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Group opposes Chumash alcohol expansion
By Marga K. Cooley/Associate Editor mcooley@santamariatimes.com Santa Maria Times | Posted: Sunday, July 3, 2011
Preservation of Los Olivos (P.O.L.O.), a nonprofit watchdog group, is continuing to oppose the proposed expansion of the alcoholic beverage license held by the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians for their hotel and casino, saying problems with the existing license need to be addressed first.
P.O.L.O. board President Kathy Cleary points to 1,400 arrest reports — ranging from driving under the influence to drug possession and driving without a license — that are linked to the Chumash Casino and Resort, and said it’s impossible for the state Department of Alcohol Beverage Control to monitor the situation because there’s no way to determine where the violators are coming from.
“It does not appear there’s any way the ABC (state Department of Alcohol Beverage Control) can oversee this licensee because there’s no way for them to track where the drunks get drunk,” said Cleary. “If that’s true, which it appears to be, how are they going to monitor whether the licensee is being responsible or not.”
P.O.L.O’s protest comes as the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday considers withdrawing a county protest filed with the ABC in July 2010 that challenges the license expansion, as long as certain stipulations are met.
The stipulations include all provisions in a July 8, 2010, letter by the county sheriff: Restriction of bottle sales throughout the facility; assurance that children under the age of 18 are not allowed on the gaming floor or showroom; and that alcohol may only be sold in specific locations.
Frances Snyder, the tribal spokeswoman, said Friday that the tribe has signed off on the conditions laid out by the county, and noted that the tribe has provided $675,000 to pay for five deputy sheriff positions.
When asked whether the tribe recognizes public concern about the number of arrest reports, Snyder pointed to the contributions made through the tribe’s Foundation that improve the community.
When the casino and hotel were built, the Chumash received a “type 47” general restaurant license that restricted the serving of alcohol to The Willows, a fine-dining restaurant at the casino.
In May 2010, the tribe applied to the ABC for a “premises to premises transfer” to expand the license to include the adjacent Creekside Buffet and the hotel next door.
That June, the supervisors voted 3-2 to protest the application — noting the casino’s half-mile distance from three elementary schools, a high school and a YMCA; a concentration of liquor licenses in the area; and potential creation of a law enforcement problem and other police issues.
In an email last week, 3rd District Supervisor Doreen Farr noted that since that time, the ABC has granted an interim license to the casino, “and the Sheriff’s Department and my office have discussed other conditions that could be put on the permit to address outstanding community concerns.”
In the email, Farr said she has not taken a position, either for or against the proposed withdrawal of the county protest, and encourages her constituents to contact her prior to Tuesday’s vote.
Farr can be reached at dfarr@countyofsb.org or 568-2197.
Her executive staff assistant, Chris Henson, can be reached at chenson@countyofsb.org or 568-2192.
Farr’s representative in the Santa Ynez Valley, Elizabeth Farnum, can be reached at efarnum@countyofsb.org or 686-5095.