Key step for new Lake casino
Published: Wednesday, July 30, 2008 at 3:42 a.m.
Last Modified: Wednesday, July 30, 2008 at 4:59 a.m.
A Lake County Pomo Indian tribe has passed a significant milestone in its quest to build a casino near the shores of Clear Lake.
The Bureau of Indian Affairs has determined there would be no significant adverse social or environmental impacts to placing 11.24 acres of land just east of Upper Lake into trust for the 202-member Habematolel Pomo of Upper Lake, department officials said.
The property must be in trust before the landless tribe can proceed with its plans for a $39 million casino and hotel at the site.
"It's a pretty significant" step, said Terisa Draper, a supervisory realty specialist for the BIA.
But it does not mean the land transfer is a done deal, she said.
The regional BIA office in Sacramento is expected to make a recommendation about the land transfer in the near future, Draper said. The final decision will be made by the Department of the Interior in Washington, D.C.
Tribal officials are optimistic.
"It is imminent," said tribal Chairwoman Sherry Bridges, who lives in Napa.
The tribe plans to begin negotiating a gaming compact with the governor's office in a few weeks and break ground as early as next year, she said.
The casino's backer -- Michigan-based Luna Gaming -- is ready to proceed, Bridges said. The group also will initially manage the casino.
Bridges said the first phase would include a 35,000-square-foot casino with 350 slot machines and about five gaming tables.
Eventually, it would be expanded to 75,000 square feet and include a hotel, wine shop and meeting rooms, she said.
The casino would be located just two miles west of an existing casino on the Robinson Rancheria, but economic studies indicated there is enough business for both, she said.
"It's all based on market studies," Bridges said.
The tribe credits its progress to working out agreements with the county before proceeding with its plan.
It already has paid $378,000 to the county sanitation district to expand its treatment facility, Bridges said.
It also agreed to pay the county a 1 percent assessment on its property annually in lieu of property taxes and to make contributions to county government of $5,000 a year for two years, then $10,000 a year thereafter; comply with federal workplace standards and comply with state building codes.
When they signed the agreement in 2006, county supervisors said they don't necessarily approve of a new casino. They said they were trying to mitigate the effects of the casino, over which they have no authority.
The Habematolel Pomos have been landless since the 1950s, when the federal government dropped recognition of the tribe's original rancheria in Upper Lake. The tribe was among those that successfully sued to regain its tribal status 20 years ago. It has been seeking suitable tribal land since.
The efforts included an unsuccessful 2001 bid for land in West Sacramento where they planned to build a $200 million casino.
The current project is within a few miles of the tribe's historic home.
You can reach Staff Writer Glenda Anderson at 462-6473 or glenda.anderson@
pressdemocrat.com.
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