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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES - 07272004 - SD.2 TO: BOARD OF SUPERVISORS CONTRA i FROM: John Sweeten,County Administrator COSTA DATE: July 27,2404 COUNTY SUBJECT: Proposed Indian Gaming Casino in North Richmond SPECIFIC REQUEST(S)OR RECOMMENDATION(S) & BACKGROUND AND Jr,STIFICATION RECOMMENDATION(S): I. Go on record that Contra Costa County's position on the proposed Scotts Valley Band of the Pomo Indians' casino and land trust acquisition in North Richmond is under consideration; recognizing the need for more information on the proposal., evaluation of land use, tax, service demand and other consequences and determination if the casino is appropriate to the proposed location and/or Contra Costa County. 2. AUTHORIZE the Chair, Board of Supervisors, to execute a letter to the Bureau of Indian Affairs enumerating the County's position. BACKGROUND/REASON(S) FOR RECOMMENDATION(5) On July 20, 2004, the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) published a Notice of Intent to prepare an environmental impact statement on the proposed Scotts Valley Band of the Pomo Indians Trust Acquisition and Casino Project in North Richmond, The Bureau of Indian Affairs will be holding a public scoping session on the proposal on August e and will be accepting written comments on the scope and implementation of the proposal until August 191. The Notice of Intent gives the County its first definitive description of the project, which, according to the notice, would include development of a 225,0004- square foot, 30 foot tall casino complex, consisting of a combination of uses including, but not limited to, a main gaming hall, food and beverage facilities (restaurant, buffet, food court, sports bar), entertainment lounge, banking and administrative facilities and an events center. No mention is made of a hotel, although, informal conversations with the Scotts Valley Band representative indicated the possible development of one with "several hundred rooms." The notice also references 2600 parking stalls, some on a surface lot and some within a 3±level parking structure as well other parking. CONTINUED ON ATTACHMENT. —YES SIGNATURE: 4t1 RECOMMENDATION OF COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR RECOMMENDATION OF ITTEE APPROVE OTHER SIGNATURE(S): ACTION OF BOARD ON APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED See Addendum VOTE OF SUPERVISORS I HEREBY CERTIFY THAT THIS IS A UNANIMOUS(ABSENT TRUE AND CORRECT COPY OF AN A ES. NOES: ACTION TAKEN AND ENTERED ABSENT: ABSTAIN: ON MINUTES OF THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS ON THE DATE SHOWN. Contact:Sara Hrrf' van,395-1084 ATTESTED " '(^'''" cc: CAO JOHN SW TEN,CLERA OF Indian Gom;ng 1d or'k+group THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS Stair Representatives AND COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR Federal Representatives BACK ROMD/1~~.EASON S FOR RECOMMENDATIONS cont'd The Board was briefed at its -May 11, 2004 Indian gaining workshop on the process involved in developing an Indian casino: Land into 'Frust — The land for the casing must be taken into trust by the federal government on behalf of the trine. State/Tribal Compact - A compact is required between the State of California and the tribe for operation of the casino. -Municipal Services Agreement — tinder the most recent State Compacts, municipal services agreements have been required between the tribe and local jurisdictions affected by the project. Staff'is currently in the process of contacting their counterparts in other counties to identify the scope and level of impacts that might be expected from an Indian gaming casino. In addition, Supervisor Gioia's office is working with the North Richmond Municipat Advisory Council and Parchester Village Neighborhood Council to facilitate a town hall meeting on the project on July 28`h. The results of both the staff investigation and the town hall meeting should help to provide information to support development of a more definitive position on the proposed casino, LFede.ral Register: July 20, 2004 kAlolume 69,Number 138) (Notices) (Page 43431-43432] From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access (wais.access.gpo.gov] DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR— Bureau of Indian Affairs Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for the Proposed Scotts'Valley Band of Porno Indians' Trust Acquisition and Casino Project, Contra Costa County, CA AGENCY: Bureau of Indian Affairs, Interior. ACTION: Notice. SUMMARY: This notice advises the public that the Bureau of Indian Affairs(BIA) as lead agency, with the Scotts 'Valley Band of Pomo Indians(Band) as cooperating agency, intends to gather information necessary for preparing an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for a proposed 29.87 acre trust acquisition and casino project to be located within unincorporated Contra Costa County, California. The purpose of the proposed action is to help provide for the economic development of the Band. This notice also announces a public scoping meeting to identify potential issues and content for inclusion in the EIS. DATES: Written comments on the scope and implementation of this proposal must arrive by August 19, 2004. The public scoping meeting will be held August 4, 2044, from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., or until the last public comment is received. ADDRESSES: You may mail or hand carry written comments to Clay Gregory, Regional Director, Pacific Regional Office, Bureau of Indian Affairs, 2800 Cottage Way, Sacramento, California 95825. The public scoping meeting will be held at Richmond Memorial Auditorium, 403 Civic Center Plaza, Richmond, California. