SAFETY ISSUE: Group says tribal members fail to keep area safe, seeks casino shutdown.

More opposition to expansion of the Soboba Indian Reservation to accommodate a new casino has arisen.

A consortium of residents of three neighborhoods adjacent to the reservation has written to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger urging him to find the Soboba Band of Luiseño Indians in violation of its gambling agreement with the state.

The letter also asks that, if allegations in the letter are found valid by a state investigation, that the state invoke a clause of the gaming compact between the state and tribe to shut down the Soboba casino.

Calling themselves Save Our Communities, residents of the Soboba Springs Mobile Home Park and two other neighborhoods adjacent to the reservation cite recent gunbattles between sheriff's deputies and Soboba members and other criminal activity on the reservation as reasons to find a threat to both law enforcement officers and gamblers exists on the reservation.

 Until that threat is eliminated, the casino should be shut down, the letter says.

The letter also asks that the tribe not be allowed to relocate its casino to property adjacent to the Soboba Springs Country Club, which is owned by the tribe, but is not on the reservation.

“The proposed development is 1.2 mile from a middle school, within one mile of St. Joseph Catholic Church and private school, 8/10 of a mile to a local health clinic, and one mile from major residential neighborhoods,” said the letter. “The SOC is composed of civic-minded citizens that have united to address serious and immediate life safety concerns, as well as potential future environmental and fiscal impacts to their communities.”

Three people signed the letter, Jerry Uecker of the mobile home park, Patty Mayne, and Michael Adams. None could be reached for comment.

In the letter, however, they claim a membership of 900 people in the three neighborhoods.

The letter also cites what it said is breach of the agreement between the tribe and Riverside County Sheriff Stan Sniff in which both sides agreed to work toward better understanding of their respective roles and culture and to communicate more and better.

“The tribe has already broken promises made in a mediation agreement with the Riverside County sheriff to act in good faith and has intentionally delayed and impeded access to the reservation,” said the letter, an apparent reference to a newly established practice of tribal security guards to require deputies to check in with them when conducting police business on the reservation, to produce ID, and to state their business, and even to sometimes accept a security guard escort to homes on the reservation.

Sniff has said such delay interferes with police functions and could result in the arrest of those who interfere with deputies.

According to the letter, the agreement between the state and tribe that established the Soboba Casino requires the tribe to conduct its operations safely and allows cancellation of the agreement if that part of the agreement is violated.

“Section 10.1 of the tribe's compact sets forth the basic requirement that the tribe will not conduct class III gaming in a manner that endangers public health, safety, or welfare,” the letter says. “Clearly the tribe's actions and inactions have exposed the gambling public, members of law enforcement, and the regional community to an unreasonable risk of harm due to criminal activity on the reservation.”

Sniff has asked the federal government to consider shutting down the casino as well.

The San Jacinto City Council has twice written letters to the Bureau of Indian affairs regarding the proposal for a new casino, the first opposing any action until an environmental impact report showing that a number of issues that would be raised by the casino could be mitigated and the second opposing construction of the new casino until public safety issues are resolved.

The SOC letter also says that the recent shootouts revealed that the tribe has no emergency evacuation and preparedness plans as required by the gaming compact.