The city of Petaluma in Sonoma County, Northern California, is demanding a seat at the table of negotiations between the county and the Lytton Rancheria over 500 acres near Windsor the tribe seeks for a reservation.
If the land is put into trust the Lyttons could build a casino. The county is resisting the inclusion of Petaluma in any negotiations. It says it is already representing the area in obtaining protections against a possible casino. It prefers that the city not be included.
Currently there is a bill in Congress that would put the land to trust while not allowing gaming. The tribe says it plans to use the land for homes and a vineyard. The bill would also forbid casinos in any other land the tribe acquires in the county north of Highway 12 and prohibit it for 20 years on any tribal land south of that highway.
The city would like to amend the bill to completely ban gaming in the county, but the bill has already been passed in the House and is now being considered in the Senate.
Speaking for the city, councilman Mike Healy told the Argus Courier “The good news is that the tribe has agreed that any lands taken into trust would permanently be gaming ineligible.” He added, “Our preferred way of memorializing that is to amend the bill. Because of the dysfunction in Congress, that doesn’t seem to be practical. So we’d like to amend the MOA (memorandum of agreement).”
He wants the bill amended so the city would have a veto if some future parties try to amend the MOA, specifically the section banning gaming. He said the tribe could easily bribe a future Board of Supervisors with a big check. “This is a tribe that can write eye-popping checks,” he said. “More money 20 years from now, would that make the county jump? Who knows?” said Healey.
Supervisor David Rabbitt, whose district includes Petaluma, asked
“Why wouldn’t (Petaluma) trust the county to look out for their interests?” he said. “Their interests are our interests. I don’t get it. The agreement with the Lytton tribe is a good agreement. What’s not to like about that?” He added, “There’s no reason this agreement needs to have any third party. I’ve always represented Petaluma’s interests.”
Critics of this particular tribe have been using the term “reservation shopping” for a number of years. The term means a tribe choosing land that is not part of its reservation to put into trust because the land is better suited for economic development or gaming.
