Thursday, August 21, 2003
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

Station, tribe to buy land, build California casino

Proposed gambling resort to be 40 miles north of San Francisco

ROHNERT PARK, Calif. -- A landless American Indian tribe and its Las Vegas business partner said Wednesday they will build a gambling resort just outside this city, where politicians welcome the casino's economic potential but some residents remain wary.

The announcement means the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria has abandoned original plans to build the controversial casino near wetlands just north of San Francisco Bay -- a proposal that ran into fierce opposition from Sonoma County residents, politicians and environmentalists.

The tribe and Las Vegas-based Station Casinos Inc. said Wednesday they signed a deal to purchase 360 undeveloped acres just west of Rohnert Park, about 40 miles north of San Francisco. They will soon present the plan to local officials and begin negotiations on the project's impact and revenue-sharing with the community.

The Graton tribe of about 600 Miwoks and Pomos regained federal recognition three years ago and vowed not to enter gaming. But after scouting opportunities in winemaking, cheese production and organic farming, the tribe decided gambling was its best ticket to self-reliance.

"Local leaders asked us -- and we agreed -- to find a site where we could partner with the local community, protect the environment and provide maximum economic benefits for local residents and business," Tribal Chairman Greg Sarris said. "We believe we have that opportunity in Rohnert Park."

Sarris promised the project would blend with the region's wine country aesthetic. Unlike Las Vegas, he said, "there won't be neon, or jumping dolphins."

If the federal government lets the tribe make the newly targeted land its reservation, the tribe said it will give Sonoma County rights to the 2,000 acres where it had first proposed its casino. In April, the tribe and Station Casinos announced their intention to build a complex with 1,900 slot machines and 200 hotel rooms near Sears Point in southern Sonoma County.

That proposal triggered intense opposition from residents who said the casino would clog traffic, hurt business and threaten a 30-year effort to restore San Francisco Bay wetlands.

While Rohnert Park officials expressed optimism the casino could help the cash-strapped city, the project still faces community and environmental hurdles. The location includes portions of a marsh that is home to endangered plants and animals, and some residents do not welcome the prospect of a large casino going up down the street.

"If they tell you the people of Rohnert Park are all for this, they're not," Chip Worthington, pastor of the Rohnert Park Assembly of God, told the Santa Rosa Press Democrat. "The City Council is looking for the money, but they haven't asked the people."

Jake Mackenzie, the city councilman who says he proposed bringing the casino here, said potential tax revenues were a big attraction.

"This would be a revenue stream that we could depend on," Mackenzie said. "These are uncertain times for government finance. This is an opportunity to negotiate something that will benefit the city overall."

Even so, he said he expected "vociferous opposition on both moral and environmental grounds."