A lawsuit was filed Tuesday by a Santa Ynez Valley group seeking to overturn the federal government’s decision to take the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians’ Camp 4 property into trust for the tribe. (Click Here to Read Full Article)
News
Noozhawk: Legal Actions Continue After County, Chumash Ink Pact for Camp 4 Property
A Santa Ynez Valley group and three neighbors of land known as Camp 4 have filed a federal lawsuit challenging the decision to take 1,400 acres into trust on behalf of the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash of Indians.
Meanwhile, an attorney for another neighbor, the Crawford family’s San Lucas Ranch, renewed objections to an agreement between Santa Barbara County and the tribe.
On Tuesday, Santa Ynez Valley Concerned Citizens filed the lawsuit challenging the federal action to take the Camp 4 property into trust. (Click Here to Read Full Article)
Breaking News – Camp not a done deal, federal lawsuit filed to reverse fee to trust decision
On Tuesday, Santa Barbara County chose to forsake its responsibility to protect the interests of the residents of the Santa Ynez Valley along with burdening all County taxpayers with additional taxes by approving its intergovernmental with the Chumash for Camp 4.
Fortunately, along with the Santa Ynez Valley Coalition, there are groups willing to stand up and fight for the Santa Ynez Valley. That very day, Santa Ynez Valley Concerned Citizens(SYVCC) filed suit in federal court seeking to overturn the Camp 4 fee-to-trust action.
If this suit prevails, the Bureau of Indian Affair’s decision to approve the Chumash’s trust application would be reversed, and a more thorough analysis of the impacts of this action would need to be undertaken before it is reconsidered. Obviously, the cursory impact analysis that was previously undertaken was completely insufficient for any federal decision of this magnitude.
You can read the SYVCC press release here, and you should click here to download and read a copy of the Concerned Citizens court filing.
We will keep you posted on more developments as they arise.
As you always, if you have questions, need more information, feel free to send us a note.
Lompoc Record: Jim Sobell: Looking into the future of tribal lands
After three rapid-fire meetings in the Santa Ynez Valley to hear public comments on the Camp 4 agreement between the Chumash and Santa Barbara County, I came away with the feeling this is only the tip of the iceberg.
The tribe has purchased every single piece of property on the north side of Highway 246 from directly across from the casino to the eastern edge of the Camp 4 property. The word “contiguous” comes into play because the BIA looks favorably on tribes whose lands connect to the original reservation. (Click Here to Read Full Article)
Date Change for Board of Supervisors Meeting to Consider County/Chumash agreement
If you needed any more evidence that your presence at public meetings makes a difference — we have learned that the Board of Supervisors has postponed their consideration of the Santa Barbara County/Chumash Camp 4 agreement. As public stated repeatedly at the previous meetings, the rush to move this agreement forward was coming at the expense of residents and taxpayers.
The rescheduled date is October 31. Please save that date and we will provide you with more details as to the location and time. Also, please forward this email to your friends.
In the meantime, we can put this time to good use by letting the County Supervisors know our views. Below are some of the major issues we see with the current draft of the agreement:
- Provides NO guarantees that Camp 4 open space and ag land will be conserved;
- Puts ALL county taxpayers on the hook to pay public safety and other costs to meet the needs of Chumash Camp 4 development;
- Contains no specific prohibition against tribal gaming on Camp 4; and
- Does not address the Tribe exporting of water from Camp 4.
In addressing these and other issues, the County says it is relying on the federal government’s Environmental Assessment (EA) that it previously went to court to challenge because it was so flawed. However, without these and other issues specifically included in the contractual agreement, residents have no assurances that their quality of life and pocketbooks will be protected. [Read more…] about Date Change for Board of Supervisors Meeting to Consider County/Chumash agreement
3rd public meeting on Monday, October 9th in Buellton on the County/Chumash Agreement
First, thanks to all that attended the public meeting in Solvang yesterday morning. Again, the community turned out and was heard. Our presence at these meeting sends a powerful message. Your time is among the most valuable things you can share. Thank you for sharing a bit of your time to protect the Santa Ynez Valley. It makes a difference.
Before you start your weekend, we want to remind you about the 3rd of these public hearings on Monday, October 9 at 5:30 p.m. at the Santa Ynez Valley Marriott, 555 McMurray Rd., in Buellton. We hope that you will be able to attend.
