The city of Temecula hit an early hurdle with its lawsuit against the Pechanga Band of Luiseno Indians: The tribe won't allow a process server to enter the reservation to formally serve the suit, city officials said Wednesday.

Mayor Jeff Comerchero said he's been briefed on the situation and he said the city plans to continue to make every attempt to serve the tribe. If the tribe ultimately succeeds in stymieing the city's process server, however, Comerchero said there are other options.

"We go into the court and demonstrate that (the difficulty in serving the tribe), and that should suffice," he said.

The city filed a lawsuit in federal court this month to force the tribe to put together an environmental report that documents how new slot machines at the tribe's casino have affected the city's costs for road improvements and police service.

The city expects those costs, based on internal calculations, will run higher than $3 million a year, a sum the city would be seeking as per the terms of the compact the tribe negotiated with the state.

The tribe has said it has abided by the terms of the compact, and it has pledged to pay the city $2 million a year, plus millions for a new interchange planned for Interstate 15 and Temecula Parkway, once an agreement has been struck with the county of Riverside.

State voters approved Proposition 94 in 2008, a referendum on the amended compact the tribe and the state signed in 2006. According to that compact, the tribe is required to sign an agreement with both the city of Temecula and the county to compensate both parties for the costs associated with an expansion of the casino's gambling operation.

The tribe and the county are reportedly at loggerheads over the agreement, and City Attorney Peter Thorson stated in the text of the lawsuit that he doesn't think they will ever sign off on a deal, a circumstance that city officials say prompted them to file a suit for relief.

Tribal Chairman Mark Macarro has called the suit "absurd." He said the city has not shown a willingness to view this as an impasse rather than a "total breakdown."

Tribal representative Jacob Mejia said Wednesday that Thorson said during a public meeting that the city had until February to file a lawsuit. He said that the comment proves that the city's suit is merely a political ploy tied to the upcoming election.

Three incumbents on the council, Comerchero and council members Maryann Edwards and Ron Roberts, are running to defend their seats against two challengers, retired registered nurse Patrice Lynes and real estate broker Paul Runkle.

The decision to proceed with a lawsuit has been criticized by Lynes, who said the city is ruining its formerly good relationship with the tribe.
Regarding the process server issue, Mejia said Wednesday night that the tribe had no comment.

Call staff writer Aaron Claverie at 951-676-4315, ext. 2624.