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County Starts Negotiating with Chumash over Expansion Plans
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BY LY Z H O F F M A N
COU RTESY
PAU L WELLM AN F I LE PHOTO
ead horses, red herrings, and fruit metaphors peppered this week’s Board of Supervisors discussion on the Chumash resort expansion plans. First floated in March and elaborated on in July via a 556-page environmental study, the tribe’s idea to ease overcrowding at its existing hotel-casino involves the construction of a 12-story hotel tower, a five-story parking garage, and 75,000 square feet of additional gaming space. The plans have attracted the attention of not only four county departments but also State Attorney General Kamala Harris, a law firm representing the Santa Ynez Valley Airport Authority, and the Santa Ynez River Water Conservation District. On Tuesday, the supervisors made their thoughts known to county CEO Mona Miyasato, who is set to meet with tribal leadership on Thursday. Touched on most often were worries about the tower’s height and the BIG AND TALL: The rendering in the lower image shows what resort’s water needs in the 12-story hotel tower would look like from Highway 154. an ongoing drought. But Tribal Chair Vincent Armenta (top) states the resort expansion while concerned com- has nothing to do with Camp 4. menters — most of the supervisors and members of the public alike — think that a 12-story building would mesh with accounted for much of the discussion, several the area’s otherwise rural landscape. The Santa speakers said the issue really stemmed from a Ynez Valley Airport Authority said the tower divided vote to deny the tribe a government-to- would impede the use of one of its two rungovernment relationship with the county. That ways during bad weather and called on the vote, a year ago this week, preceded the super- tribe to “reconsider the location and height” of visors’ denial of the tribe’s request to annex the the 140-foot-tall building. 1,400-acre Camp property. Soon after, the Chris Dahlstrom of the Santa Ynez River tribe took its bid to Congress, where the annex- Water Conservation District — which supation is now a piece of proposed legislation. plies the casino-hotel with 22,600 gallons of But rd District Supervisor Doreen Farr water per day — said the extra 35,700 gallons said the long-brewing Camp issue and the the expanded resort would require would be a newly proposed expansion are “separate con- tough sell for his department, already dealing versations” and that she wants to focus on with the drought and chromium-6 issues. The the size and scope of the additions, which she tribe hasn’t applied yet, Dahlstrom said, but he said would worry her no matter the appli- cautioned that no new water services are being cant. “However, the concerns are exacerbated issued now. First District Supervisor Salud Carbajal, because this is a project on tribal land and does not go through the local land-use process,” Farr who voted with th District Supervisor Steve declared. “This is our opportunity to try to get Lavagnino in favor of open dialogue last year, all of those concerns expressed. I think that said the county could have been better off we are trying to negotiate here and have a real with a different approach. “Not to beat a dead horse any further,” he said, “[but] I still am a dialogue.” Save for the supervisors’ comments that firm believer that if we had a government-toMiyasato will bring to the negotiations this government dialogue, perhaps we could have week, a “second bite at the apple” for the board discussed this and other plans in advance.” Carwill only happen if discussions are “successful,” bajal said the refusal hasn’t resulted in “fruitful the county CEO said. According to County outcomes.” Counsel Mike Ghizzoni, the state will deterTribal leadership has said previously that its mine whether the tribe’s mitigation measures expansion plans are unrelated to its Camp push, and Chair Vincent Armenta said as much are in “good faith.” In her letter, Attorney General Harris noted on Tuesday, using the phrase “scare tactic” to “deficiencies” with the Chumash proposal, describe such allegations. “This has nothing to questioning why the resort’s water usage wasn’t do with Camp ,” he said, adding,“If they want further studied and asking how the tribe could to give us Camp , we’ll certainly accept it.” ■
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