A public hearing will be held on the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians' request for an expansion of the liquor license at its Chumash Casino Resort, but a date and location have not been set, according to a spokesman for the state agency responsible for alcohol licensing and compliance.
The Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control received 98 protest letters and four support letters by a Jan. 23 deadline, said ABC spokesman John Carr.
Once a date and site have been determined, the only people who will be notified are "valid protestants" who requested a hearing, the license holder and "associated parties," said ABC spokeswoman Juliet Lac.
However, the hearing will be open to the public, she said.
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.
An expanded license would allow the casino to serve alcohol to customers in the casino's showroom, two of its public dining establishments, and the hotel on the Santa Ynez reservation.
In May 2010, the tribe applied to the ABC for a "premises to premises transfer" to expand the license to include the Creekside Buffet adjacent to The Willows, the Samala Showroom, and the hotel next door.
No sales, service or consumption of alcoholic beverages would be allowed on the gaming floor or in the Chumash Café, tribe officials have said.
That June, the Santa Barbara County Board of 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.
ABC granted the tribe an interim license in September 2010.
In July 2011, a split county board dropped its protest of the expanded liquor license as long as 18 conditions were met - including those in a July 2010 letter by Sheriff Bill Brown. Those conditions included 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 limiting the sale of alcohol to specific locations
Two community groups in the Santa Ynez Valley that have been consistent critics of the Chumash Casino Resort - Preservation of Los Olivos (POLO) and Preservation of Santa Ynez (POSY) - have led protest letter campaigns against expansion of alcohol sales at the casino based on concerns about crime and other community impacts.