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: William Allan, (916) 978-6043. SLTPLEMENTAL,INFORMATION: The Band proposes that 29.87 acres of land be taken into trust and that a casino, parking and other facilities supporting the casino be constructed on the trust acquisition property. The 29_e7 acres encompasses 6 parcels of land located entirely within unincorporated Contra Costa County, California, contiguous with the city of Richmond. The project site is adjacent to Richmond Parkway and Parr Boulevard, and within 3 miles of Interstate 80. Regional access to the casino complex would be from—Richmond Parkway via Interstate 80. The Proposed Action includes the development of 225,GOO< plus minus> square foot, 30-foot tall casino complex, which would consist of a combination of uses including,but not limited to the following: a main gaming hall; food and beverage facilities, including a restaurant, buffet, food court and sports bar; an entertainment lounge; banking and administration facilities; and an event center. The proposed facility would also include approximately 1,200 surface parking stalls and 1,400 parking stalls located in a 3 level parking structure. Spaces for self-parking, valet parking, overflow parking, bus and RV parking, employee parking and executive parking would also be provided. Driveways along Parr Boulevard would provide access to the parking areas and the casino. Areas of environmental concern to he addressed in the EIS include land use, geology and soils, water resources, agricultural resources, biological resources, cultural resources, mineral resources, paleontological resources, traffic and transportation, noise, air quality, public health/environmental hazards, public services and utilities, hazardous waste and materials, socio- economics, environmental justice, and visual resources/aesthetics. The range of issues addressed may be expanded based on comments received during the scoping process. Public Comment Availability Comments, including names and addresses of respondents, will be available for public review at the BIA address shown in the ADDRESSES section; during business hours, 8 a,m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, except holidays. Individual respondents may request confidentiality. If you wish us to withhold your name and/or address from public review or from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act, you must state this prominently at the beginning of your written comment. Such requests will be honored to the extent allowed by the law. We will not, however, consider anonymous comments. All submissions from organizations or businesses, and from individuals identifying themselves as representatives or officials of organizations or businesses, will be made available for public inspection in their entirety. Authority This notice is published in accordance with section 1503.1 of the Council on Environmental Quality Regulations (40 CFR Parts 1500 through 1508)implementing the procedural requirements of the?`rational Environmental policy Act of 1969, as amended (42 U.S.C. 4371 et seq.) , and the Department of the Interior Manual (516 DM 1-6), and is in the exercise of authority delegated to the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary--Indian Affairs by 209 DM 8.1. Dated: July 15, 2004, Aurene M. Martin, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary--Indian Affairs. [FR Doc. 04-1.6583 Filed 7-19-04; 8:45 am BILLING CODE 4310-W7-P ADDENDUM TO ITEM SD.2 July 27, 2004 On this day,the Board of Supervisors considered going on record regarding Contra Costa County's position on the proposed Scotts Valley Band of Pomo Indians' casino and land trust acquisition in North Richmond. Staff asked the Board to consider that there may be a need for more information on the proposal, an evaluation of land use,tax, and service demands,and an evaluation of other consequences to determine if the casino is appropriate to the proposed location and/or Contra Costa County. The Board of Supervisors took the following action by unanimous decision: REFERED the matter of exploring the County's position on the proposed Scotts Valley Band of the Pomo Indians' casino and land trust acquisition in North Richmond to the Board of Supervisors' Ad Hoc Committee on Indian Gaming.