Chumash Counter Casino Opposition

It’s been one fight after another since the Chumash Indians began expanding their gambling casino here. The casino has been criticized as an eyesore. County officials have said it should contribute more -- up to a few million dollars -- to offset increased costs to the community. Then local leaders started questioning whether the tribe should be allowed to serve wine in a fancy steakhouse it plans to add to its growing casino.

Tribal Chairman Vincent Armenta decided enough was enough. It was time to counterattack.

And that’s how, incongruously, the war on terror got injected into the seemingly endless controversy over the Chumash Casino. In this otherwise tranquil chunk of Santa Barbara County -- best known for its vineyards and the antics of local resident Michael Jackson -- Armenta called a meeting last week to showcase area leaders and citizens who like the tribe and its casino expansion.

The point was to counter news stories often relying on the views of county Supervisor Gail Marshall and a local dude ranch executive, Charles Jackson, both critics of the expansion.

Tribal head Armenta said there has been an inaccurate impression created that the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians doesn’t care about the communities surrounding its 127-acre reservation. On the contrary, he said, the tribe has given all kinds of help to neighboring communities.

There will be even more help in the future, Armenta noted. For example, he said, in the event of a “high level of terrorist alert,” the casino could be used as a center for emergency operations. And the tribe’s health clinic, already open for public as well as tribal use, also could be valuable.

Agreeing with Armenta, Santa Barbara County Sheriff Jim Anderson said the tribe’s expanded casino complex would be a “great facility” and a welcome resource in the event of terrorism or any kind of natural disaster.

Anderson added that the Sheriff’s Department already has an excellent relationship with the tribe, and that he doesn’t expect any major additional problems when the new casino and an adjacent hotel are completed.

Much of the session at the tribal hall overlooking the casino was devoted to reports of good rapport with the tribe on issues ranging from sewage and water to construction. Local union officials also praised the tribe for almost exclusively hiring local workers and union members.

The liquor license for the tribe’s new restaurant, which still requires approval from the state Alcoholic Beverage Control Department, triggered the most recent controversy. Opponents have said they fear that drinking will eventually spread into the casino, where 18-year-olds are allowed.

Armenta said at the meeting that the tribe has always vetoed liquor in the casino itself, and would strictly limit drinking to the restaurant. The tribal chairman said it was preposterous for critics to be opposing alcohol in the middle of wine country, where wine-tasting rooms and cafes in all directions serve liquor.

“There are over 21,000 acres of vineyards in Santa Barbara County and more than 62 wineries in the county, located primarily in the Santa Ynez Valley,” he said.

“Can these critics actually tell me with a straight face that our liquor license for our fine-dining restaurant is going to place a significant burden on the community, when literally thousands of people visit valley wineries and their tasting rooms regularly?”

Jackson, the dude ranch operator and co-chairman of an organization called the Santa Ynez Valley Concerned Citizens Group, noted that the casino allows 18-year-olds to gamble and might not check ages adequately in the restaurant.

Jackson also speculated that the casino restaurant might draw a different and more unruly clientele than the visitors who routinely sip wine and shop for antiques in the quaint hamlets that dot the valley.

Supervisor Marshall, saying many residents oppose the casino expansion, also expressed worries about eventual expansion of drinking throughout the casino. Marshall has led the way in county efforts to persuade the tribe to pay significant mitigation costs because of the expansion, but the tribe’s status as a separate nation gives the county no power to demand such payments.

Negotiations are expected this month between Gov. Gray Davis and the Chumash and other tribes on possible revisions of existing state gambling compacts. Santa Barbara County has pushed hard to persuade Davis to fight for local mitigation fees during the renegotiations, but officials think he might be more interested in generating new money to help reduce the state budget deficit.

Santa Barbara County initially estimated that the tribe should pay more than $7 million for affordable housing, schools, roads and police. Those are additional services that they say will be needed after the casino expands its operation and number of employees. Marshall, who was not invited to Armenta’s meeting, has said the estimate is down to about $5.8 million.

“My sense is that the governor is not focusing on local government here,” she said. “I don’t know if we will ever see a penny.”

Armenta said that the entire “mitigation” argument is misleading, that most of the 200 new casino employees already live in the area.

He also stressed that the coming negotiations are with the state and not the county, and that the tribe already donates about $1 million annually to local schools and community groups.

At the meeting, a Lompoc fire chief thanked the tribal leader for donating thermal imaging devices to help fight fires, and a Guadalupe politician praised him for helping finance a trip to New Mexico by a youth group.

One tribal booster on hand who echoed Armenta’s main theme was Alice Patino, administrative assistant to the county’s 4th District supervisor, Joni Gray.

Gray frequently opposes Marshall on county issues.

“We feel you have been such a good neighbor, very accommodating to everyone,” Patino said. “We’d love to have you in our district.”