduced by 70 percent, and "per capita" payments - made to Indian tribe members over the age of 18 from proceeds made of tribal land and businesses - have been cut in half.
With these recent financial woes, the tribe's intentions for the land are once again being questioned. And despite the tribe's past assurances that they do not plan to build a casino south of Petaluma, officials are still concerned.
If the land is declared sovereign, gaming could be a permissive use on the property, according to Cheryl Schmidt, director of Stand up for California.
"Once the land is in trust, (Hopkins) would still need the governor's concurrence to put a casino in that location," Schmidt said. "If they were able to get that land into trust before 2016 - the end of the current administration - it's quite likely that they could get (Secretary of the Interior) approval."
The Dry Creek tribe first purchased the Petaluma land in 2004, and though it already had River Rock Casino, it immediately began working on an application to build a class III gaming casino on the land. In a 2006 advisory vote, 79 percent of Petaluma voters said they were against any new casino developments.
In response in 2008, the tribe shelved its proposal for a large-scale casino complete with restaurants and thousands of slot machines, and signed an agreement with the County of Sonoma not to pursue gaming on the site until 2016.
Petaluma Mayor David Glass said it's imperative that city officials stay abreast of the issue and make their case against the tribe's application for trust.
(Contact Allison Jarrell at allison.jarrell@ar guscourier.com)
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