Build It and They Will Come
By Amy Yannello, Roseville Press-Tribune
Looking out over a 58-acre parcel that may one day house a casino, Jessica Tavares – chairwoman of the United Auburn Indian Community – imagines a life where tribal members and their children have health insurance, separate homes and educational opportunities currently unavailable to them.
"It’s about our quality of life," Tavares said Tuesday. "Our current reservation looks like (the aftermath of) World War III. Alcoholism is rampant. We need to provide treatment and education so our young people don’t grow up the same way."
She and others appear before the Roseville City Council today to defend their proposal to build a 49-acre casino on Athens Avenue and Industrial Boulevard. The meeting, expected to draw an overflow crowd, begins at 7 p.m. in council chambers at 311 Vernon St.
According to Tavares, about 95 percent of the 90 or so adult tribal members are unemployed. There are 180 members of the tribe.
"We need to have adult education so we can build skills and people’s self-esteem," Tavares said. "This project represents self-sufficiency to us. W want to be a god neighbor and work out any problems. We want a hand-up, not a hand-out."
At issue this week and next week is whether the city will support – and Placer County will accept – the tribe’s offer to enter into a memorandum of understanding, or MOU, with local jurisdictions outlining specific steps the tribe will take to mitigate off-site impacts from the project on surrounding communities.
County supervisors will vote Aug. 24 whether to accept the MOU – which has been in negotiations for at least two years.
Broadcast on Public Access Channel 11, tonight’s public hearing will be the first chance many Roseville residents have had to hear a detailed description about the proposed project. Strong opposition to the casino is expected to be offered by some residents as well.
"The biggest misunderstanding about this project, in my view, is that people don’t understand that we’re mitigating the very impacts that they are worried about," Tavares said.
Two such impacts – the increased need for sheriff’s patrols and the establishment of a buffer zone around the casino – have already been addressed.
According to Placer County Sheriff Ed Bonner, the tribe agreed to his request for some $455,500 annually to fund five new deputies, a patrol car, guns and other equipment. This will allow him to staff what is essentially a new patrol beat 24 hours per day, he said.
Currently, Bonner has one deputy covering an area spreading from west Roseville through Lincoln, to Camp Far West and Sheridan during any given shift.
"This agreement allows us to split the area in half and thereby double our police presence within that entire community," Bonner said, responding to charges by some residents that casinos attract more crime to the area, including prostitution, loan sharking and drug dealing.
"Is this going to change the face of safety in this county? I don’t think so," Bonner said. "We’d expect the occasional drug deal in the parking lot, and drunk driving arrests, but that’s what you’d expect to see at any night club. I don’t expect prostitution or loan sharking."
Bonner said he feels comfortable making such statements based on research he did in various counties, such as Yolo, that have casinos.
"Yolo County has a wonderful working relationship with their tribe," he said, referring to the Rumsey tribe that operates Cache Creek Casino inWoodland.
"If you have a well-run casino from a security standpoint and you have open lines of communication between the local jurisdiction and the tribal council, then you’re going to be able to handle any problems that arise. Given the level of cooperation shown by (United Auburn Indians), I’m satisfied we’ll deal with this successfully," Bonner added.
Land use issues have generally been ironed out as well, with the tribe agreeing to put a nine-acre buffer zone around the 49-acre project. Additionally, United Auburn Indians have agreed to: ▪ Comply with the environmental review process in Placer County, as well as adhere to rules set forth in the California Environmental Quality Act – something that would set the tribe apart from any other in the nation.
Under the Auburn Indian Restoration Act of 1994, the tribe is only required to comply with a national environmental assessment – a substantially less intensive tool than CEQA, according to environmentalists. ▪ Develop the land in compliance with county and community general plans, zoning and design guidelines. ▪ Compensate Placer county and other local governments for fire, emergency medical and wastewater services provided on tribal land. ▪ Compensate the county annually for all revenues lost due to the removal of the trust lands from the county’s tax rolls. ▪ Provide financial support to the California Council on Problem Gambling for outreach to the community and schools and training for casino employees.
Copyright © 1999, Roseville Press-Tribune
