Koi Nation sues city of Clearlake over development of sports complex

The Koi Nation of Northern California, a Pomo band with ancestral roots in Lake County, is suing the city of Clearlake over the proposed development of a recreational complex within city limits.

The tribe, claiming the Burns Valley Sports Project necessitates a full environmental review under the California Environmental Quality Act, seeks to delay the city’s development of a 25½-acre parcel between Burns Valley Road and Olympic Drive in Clearlake.

Kronick, a Sacramento-based law firm, filed a complaint on behalf of the Koi Nation in Lake County Superior Court on July 14.

City leaders disagree with the Koi’s assessment of the site. On June 16, they issued a mitigated negative declaration — essentially arguing that measures they plan to put in place during construction are enough to protect Native artifacts known to exist there.

The city seeks to build a full-size baseball field, two smaller Little League fields, two tee-ball fields and a full-size soccer field at the location, plus a large recreation center, concession stand, public works building (which would include a Clearlake Police Department investigation facility) and storage yard.

“All kinds of amenities the city sorely needs,” Clearlake City Councilperson Dirk Slooten said in a telephone interview. “The site where kids play baseball now is dilapidated. And we don’t even have soccer fields for kids to play. Over 30% of our population is Hispanic, and as you know Hispanics like to play soccer.”

As Slooten and city manager Alan Flora (in a written statement) point out, Lake County in general — and Clearlake in particular — rank low in community health statistics.

“Any kind of recreational opportunities for youth are an important part of getting a healthier population here,” Slooten said. “We hope the Koi will come to their senses and work with us.”

Protecting indigenous interests

But the tribe’s suit claims the city did not adequately take into consideration Koi Nation’s concerns about protecting Indigenous interests at what they believe is a site of major cultural importance.

The project site marked the boundary between the Koi and Elem nations, according to the legal complaint, and “is where Ancestors had trade, made marriages, and engaged in other economic and cultural activities for countless generations.” It is also bordered by Burns Valley Creek, or Kuulbidai Creek, which the Koi say has been habitat to the Clearlake Hitch, a threatened species of fish that was traditionally an important source of food and trade for local tribes.

Clearlake officials don’t necessarily dispute that significance.

In a report prepared for the city during a previous project, archaeologist Greg White cited “a high prehistoric population density and a dense, ancient, and complex archaeological record in the area.”

There is also some agreement on artifacts found by survey terms during study of the Burns Valley site. As detailed by White, principal investigator for Sub-Terra Heritage Resource Investigations in Chico, two intact archaeological sites have been identified on the land there. Both are dominated by Borax Lake obsidian.

“The presence of possible fire-cracked rock and a few basalt spalls probably derived from basalt cores and core tools suggests that the site also served a temporary residential function,” White wrote in a report on the Burns Valley project.

But the two parties diverge on the spatial relevance of resources located at the site. White’s report identified two distinct archaeological sites. In a separate report prepared at the behest of the Koi Nation, another archaeologist, John Parker of Wolf Creek Archaeology, described a more dispersed arrangement.

“We found no break in surface artifact scatter between the two site areas reported by White,” Parker wrote. “It is suggested here that these two sites may be a single with areas of artifact concentration.”

Similar archaeological findings

Flora, the city manager, said in a response to The Press Democrat that the two archaeological determinations were actually quite similar, and that Parker’s recommendations aren’t even consistent with what the Koi are seeking.

“It is important to note that Dr. White did a full records search and field study (with direct Koi Nation involvement and monitors),” Flora wrote. “Dr. Parker did a short walk of the site on his own, without permission of the city or coordination with Dr. White.”

Flora shared a letter written by White, and dated June 6, that picks holes in Parker’s analysis.

In general, the Koi believe the City of Clearlake isn’t properly reckoning with the volume of tribal artifacts at Burns Valley.

“These individual (tribal cultural resources) all add up to a bigger picture of a Tribal Cultural Landscape, like pieces of tile in a mosaic, warranting protection by mitigation measures adopted as part of the CEQA process,” the complaint reads. “The City deliberately fails to understand that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.”

The Koi claim their concerns over the project have been ignored — in violation, they say, of California Assembly Bill 52, which requires agencies to consult with local tribes on projects likely to impact cultural resources, and counter to both legal precedent and the California Attorney General’s Office’s interpretation of environmental justice standards.

According to the Koi’s complaint, tribal representatives provided written or oral comment at several points since last September, including at two meetings with Mayor Russ Perdock and Clearlake Planning Commission Chair Fawn Williams last October. In March, tribal leaders say, the city notified the Koi it was “unilaterally ending consultation.”

City representatives describe the interaction very differently.

“The City made many concessions beyond what was legally required in order to respond to the Koi’s concerns,” the prepared statement reads. “This included a discussion about naming the sports complex, tribal interpretive panels and displays, native plantings, and agreeing to allow the tribe free use of the complex up to four times a year for their own events.”

According to Perdock, who is quoted in the statement, the city believed an agreement was within reach after a June 7 City Council meeting.

“We were thrilled to feel like we could move forward in unison,” Perdock said. “However, a week later at the June 15 City Council meeting, the tribe rescinded their offer. I can’t tell you how disheartened our community is at the thought of the Koi holding up yet another project.”

Overzealous expectations

Dino Beltran, the Koi Vice Chairman and brother of Chairman Darin Beltran, disputed that summary in a brief phone call Thursday. He said the city council misunderstood what Darin was offering on June 15, and was “overzealous in what they were expecting.”

“My brother is a man of high integrity,” Dino Beltran said. “That’s why he was selected to be our leader. I’m proud of him for that.”

The Koi complaints about the Burns Valley Sports Complex have focused on what they believe are flaws in the process. City leaders are convinced the tribe wants to block the project entirely. As noted in the prepared civic statement, this current round of litigation follows another recent lawsuit in which the Koi Nation temporarily halted a hotel development project on 18th Avenue in Clearlake.

The Koi Nation has ruffled feathers in Sonoma County, too, where they have proposed a $600 million casino resort on 68 acres in the rural Shiloh district, outside of Windsor. That project is opposed by neighbors, all five Sonoma County Supervisors and at least five other local tribes, including the powerful Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria.

According to Flora, the Koi do not have universal tribal support in their opposition to the Burns Valley Sports Complex, either. He noted that Lake County Tribal Health — a consortium of tribes that does not include Koi Nation — has donated $150,000 toward the project.

“I don’t want to speak for the other tribes, but the tribal chair of one of the other tribes has publicly stated he and his tribe 100% support the Burns Valley Project,” Flora wrote. “I do not believe most of the other tribes are supportive of the Koi tactics and approach.”

The City of Clearlake remains firm in its support of the Burns Valley Sports Complex. On June 16, the city posted its determination that remediation efforts it had established for the project were enough to allow a “mitigated negative declaration,” erasing the need for a full environmental impact report.

Whether those mitigations are enough to negate an EIR remains the crux of the dispute.

According to Flora, Clearlake is hoping to complete permit documents this fall or winter, with construction expected in the spring of 2024. He added that Rep. Mike Thompson, whose district includes all of Lake County, recently was able to allocate another $2 million of federal Community Project Funds for the Burns Valley project.

You can reach Phil Barber at 707-521-5263 or phil.barber@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @Skinny_Post.