County signs pact with Graton tribe on land use

An agreement approved Tuesday between Sonoma County supervisors and the Graton Indian tribe indicates the county is parting ways with opponents of the tribe's Rohnert Park gaming casino.

The agreement itself has little to do with the tribe's proposed Rohnert Park casino because it prohibits the tribe from establishing a second casino and puts any other development proposals from the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria under county planning review.

However, supervisors said Tuesday they voted for the pact because it prevents a repeat of the Rohnert Park situation in which federal authorities approved the tribe's casino plan even before public and environmental review.

During an hourlong public hearing on the county-tribe memorandum of understanding, backers of the Stop the Casino 101 group accused supervisors of abandoning opposition and paving the way for the tribe's casino and hotel resort on the west side of Rohnert Park.

The group, which was unsuccessful in February in convincing supervisors to hold a referendum on the casino, filed a lawsuit June 3 to block the tribe's acquisition of the Rohnert Park site.

"My rural existence will cease to exist," said Loretta Smith, who lives near the tribe's 254-acre site. "You should take a stronger stand. You should join the lawsuit if you are serious about stopping the casino."

However, leaders of several groups backing the tribe's casino plan called the agreement a good deal for county residents and a signal that the tribe intends to fund mitigation measures on the site.

Supporters included Susan Moore, president of the Friends of the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria; Ben Boyce, executive director of the New Economy for Working Solutions; and Michael Allen, president of the North Bay Labor Council, who said the construction and resort projects would provide needed jobs at living wages.

"We need the tribe's help more than ever because we can't support our hospitals, our schools and our police departments all alone," said Dan Smith, a west county entrepreneur and restaurant owner who has rallied financial support for Palm Drive Hospital.

County and tribe officials have been talking about mitigation measures during the project's environmental review process, and precedent for mitigations was set earlier this year in a county agreement with the Dry Creek Pomo tribe that operates the Geyserville casino.

County supervisors have repeatedly said they remain opposed to development of the Rohnert Park site as a casino, but they have acknowledged there has been little that could be done in opposition because the 2000 federal law mandated federal acceptance of lands taken into trust by the Graton tribe.

"I believe it is a losing battle," said Sonoma Valley Supervisor Valerie Brown. "I think the best that we can get is that we won't have to deal with another casino from this tribe in Sonoma County."

Brown voted in favor of the agreement along with Supervisors Mike Kerns, Mike Reilly and Paul Kelley. Supervisor Tim Smith was absent.

The agreement also applies to tribal lands in Marin County and will require a vote by supervisors there. It also says that any commercial or residential developments proposed for Graton tribal lands in the future would be consistent with county land-use regulations and the General Plan.

After the vote, Greg Sarris, tribal chairman, issued a statement: "This legal and binding agreement demonstrates the continued willingness on the part of the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria to work cooperatively with local government to address community concerns and ensure the responsible development of future trust lands."

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