Concerns grow over possible casino

Local officials say gaming operation would negatively impact traffic, crime, housing, fire protection

June 7, 2006

By DAN JOHNSON
ARGUS-COURIER STAFF

While the Dry Creek Rancheria band of Pomo Indians continues to insist that it intends to use a stretch of land between Highway 101 and the Petaluma River at Kastania Road for farming, concern is growing among local officials that they might use it to build a casino.

The tribe applied for the federal government to take the 277 acres of land into trust, which would allow a casino, among other things, to be built. The application, along with some 25 others from tribes, was filed before the April 15 deadline for trust applications.

"They are able to do agriculture on that land now, so why do they need to put the land into trust?" asked Sonoma County Supervisor Mike Kerns.

Tribe members would not discuss the issue, but have hired a spokesman, who refused to be identified, to answer questions.

"Right now, the tribe plans to use the land for farming. It wants to maximize the use of the land, and is keeping its plans open," the spokesman said.

But is it possible that at some point the tribe will choose to build a casino there?

"Right now, the tribe plans to use the land for farming," the spokesman repeated word for word, without elaborating.

On Thursday, Assembly Bill 2412, which was sponsored by Assemblywoman Loni Hancock, D-Berkeley, and would have required a local advisory vote before a casino opens, failed to clear the state Assembly's Appropriations Committee.

"This reinforces the fact that tribes have the right and responsibility to develop their own economic interests. The United States government gave them land, and it is outside of county restrictions," the tribal spokesman said.

Kerns is working on a resolution that would support Senate Bill 2078, sponsored by Arizona Sen. John McCain, that would amend the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act to stem the proliferation of gaming on newly acquired land, and House Bill 4893, sponsored by California Rep. Richard Pombo, which would require tribes seeking to acquire trust land for purposes of gaming to negotiate judicially enforceable mitigation agreements with counties as a condition of having trust land acquisitions approved by the Department of Interior.

The resolution will be given to the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors at its June 13 meeting, Kerns said.

He also wrote a letter to McCain suggesting that the April 15 deadline for trust applications be rolled back to March 29, thus nullifying the tribe's request regarding the Petaluma property.

"I am totally opposed to any project such as a casino, especially at that location," he said. "I will fight it with every resource I can find."

He described several possible problems that could arise.

"I can't imagine there being safe accessing and exiting the freeway, because of the high volume of traffic that already is there," Kerns said. "Water will be a big problem: When Dave Ford owned the property, he talked about putting a golf course in, but there wasn't enough water.

"And many people would become addicted to gambling, including a lot who can least afford to."

Jerry Corda, a dairy rancher and the chief of the San Antonio Volunteer Fire Department, also expressed concerns.

"As a rancher, I'm concerned that we would lose more ranches," he said. "And as fire chief, a casino would cause our call volume to go up. As it is, about 70 percent of our calls come from the Highway 101 corridor between Petaluma Boulevard South and the Marin County line, and a casino would increase the traffic and call volume there."

Sonoma County Sheriff Bill Cogbill also voiced concerns.

"I'm concerned that our quality of life would suffer, and that we would have an increase in crime and police activity," he said. "If I could hire more deputies, the impact on my department would be lessened, but if I couldn't, my staff would be taken away from addressing problems in the rest of the community.

"Regardless, casinos bring problems that don't go away, such as alcohol, drugs, money laundering and prostitution. The community would feel the impact."

The officials also discussed some of the positive impacts a casino could have, such as increased business, easy access to another entertainment option, and possible casino contributions to school programs and community service projects.

"It's a huge issue, and community members should be able to decide if the positives outweigh the negatives," Cogbill said. "A casino shouldn't be allowed to come into a community if people don't want it.

"As it is now, the community has some say in the matter, but can't really prevent a casino from coming here."

Two organizations -- the statewide Stand Up California and a county group, Stop the Casino 101 Coalition (www.stopthecasino101.com) -- have served to unite residents opposed to more casinos being built. The county group mainly has worked to prevent a casino being built in Rohnert Park, but also has actively opposed one in Petaluma.

(Contact Dan Johnson at djohnson@arguscourier.com)