In an effort to counter what it terms "lies" and "scare tactics," the leadership of the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians for the first time in public outlined its plans for future development on a wide expanse of rural land called Camp 4.
In welcoming the crowd of about 250 to the Samala Showroom at the Chumash Casino Resort, tribal Chairman Vincent Armenta quickly made an emphatic statement about the land.
"No, absolutely not, we are not building a casino on Camp 4," asserted Mr. Armenta. "We're simply a tribal government, developing tribal land for tribal people."
A year ago, the tribe purchased 1,400 acres near the junction of State Routes 154 and 246, and has indicated it hopes to build homes for tribal members and descendants there. The land, once owned by Fess Parker, encompasses about two square miles.
Some area residents, however, say they are concerned the Chumash will do a "bait and switch," possibly building a second casino, a sewage treatment plant or some other type of facility out of step with the rural nature of the valley.
A cadre of community activists groups held a town hall meeting about the land Aug. 26 in Solvang. The event drew about 600 people.
The tribe's own town hall meeting Friday was a two-hour session attended by community members, tribal members and Chumash employees.
Mr. Armenta spoke about the land and what it means to the Chumash, and of its "spiritual and cultural significance."
"Camp 4 happens to be in the center of the original territory of the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash," Mr. Armenta said.
The tribe has indicated it may want to move the property into reservation boundaries, through a process called fee-to-trust, a federal designation that essentially removes the land from county jurisdiction in terms of zoning and property tax payments.
"Fee-to-trust is a positive step, encouraged and supported by our federal government," Mr. Armenta said. "Having the land transfer into fee-to-trust will protect our land, not just for today, but for generations to come."
Tribes, including the Chumash, he said, have "a moral obligation to our membership to acquire land for the long-term survivor of our tribe."
The Chumash, he added, need to house 140 members and their families.
"With the acquisition of Camp 4, we are continuing our effort to provide more housing on tribal land and in the tribal community setting for our members," he said. "This is housing for tribal members and their families, individuals with deep connections to this community."
Mr. Armenta said the common misconception about the fee-to-trust process is that it takes the land from local control.
"That's factually wrong," Mr. Armenta stated. "Fee-to-trust is about returning lost land to the tribe and returning it to local control to the one government in place long before the county and cities of this community."
The tribe offered up a panel of speakers to inform the audience about various legal and environmental aspects involved in the land development, including both state and federal environmental impact reviews as well as the fee-to-trust process.
Carl Artman, a former assistant secretary of Indian Affairs and now an Arizona State University professor, called the fee-to-trust aspect "a cumbersome process."
In response to an audience member question, Mr. Artman told the crowd that the tribal government would "not go through any lesser of a review process than you or your neighbors went through when they built their homes. Tribal governments are their own governments," and will have their own land use planning, zoning and set asides, for instance.
"The greatest likelihood is that anything going through a tribal law-based process is probably going to be more difficult than what you had to go through," Mr. Artman said.
When asked by an audience member whether the "tribe could just turn around and put a casino on the land simply because it's taken into trust," Mr. Artman replied, "No, absolutely not."
Dave Schaffer, executive director of All Mission Indian Housing Authority, spoke about the historic Housing and Urban Development homes on the 130-acre reservation. Some, he said, have suffered "premature failure and a great number are in need of expansion."
The statements by Mr. Armenta and the other panelists didn't convince C.J. Jackson, who has long been involved in Santa Ynez Valley Concerned Citizens.
Though he characterized the meeting as "civil," Mr. Jackson said it wasn't as substantive on the issues at hand as he had hoped.
"I just don't know that it focused on anything significant," Mr. Jackson said. "You're seeking support from the community? For what? None of the questions were answered."
email: nwallace@newspress.com