An off-reservation 0 million casino and 12-story hotel that Wilton Rancheria tribe wants to build on a site in Elk Grove, California has long planned for a mall development is the target of a petition by local residents to keep the city from unencumbering land to the tribe that would make it possible.
Opponents of a casino recognize that once the tribe owns the land and applies to the Bureau of Indian Affairs to put it into trust that the residents will have zero power to stop it. However, since it can’t happen without the city selling the land along Highway 99, they are targeting that process by demanding that it be put to a vote of the residents.
Local construction companies are not happy. A member of one such company told the Sacramento Bee, “They’re trying to kill the development agreement on the mall, which stalls it again. Why do they want to kill this mall?”
The owner of the 1.3 million square foot Outlet Collection at Elk Grove, the Howard Hughes Corp. also attacked the petition drive. “We believe it is essential for continuing our leasing momentum as well as serving as a critical demand generator, bringing thousands of additional visitors to the destination year ‘round,” said the company in a statement.
The company has its own problems. It is being sued by Regal Cinemas Inc., accused of dragging its feet over finishing the mall. The original developer of the mall, General Growth, stopped building during the Great Recession, leaving behind a ghost commercial development of unfinished structures. General Growth went into bankruptcy and the property was acquired by Hughes, one of the subsidiaries of General Growth, in 2014. At one time it had said it planned to finish the project by 2015. Its plans for a mall were half the size of the original proposal. Currently there is no date for beginning construction. The tribal proposal was seen as a shot in the arm for the project.
Hughes had agreed to sell part of its property to the tribe to combine with the city land to make the casino proposal happen. But for that to happen the city had to release Hughes from a previous agreement with the city. The city council recently voted to do that. The petition drive seeks to undo that action.
Cheryl Schmit of Stand up for California, a casino watchdog group in the Golden State, has been accused of being behind the petition effort—which she denies.
“The citizens will support a shopping mall,” she told the Bee. “They just don’t want a casino, at least the ones that are calling me.”
City officials say they are aware of the petition drive, but didn’t have any comment except to say that it would require 9,000 signatures to put such a measure on the ballot. Petitioners claim they have gathered 4,000 signatures in five days.
Supporters of a tribal casino have position themselves within sight of the signature gathers waving signs urging people not to sign.
Since at least some of the petition gathers are paid, there is some speculation that an area gaming tribe that doesn’t want the competition might be behind it. Regional casinos include Thunder Valley in Roseville and Red Hawk in El Dorado County.
Wilton Chairman Raymond Hitchcock, told the Bee: “Like the rest of the community, we want to see the mall built. And we believe the Wilton Rancheria project, by creating jobs and economic growth, will serve as a catalyst for the mall’s success,” adding, “We appreciate that Region Business and so many other members of our community understand the importance of the Outlet Collection mall and are committed to seeing it move forward to completion.”
The tribe would need to have its land into trust application approved by the Bureau of Indian Affairs and negotiate a gaming compact with Governor Jerry Brown.
