The Clear Lake-based Scotts Valley Band of Pomo Indians, located North of the Bay Area, proposes to build a casino in Vallejo, near Interstate 80. They have an agreement with a as yet unnamed Las Vegas gaming company to build and operate a casino in either Napa, Sonoma or Solano counties.
Local officials and residents are ginning up for the fight. Vallejo City Attorney Claudia Quintana last July wrote to the Department of the Interior complaining that putting land into trust there would “significantly affect” the city’s regulatory authority and harm its tax revenues.
The tribe requested a land into trust process from the department about eight months ago.
The city argues that the tribe has failed to prove an historical connection to the land as its aboriginal homeland was about 60 miles away. Quintana has accused the tribe of “reservation shopping,” a term that is used for tribes that try to put land into trust far from their reservation.
Lake County officials have also protested that the process has been conducted with a lack of notice and transparency.
U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein of California, for whom “reservation shopping” is a frequent concern, added her voice: “Most troubling is the lack of transparency,” she wrote in July to Interior secretary Sally Jewell. “There has been no notice to the surrounding tribes with historic ties to the area. The affected cities and counties are similarly left in the dark. And the agency has failed to provide any notice to the state. That’s a problem.”
The Federated Indians of the Graton Rancheria, who operate a casino in Rohnert park have also written to the department expressing concerns.
An added wrinkle is that the proposed casino is in California’s wine country, near to Napa County. Officials of that county have consistently fought proposed casinos in their area.
American Canyon, one of the nearest cities, has gone on record opposing a casino in Vallejo. Mayor Leon Garcia told CDC Gaming Reports, “We support the opposition. This is not a good idea. There would be significant impact on local resources like water, public safely and increased traffic.”
