Tribe buys more land in Windsor

Doug DeFors never thought he could be living next to a sovereign nation.

But like a number of other west Windsor residents, he recently learned an Indian tribe has added to its property holdings, bringing a proposed reservation to the other side of his backyard fence.

"It was a surprise to me," he said after hearing that the Lytton Band of Pomo Indians bought 20 acres of pasture land bordering his home as part of an envisioned tribal housing project now totaling more than 115 acres.

"I'm scared that this will put a huge burden on the Town of Windsor that it's unprepared for, and it will negatively impact the kind of environment people come to Windsor for," he said.

The tribe's latest land acquisition next to Deer Creek subdivision is the first it has made inside Windsor's town limits, unlike others that stretch more than a half mile along the heavily-wooded south side of Windsor River Road to Eastside Road.

It also is the first on the north side of Windsor River Road and the first to abut a subdivision.

"I'd be concerned too," Mayor Sam Salmon said. "There's not the same safeguards they (residents) have with a developer."

Windsor residents have been uneasy about the tribe's intentions and concerned about the prospect of a casino since the Lyttons began acquiring parcels just west of Windsor nine years ago.

The 270-member tribe, which already has a casino in San Pablo, repeatedly has insisted it has no plans to build another in Windsor.

But the Lytton Band of Pomos' application to have the land taken into federal trust for construction of 147 units of tribal housing and a community center has not been welcomed either. Sonoma County and Windsor officials have expressed concern about the effects to the mostly rural-residential area, including removal of more than 2,000 trees to make way for the project.

The tribe's reluctance to say what its plans are for its new property acquisition has residents even more alarmed.

"Freaked out" is how Kristy Buren, a stay-at home mother who has lived on Kensington Lane for 20 years, described her reaction to the land buy behind her house. "What scares me, is what they could put in there."

Windsor has rebuffed the tribe's request for water and sewer hookups, and some residents believe the Lyttons may plan to use the land to dispose by spraying highly-treated effluent, if they need to build a small wastewater treatment plant.

"Why they bought it is a real mystery. The only thing I can think of, is they need more space for septic water," said Bill McCormick, a geologist and area resident who is part of a group opposed to the tribe's project and has followed it closely.

Asked about the prospect of spray fields, Lytton tribal spokesman Doug Elmets said "we have yet to determine a specific use for that property."

"The property has become available, and the tribe would like to have it as a land base for its members," he said, declining to elaborate.

Elmets said the tribe will amend its application to the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs to include the 20 acres in the proposed reservation lands.

Windsor Planning Director Peter Chamberlin said it makes sense that the tribe may be planning to discharge recycled wastewater closer to town.

Windsor officials objected to the tribe's plan to send its treated wastewater in a ditch and discharge into an old gravel pond adjacent to the Russian River,because of its proximity to the town's drinking water wells.

Windsor officials say the town's sewer and water lines cannot be extended to the tribe without voter consent because the project lies outside the 1998 voter-approved urban growth boundary.

The Lytton tribe has been considered landless since 1961, when the federal government dissolved its 50-acre Alexander Valley rancheria.

As a result of what Congress acknowledged was an illegal termination, the Lyttons were allowed to take over a cardroom in San Pablo, which they turned into a casino in 2003.

Now, the tribe says it simply wants to build a quality community for its members to live in collectively.

The tribe has paid premium prices to steadily acquire land in Windsor, in some instances buying out the property of residents who initially opposed their plans.

DeFors and Buren's homes in the upscale Deer Creek subdivision are two of about 16 houses whose backyards look out over the recently acquired tribal parcels, a meadow dotted with a few oaks where foxes are seen occasionally and migratory geese and other birds flock in winter.

For years, it's been home to a small herd of cattle and occupied on one corner by two houses - a rental and the other owner occupied.

But in May, longtime property owner Lois Murell, 89, sold the 20 acres to the tribe and, a neighbor said, recently moved to an assisted-living facility.