For more information, you can go to the Santa Valley Coalition’s website or the County’s.
As always, if you have any questions or need further information, please let send us a note.
Thank you.
Santa Ynez Valley Coalition
Reminder: Public Meeting tomorrow on County/Chumash Agreement and key questions about it
We just wanted to send you a quick note to remind you about the public meeting TOMORROW, Thursday, Oct. 5, at 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. at the Solvang Veterans Memorial Building 1745 Mission Drive Solvang. The County has released the draft Camp 4 agreementand you should review it.
We know how valuable your time is, but these public meetings are important and we hope you will attend.
At the Board of Supervisors meeting yesterday, the community was promised answers at this meeting to the questions previously asked. Below are key questions about the proposed agreement for your consideration. The community deserves answers to these and the other questions at this meeting – not at some point in the future on a website.
- What happens after 2040? The agreement expires in 2040. What happens then? Is the Tribe then allowed to do anything it wants on Camp 4, including building the massive amount of commercial development like it proposed in March 2016 and/or another Casino?
- What guarantees do residents have that open space and ag land will be protected?The agreement references the land uses spelled out in Alternative B of the Environmental Assessment (EA) and notes that land will be preserved as open space and ag use. Once the land is in trust, as indicated in the agreement, then under tribal sovereignty anything can be changed even before 2040.
- What happens if federal legislation is not enacted? The agreement assumes that H.R. 1491 will be amended to incorporate the terms of the agreement. What happens if H.R. 1491 is neither appropriately amended or is not enacted, is the agreement moot or subject to change by a future County Board of Supervisors and Tribal Council?
- Where is the prohibition on future casinos? The agreement contains no specific prohibition against gaming on Camp 4. Has the County given up on opposing the expansion of gaming in the Santa Ynez Valley?
Media Release: Media Release: Statement of Santa Ynez Valley Coalition regarding “patently absurd” process to consider Chumash/County Agreement
(Santa Ynez, Calif.) Below is the statement of Santa Ynez Valley Coalition Chair Bill Krauch presented today at the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors meeting in Santa Barbara.
Thank you for the opportunity to share with you the views of the Santa Ynez Valley Coalition regarding the proposed Memorandum of Agreement between Santa Barbara County and the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians. Coalition member organizations represent the views of thousands of Santa Ynez Valley residents and include: Santa Ynez Valley Concerned Citizens, No More Slots, and WE Watch.The mission of the Santa Ynez Valley Coalition is to ensure that Santa Ynez Valley residents have a voice in land use decisions affecting our water, environment, public safety, and economy. We oppose “Fee to Trust” efforts by the Chumash Indians.
The mission of the Santa Ynez Valley Coalition is to ensure that Santa Ynez Valley residents have a voice in land use decisions affecting our water, environment, public safety, and economy. We oppose “Fee to Trust” efforts by the Chumash Indians.
The process you are considering for the consideration and approval of this agreement troubles us. After months of closed-door meetings, the public was only able to review the MOA late last week, and the Board will consider and act on it 2 weeks from today. Also, at the meeting last week, many questions were asked and responses were promised. To date, none of those questions have been answered.
As Supervisor Hartmann noted last week, the MOA is based on thousands of pages of documents and required the extensive efforts of lawyers and professionals working for the County and the Tribe to draft. And now, you are expecting county citizens who are volunteering their time and effort to drop everything they are doing to review and comment on the MOA and the corresponding “thousand’s of pages documents” upon which it is based? The process you are considering is patently absurd. [Read more…] about Media Release: Media Release: Statement of Santa Ynez Valley Coalition regarding “patently absurd” process to consider Chumash/County Agreement
KEYT – Future of Camp Four discussed at public meeting in Los Olivos
Noozhawk – Santa Barbara County, Chumash Tribe Reveal Tentative Pact for Camp 4 Site
Residents speak out about the lack details as full agreement won’t be released until later this week
The more than 200 people who showed up Monday night at a Santa Ynez Valley church to hear details of a tentative agreement between Santa Barbara County and the Chumash regarding 1,400 acres called Camp 4 were not happy with what they heard.
Almost all of the 20 or so people who spoke during the public comment period expressed frustration and irritation that no more information was provided than what was posted online Friday afternoon in a summary of the long-anticipated agreement. (Click here to read full article)