Three national experts on tribal gaming issued a call to arms Friday night in the Santa Ynez Valley -- urging residents worried about the potential for expansion of Chumash gambling ventures to stand up, speak out and get involved.
At least 600 Santa Ynez Valley residents packed into Solvang's Veterans Memorial Hall and its overflow rooms Friday night to listen about national and local gaming issues, and to vent about their concerns that the rural valley will morph into a gambling mecca run by the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians.
"You can call, you can write, you can email, but your voice must be heard," urged moderator and Santa Ynez Valley resident Fred Steck.

The meeting was sponsored by Preservation of Los Olivos; We Watch; Preservation of Santa Ynez; and Santa Ynez Valley Concerned Citizens -- groups that have doggedly tracked development efforts of the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians.

The Chumash, who already run a casino and resort, purchased 1,400 acres of land off State Route 154 last year. The land, largely undeveloped, now contains grape vines and grazing for cattle. On Thursday, Chumash leaders said they hope to build about 143 homes on the property, but haven't had internal discussions about what else might occur there.

But many local residents don't believe the tribe and fear unchecked development and expansion of gaming that would, they say, destroy the rural nature of the valley.

"This is a meeting about the expansion of gaming," Mr. Steck said. "It's not a cultural discussion. It's a business discussion in our Santa Ynez Valley."
Mr. Steck called the Chumash endeavors a "business enterprise ... no different from someone wanting to put an oil refinery in your backyard."

He called upon elected officials to raise their hands if they were in the audience -- Solvang's mayor and several council members appeared to be the only politicians attending. No county supervisors appeared to be in the audience, though a representative from the 3rd District attended, as did an attorney with the county counsel's office who handles tribal gaming.

As with similar town hall meetings in past years, the sponsors invited three national experts in tribal gaming and development, federal legislation and legal avenues for protests.

Cheryl Schmit, founder of "Stand Up for California," which focuses on gaming in the state, spoke about the process known as fee-to-trust, which enables a tribe to petition the Department of Interior to incorporate property into reservation boundaries.

If that occurs, the land is not governed by county land use and zoning laws and is taken off the tax rolls. The Chumash have an outstanding fee-to-trust application on a 6.9-acre plot off State Route 246 but have not yet submitted one for the 1,400 acres.

Ms. Schmit urged the audience to appeal to the state's congressional delegation for field hearings.

"There are unintended consequences for citizens such as yourself when tribes acquire land and transfer it into trust," she said.

California, she said, is at the "epicenter of the issue," with 137 fee-to-trust applications outstanding, encompassing 15,000 acres. "What we want to do is reform this process," she said, indicating opponents want more limits and regulations on the process.

Donald Mitchell, an attorney from Alaska and expert on federal Indian law, described tribal gaming as a $29 billion a year business in 29 states.
With fee-to-trust, he said, "There are no standards. The decision to take this land into trust, that is political."

He told the rapt audience that they took the first step in getting involved by showing up on a Friday night. But "you need to do a lot more," he said, including reaching out to elected officials and demanding that candidates "protect you from fee-to-trust."

Los Angeles attorney Mark Rochefort, who helped Preservation of Los Olivos and Preservation of Santa Ynez, successfully challenged in federal court the Bureau of Indian Affairs' appeals board's ruling that the groups did not "have standing" to appeal a BIA decision that allows the Chumash to take 6.9 acres into trust for a cultural museum and commercial complex. The case, he said, has been sent back to the BIA for further study, but appears for now to be dormant, he said.
Now, he cautioned, the Chumash have "tried to move the matter into the political arena" by appealing to Rep. Elton Gallegly, R-Simi Valley, for congressional legislation to make the property part of the reservation.

"That is politics," Mr. Rochefort said. "We have them right where we want them. We have them in the political arena, where every person's voice matters. ...To have a voice in your political destiny, to have a voice in your government, that's where this battle is joined and where you have to win it."
email: nwallace@newspress.com

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