A Shasta County Superior Court has ruled that the city of Redding, California, acted illegally when it sold property to a private developer that blocked access to the Redding Rancheria’s Win-River casino expansion.
Redding Rancheria CEO Tracy Edwards greeted the ruling enthusiastically. He told the Record Searchlight, “The Tribe looks forward to seeing that portion of Bechelli Lane fully restored to a public road for commercial access to our I-5 property.”
The tribe sued the city and Shasta Land Holdings LLC in July 2020. The tribe accused the city of improperly selling the land in order to kill the tribe’s plans to relocate its casino by preventing commercial access to the tribal property, which is adjacent to Interstate 5. It also accused the city of approving the sale without notifying the tribe or holding any public debate.
The tribe and the Redding City Council have been meeting privately to discuss a settlement, which involves the city taking back the land from Shasta Land Holdings.
A councilmember who voted against the land deal, Michael Dacquisto, announced on Facebook: “The city council voted last night 4-0 to have Shasta Land Holdings deed the Bechelli Lane property back to the city. Still need paperwork completed and court sign off. This is a first step to undo the shady land deal.”
