The Soboba Band of Luiseño Indians' proposed Horseshoe Grande casino, hotel and retail development could be a financial boon to the San Jacinto Valley, but Hemet officials want to know a lot more about how it might impact their city.

Hemet City Council members and city staff agreed during a Tuesday afternoon to strike up a dialogue with the tribe to get more answers.

Of particular concern are the project's impact on traffic, public safety and businesses in Hemet, said Richard Masyczek, a city planner who presented an overview of the tribe's environmental impact statement along with a list of city staff concerns to council workshop.

The 729,000-square-foot development is proposed near the Soboba Springs Golf Course on land in San Jacinto and unincorporated Riverside County. The Soboba band wants to annex 535 acres it owns along Soboba Road near Lake Park Drive into federal "fee to trust" status, adding to the more than 3,000-acre reservation. The U.S. government would hold the land "in trust" on behalf of the tribe, and the tribe would control land use.

If a casino is built on that land, the tribe estimates as many as 11,000 more vehicles per day will visit the new 160,000-square-foot casino and five-story, 300-room hotel. Horseshoe Grande also would include a mix of shops, restaurants, a convention center, events arena, spa and fitness center and a parking structure.

To adjust for traffic generated by the development, the tribe has proposed to adjust a few traffic signals in Hemet.

"With an 87 percent increase in traffic, I can't imagine a couple of traffic signals put in place is going to solve this," Councilman Robert Youssef said.

Masyczek said the tribe's study evaluated 11 intersections or "access points," but only included one in Hemet. Planners in Hemet would typically require a developer to analyze 20 to 25 intersections for such a project.

Councilman Jim Foreman expects more accidents and emergency response calls, and he questioned the tribe's contention that crime will not increase in Hemet.

Masyczek said it's unclear who would pay for additional police officers in Hemet during special events and offsite parking. City Attorney Eric Vail said the tribe's environmental impact statement did not address global warming.

City staff plans to submit a list of concerns to the Bureau of Indian Affairs in time to meet a Sept. 15 deadline for comments.

Tish Arciniega, a member of the Save Our Communities group, told council members neighborhoods near the proposed site will be engulfed by reservation land.

Reach Michael Perrault at 951-763-3464 or mperrault@PE.com