A divided Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors agreed Tuesday to oppose an application by the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians for an expanded liquor license at its Chumash Casino Resort.

In a 3-2 vote, the board agreed to send a protest letter to the state Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) — 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.

Supervisors Doreen Farr, who brought the item to the agenda, Joe Centeno and Janet Wolf voted in favor with Salud Carbajal and Joni Gray dissenting.

Carbajal favored attaching a set of 14 conditions agreed upon by Sheriff Bill Brown and tribal leaders that the sheriff intends to include in his protest of the application.

The Chumash application, filed May 28 and posted May 29, is a request for a “premises to premises transfer” to expand the “type 47” general restaurant license for the Willows Restaurant in the casino to include the adjacent Creekside Buffet and the hotel next door, ABC officials said.

Tribal Chairman Vincent Armenta has said the license would also allow alcohol to be served in the casino’s showroom during special-event dinners.

No sales, service or consumption of alcoholic beverages would be allowed on the gaming floor or in the Chumash Café, he said.

Farr, whose 3rd District includes the Santa Ynez Valley, said Leslie Pond, ABC district administrator, told her the application is being treated “like a new application” and would apply to the entire facility, and the only way to add conditions to the license is through the protest process.

According to county planning staff, there are 186 ABC licenses in the unincorporated Santa Ynez Valley — 145 of them held by wineries.

Staff also indicated ABC expects to take about seven to eight months to analyze all protest letters and other materials and to hold a public hearing on the application in spring 2011.

Sam Cohen, the tribe’s government and legal affairs representative, said the tribe and county sheriff hashed out an agreement Monday on conditions for the license in a process that began months ago.

The conditions cover where and when alcohol could be sold, for example, and a requirement that the premises be open to inspection by county deputies at all times alcohol is being sold.

The new license is not meant to add a bar-style location to the casino and is intended to add alcohol to sit-down style meals served there, Cohen said.

Brown told the board he will stay “neutral” in the matter, while submitting a protest to ABC to make the conditions part of the license.

In 2009, 154 arrests or citations were issued at the casino property — 5 more than 2008, according to a Sheriff’s Department “total offenses” report attached to the board’s protest letter. The numbers in the report are based on citations and arrest reports only.

Of last year’s totals, 20 were alcohol-related crimes. All but one of those, a drunken driving offense, was public intoxication.

A year earlier, there were 36 reported alcohol-related crimes. Most were public intoxication, 30, with two DUIs, and four minor in possession of alcohol offenses.

Through May, there had been 124 reported offenses or arrests, the Sheriff’s Department said.

Also in 2009, the sheriff reported that there were 61 crimes related to drugs, 23 to theft, 22 trespassing, four forgery and identity theft, six battery cases, three probation violations, 11 arrests on outstanding warrants, and 24 miscellaneous crimes.

Bill Christen, head of the casino’s security force, said the numbers are attributable to the diligent work of his officers and represent a minuscule fraction of the casino’s more than 2 million annual visitors.

However, several of the 14 speakers in public comment pointed to the sheriff’s data as indicative of a larger problem of crime that spills outside the casino onto nearby highways and roads.

Solvang Mayor Jim Richardson, who said he was speaking for himself, told the board he is grateful for the Chumash holdings in his city — Hotel Corque and the Root 246 restaurant — but he was unsure how well the tribe’s security would enforce the license when patrons 18 and over are allowed to gamble in the facility.

 Andy Caldwell, executive director of the Coalition of Labor, Agriculture and Business and a radio host, said the tribe is a “victim of its own success” and its self-enforcement has been exemplary.

A June 29 deadline to protest the application is one of the early steps in the licensing process, according to an ABC timeline.

After all protests are received, ABC will review each letter to determine whether the protest is valid and if its premise is related to community concerns, said ABC spokesman John Carr.

As of Tuesday, ABC had received 32 protest letters, he said.

Grounds for protest can include proximity to a school, church, hospital, playground or residence. Location in a high-crime area is another. 

License conditions — special restrictions — could limit alcohol sales hours, for example. Conditions could eliminate the need to deny a license or may cause a protest to be withdrawn, according to the ABC.

A public hearing would be held if any issues about the license cannot be resolved by the applicant and protesters through conditions being placed on the license, Carr said.

Nonprotested applications can take, on average, between 55 and 65 days to process, according to ABC.

A protested application — with protests withdrawn after negotiations — can take up to 95 days on average.

However, a protested application that requires an administrative hearing and appeals from either the proponent or opponent can take several months.

Comments or protests about the Chumash request can be sent to Leslie Pond, district administrator, ABC San Luis Obispo district office, 3220 S. Higuera St., Suite 233, San Luis Obispo, 93401. For more information, the office can be reached at 543-7183