The Rincon Band of Mission Indians plans to increase the size of its Valley Center reservation by about 520 acres, according to documents filed with the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
Earlier this month, the tribe, which owns the Harrah's Rincon Casino & Resort, submitted an application to the Bureau of Indian Affairs to bring the property, which it owns, into its fold. Tribal officials said they do not plan to use the land for gambling purposes.
Rincon's 4,000-acre reservation was established in 1875. It sits on a valley a few miles northeast of Valley Center on Valley Center Road, just south of Highway 76.
The 520-acre property, once home to the Oasis Ranch owned by Natalie Mowry, is bordered by the Rincon reservation to the south and the La Jolla Indian Reservation to the east. An open space preserve forms the north border. The San Luis Rey River runs through the property.
Rincon tribal manager Dick Watenpaugh said the tribe plans to preserve the land with an eye to possibly developing it in the future.
"It's a beautiful piece of property and we want to preserve it," Watenpaugh said.
The land has not always been in the best shape. Mowry sold it in 1988 to Brian Chuchua, a former owner of a Jeep dealer in Orange County.
In 2001, the ranch became Mowry's property again after Chuchua defaulted on his mortgage. Mowry told the North County Times at the time that the property was returned to her "looking like a junkyard."
County records showed that Chuchua had illegally removed 300,000 cubic yards of sand and silt from the riverbed and property, much of which was sold to a concrete company.
If the land transfer is approved, the county could lose about $20,000 in property taxes. That is because if the federal government agrees to hold the land in trust for the tribe, the property becomes part of the reservation and the county can no longer collect its taxes.
The county Board of Supervisors has a longstanding policy of opposing tribal land transfers out of concern the land could be used for building casinos.
Supervisor Bill Horn said the county is reviewing the tribe's application.
"I have always had a good working relationship with Rincon," Horn said. "At this point, it is premature to comment on the specifics of this particular application as our staff is still in the process of reviewing it."
Earlier this year, the county opposed a land transfer proposed by the San Pasqual Band of Mission Indians. San Pasqual plans to take a 9-acre parcel it owns abutting Valley Center Middle School and formally fold the land into its reservation. The tribe said it wants to build a gas station, a restaurant and a commercial building on the eastern half of the property at the corner of Valley Center and Lake Wohlford roads.
The Valley Center-Pauma Unified School District opposed the transfer due to concerns about increased traffic and the possibility that alcohol and tobacco products could be sold at a proposed convenience store on the property. The county based its opposition on concerns about project, such as insufficient traffic, ground water and hazardous materials analysis.
Call staff writer Edward Sifuentes at 760-740-3511.