Sonoma County Tribal Casino Indefinitely Delayed by Federal Court Ruling

Posted on: December 26, 2024, 01:00h. 

Last updated on: December 26, 2024, 02:12h.

Devin O'Connor @CasinoorgDevinO Read More
Expertise: Asia Pacific Gaming, Commercial Gaming, Legislation, Politics.

A tribal casino planned for California’s Sonoma County has been indefinitely delayed by a federal judge.

Sonoma County casino Koi Nation Graton
The Koi Nation’s proposed Shiloh casino and resort in California’s Sonoma County. The tribal casino has been put on hold after a federal judge granted a temporary restraining order against the US government. (Image: Koi Nation)

Last week, a federal judge in California’s Northern District Court granted a temporary restraining order to the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria. The tribe, which owns and operates the Graton Hotel & Casino in Rohnert Park, alleged that the Koi Nation’s proposed tribal casino near Windsor shouldn’t be authorized by the US Interior Department’s Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA).

Judge Rita Lin agreed with the Graton’s claims that the BIA might have rushed its review of the Koi Nation’s claims that it has ancestral ties to Windsor and that the 68 acres of land it acquired in September 2021 should be taken into the federal trust.

“The court decision was absolutely correct in understanding the haste with which the Department of Interior is trying to push the Koi decision forward and issuing an injunction,” said Graton Rancheria Chairman Greg Sarris.

Lin’s ruling was imperative, as the BIA in November issued its Final Environmental Impact Statement on the Koi tribal casino that initiated a 30-day public comment period. The Interior Department was expected to take the land located along E. Shiloh Rd. at Old Redwood Highway into the federal trust sometime after the public comment period closed on December 22. Lin’s granting of the temporary restraining order came on December 20.

Naturally, we were disappointed that the judge granted the temporary restraining order, but the operative word here is temporary. Another hearing will be held on January 9, 2025, at which time the record will be much further developed and the court not so reliant on just one side of the story,” the Koi Nation said in a statement to Casino.org. “It’s possible that between now and then, Interior could appeal the issuance of the TRO.  It’s also possible that it could conduct further consultation with Graton, though it’s not clear to us that Graton would actually consult further with the BIA.”

The Koi further stated that the Graton know “full well that there are no human remains or culturally significant artifacts on the Shiloh property,” adding that the Gratton’s own archeologist was onsite during the forensic excavations the tribe itself requested of the BIA during consultation.

“This motion is a pretext designed to use the federal courts to protect its competitive superiority in the Sonoma County gaming market much like it deployed political antics to bring undue political pressure on the Interior Department to deny our fee-to-trust application,” the Koi concluded.

Project on Hold 

The federal restraining order halts the BIA and DOI from taking the Koi property into the federal trust until representatives from the federal agencies and attorneys from the Koi Nation and Graton Rancheria present additional comments in her courtroom on January 9.

US attorneys say the restraining order shouldn’t have been granted. They say due diligence was performed, including a site survey and canine forensic search for human remains on the property. They also claim no final decision on whether to take the land into the trust had been determined before the temporary restraining order was issued.

No human remains were found on the property. Only a single chipped piece of obsidian was discovered. Obsidian is a naturally occurring volcanic glass that was used by tribal nations as tools, weapons, and ornamental objects.

Lin’s temporary restraining order is expected to run through January 20 when President-elect Donald Trump is sworn in and current Interior Secretary Deb Haaland exits. Haaland, the first tribal member to head the DOI, has been a strong ally of tribes, specifically smaller tribes seeking to have new lands taken into trust.

Her likely successor, former North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum (R), is expected to retain strong tribal relations. However, DOI decisions have been overturned from one administration to the next.

Under the first Trump administration, land in Massachusetts that had been deemed sovereign under President Barack Obama’s DOI was overturned. That halted work on a $1 billion tribal casino resort in Taunton.

Local Opposition

Many in the Sonoma County region have expressed opposition to the Koi casino, which includes more than 500K square feet of indoor space and a casino measuring 114K square feet with 2,750 slot machines and 105 table games. A 400-room hotel, a spa, five restaurants, retail shopping, and convention space are also in the blueprint.

Brenda Alarcon, a lifelong Santa Rosa resident and small business owner, says the region most famous for its picturesque wine vineyards is becoming a sort of “mini Lake Tahoe.”

This casino intrusion has to stop,” Alarcon told Casino.org. “There’s a casino in almost every town along Highway 101. We don’t have enough water and infrastructure to support what’s already here.”

Graton alleges that the Koi Nation has engaged in “reservation shopping,” the act of claiming ancestral ties to a highly desirable economic area.