Defense bill shields Petaluma from casino development

Buried in a 3,448-page defense spending bill that Congress passed last week was an early Christmas present for the city of Petaluma.

The $738 billion spending package included a measure authored by Rep. Jared Huffman, D-San Rafael, that creates a homeland for the Lytton Band of Pomo Indians near Windsor. Significant for Petaluma, the bill includes language that outlaws gambling on the reservation and any other land in Sonoma County that the tribe seeks to take into federal trust, the first step in establishing an Indian casino.

“Lands taken into trust for the benefit of the Tribe in Sonoma County after the date of the enactment of this Act shall not be eligible for gaming under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act,” the bill says.

Petaluma, which has a history of tribal lands on its flanks, lobbied hard for the language. A previous version of the bill stipulated that future Lytton lands in Sonoma County north of Highway 12 would be off limits to gambling.

“We were jumping up and down about the previous version of the bill. We thought that was painting a target on Petaluma’s back,” said Councilman Mike Healy, who testified before the Senate Indian Affairs Committee. “We wanted the language modified to say ‘all of Sonoma County.’”

Healy said the city was worried that the Lytton tribe could try and establish a casino in Sonoma County south of Santa Rosa. Since Rohnert Park already has the Graton Resort and Casino, Petaluma would be a likely target.

The bill, which President Donald Trump signed on Friday, restores territory to the Lytton tribe left homeless nearly 60 years ago, but made wealthy by proceeds from a San Pablo casino. That enabled it to purchase more than 500 acres on Windsor’s southern flank.

Sonoma County supervisors signed off in 2015 on an agreement that allows the rancheria to develop 147 housing units, a 200-room resort and a 200,000-case winery, with the tribe paying millions of dollars in fees and compensation in place of property taxes.

The Lytton tribe, which has about 300 adult members, has reached service agreements with Windsor schools and firefighters, both in exchange for substantial payments.

The tribe lost its homeland in Alexander Valley north of Healdsburg when its federal recognition was terminated in 1961. Recognition was restored in 1991, but the tribe regained no lands nor means of support. Revenue from the San Pablo casino also allowed the tribe to purchase the 564-acre Salvation Army property near Healdsburg for $30 million in 2017.

Margie Mejia, chairwoman of the Lytton Band of Pomo Indians, said the tribe is looking forward to living on their new tribal land.

“Our tribe has been very patient, decade after decade, waiting for the time when we could once again live together on our own tribal land,” she said in an email.

“Finally, that day has come. We look forward to creating a community where our families can flourish and where we can celebrate our common heritage. We are thankful to Congressman Huffman and the bipartisan support of congressional members who worked with us to reach this milestone.”

Huffman said in an email he was pleased with the measure that supports tribal housing and economic development “with strong environmental safeguards” and a prohibition on gambling.

He got the bill attached to the National Defense Authorization Act, a must-pass package that also includes funding to create a Space Force, a priority for Trump who signed it into law at a Friday ceremony at Joint Base Andrews.

The original bill, the Lytton Rancheria Homelands Act, was authored by Rep. Jeff Denham, R-Turlock, and introduced in 2017.

The bill failed to pass by the end of the 2018 congressional term. Denham lost a reelection bid that year, so Huffman took up the legislation this year.

“With the modified language, Petaluma got everything we wanted,” Healy said. “It means we don’t have to worry about this tribe.”

Petaluma has a history of opposing casinos near its city limits. In 2003, the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria proposed building a hotel and casino at Lakeville Road and Highway 37 at Sears Point, eight miles from Petaluma, but backed off after community opposition. After considering sites closer to Petaluma, the tribe ended up building the Graton Resort and Casino on 254 acres of land west of Rohnert Park in 2013.

Healy, an attorney who gave legal advice to a coalition trying to block the Graton casino, has denounced the practice of so-called “reservation shopping.”

Another tribe, the Dry Creek Rancheria Band of Pomo Indians, purchased 277 acres of land off of Kastania Road just south of Petaluma in 2004.

The tribe, which owns River Rock Casino in Geyserville, signed a deal with Sonoma County in 2015 that prohibits casino development on the land until at least 2025.

Healy said the city is keeping an eye on the Dry Creek tribe’s property.

“They still have their land and now great access to (Highway) 101,” he said. “It’s harder to get a second gaming facility.”

(Press Democrat Staff Writer Guy Kovner contributed to this report. Contact Matt Brown at matt.brown@arguscourier.com.)