What can the communities of Gilroy and Hollister do about the
proposed Indian Casino in San Benito County and the Santa Clara
County Sargent Ranch developments?
Dear Editor,
What can the communities of Gilroy and Hollister do about the proposed Indian Casino in San Benito County and the Santa Clara County Sargent Ranch developments? In order to find out, I have been researching the Web. I found a Web site by a non-profit, gambling watchdog group, Stand Up for California, (www.standupca.org) which has very good information with helpful links to other Web sites.
There was a link to an extremely informative report prepared for the 68th Annual Conference International Municipal Lawyers Association by Perkins Coie LLP titled “The Impact of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act on Gambling in the United States and Role for State and Local Governments,” Oct. 13, 2003.
According to this report, there are effective responses a community can take.
They state: “The key point is that, while an early response is better, community options for an effective response exist at virtually any point that the community decides to become active. … The second principle is that it should not be assumed that casino development is a foregone conclusion. There are many tools available to local communities to oppose or influence such development, especially in unacceptable and off-reservation locations. It is possible to defeat, or substantially modify, undesirable casino proposals, no matter what their proponents may claim.”
Since there is a long, arduous process for the tribes to go through, these proposals are not inevitable. The tribe involved with the Sargent Ranch needs to first gain federal recognition and then apply to have the land placed in federal trust status before it can be developed. While the tribe involved with the Indian casino is already federally recognized, it still needs to have the land it intends to buy placed in federal trust (not always a quick and easy thing to do).
If, in the case of the Indian casino proposal, they are successful in the federal trust application, they would then have to negotiate with the State of California and the governor for a gaming compact. This step, too, may be very difficult especially if there is local opposition. In a Sacramento Bee newspaper article published on Aug. 30, Governor Schwarzenegger spokesman, Vince Sollitto, stated the following: “This governor will not concur in any other casinos in an urban setting. It would take an act of Congress to make him do so. In fact, that’s what it took to make him do this one.” He was referring to the huge, mega-casino proposal in San Pablo.
Our city council is wise to join forces on Oct. 27 with Hollister, Santa Clara and San Benito counties to gather information regarding the pros and cons of these two proposals. They must achieve a “seat-at-the-table” and be involved early in the process. I imagine future meetings of this group will be open to the public so that the citizens of our communities are informed and allowed to participate in the process as well.
Carolyn Tognetti, Gilroy
