County lists 200 objections to casino

By BLEYS W. ROSE
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

Published: Wednesday, May 23, 2007 at 3:39 a.m.

An Indian tribe's gaming casino near Rohnert Park would bring nightmare scenarios of traffic congestion, floodwaters in residential areas and destruction of endangered species habitat, according to a draft of Sonoma County's assessment of a Graton Rancheria proposal.

Calling the proposed casino "the single most intensive development project ever undertaken" here, county officials say the eight-story casino and 300-room hotel would have far-ranging impacts.

"It is in a flood-prone area. It is in an urban separator. It has Las Vegas style night lighting," said Jeff Brax, deputy county counselor drafting the official response to a casino proposal by the Federated Indians of the Graton Rancheria.

Officials with the Indian tribe declined comment because the county's official response hasn't been released.

Leaders of the Stop the Casino 101 Coalition welcomed the county's assessment, saying it would buttress their impending court challenge to the casino's environmental report. They said their legal challenge will center on environmental issues as well as the tribe's right to conduct gambling on the site.

"It would cripple the overburdened transportation system relied upon by the county's residents, visitors and regional commerce, and aggravate demands for health, safety, and other crucial public services," according to the draft prepared by Brax.

Sonoma County's legal staff is finessing the wording of a document listing 200 specific objections to the casino to be filed by the June 4 public comment deadline established by the National Indian Gaming Commission. The commission must certify that it studied the environmental impact of the proposed casino before approving the project.

"There is a huge potential impact for a development this size that will impact this county for all time," said Supervisor Tim Smith, noting it would dwarf the residences as well as the commercial development on Wilfred Avenue near Home Depot.

County officials say the gaming commission's draft environmental impact statement is deficient because it failed to properly address issues such as traffic congestion, police and fire protection, compulsive gambling of patrons, land use and tiger salamander habitat.

Among its objections, the county review said:

The casino would generate 18,250 vehicle trips daily, or the "traffic equivalent to an entire lane of Highway 101 all by itself." The commission's report incorrectly assumes improvements on a Wilfred Avenue exit on Highway 101 will be complete next year, when 2011 or 2012 is more likely.

An influx of 28,000 casino patrons daily would generate social problems with compulsive gambling and drunken driving, as well as put increased demand on ambulance and public safety services.

The casino site lies within a flood-prone area with considerable risk of flooding because of flat topography and slow storm water percolation. County officials say the casino plan makes the situation worse by proposing nearly 23,000 truckloads of fill to lift the site above flood level.

"The proposed project would place a massive amount of fill on the site and engineering calculations are necessary to demonstrate that the fill would not adversely affect drainage on nearby properties," the county's draft statement says.

No matter what agreement the casino has with the city of Rohnert Park, the Wilfred Avenue site lies in county jurisdiction.

"The project would be the antithesis of the county's plan for this land, which includes only agricultural and scenic open space uses," the county statement notes.

Finally, county officials object that the endangered tiger salamander "is likely to be seriously harmed" because the casino site sits in the middle of the species habitat that stretches from Cotati to western Santa Rosa.

You can reach Staff Writer Bleys W. Rose at 521-5431 or bleys.rose@pressdemocrat.com.