Rohnert Park casino clears hurdle

A Sonoma County Indian tribe on Wednesday cleared a key hurdle in building a Las Vegas-style casino-resort on the outskirts of Rohnert Park.

The U.S. Department of the Interior announced it will take 254 acres of land near Highway 101 into federal trust for the Federated Indians of the Graton Rancheria.

The decision, published in the federal register, becomes final after a 30-day judicial review.

“This is just one of several steps in the long process to re-establish a reservation and build a resort,” said Greg Sarris, tribal chairman, in a written statement.

The tribe has been pursuing a 2,000-slot casino and hotel complex on the site since 2003. The Graton Rancheria Restoration Act of 2000, introduced by Sen. Barbara Boxer, said the secretary of the Interior “shall accept into trust for the benefit of the tribe any real property located in Marin or Sonoma County.”

There are several things the tribe must do before a casino can be built on the site: complete an environmental review, get federal approval of its casino management arrangement with Station Casinos Inc. of Las Vegas and negotiate a gaming compact with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenneger.

The environmental review could be complete in late summer. Management contract approval would follow. The governor has not said if or when compact negotiations would happen.

Casino opponents downplayed the latest development.

Pastor Chip Worthington of Stop the Casino 101 Coalition said the land is under state jurisdiction, not federal. He contended that the Bureau of Indian Affairs decision is invalid without a vote of the state Legislature. He accused the tribe and its Las Vegas partner, Station Casinos, of reservation shopping.

“The people don’t want this casino, the local governments don’t want it, and it’s an environmental nightmare,” Worthington said in a written statement.