Elk Grove council repeals Indian casino ordinance

According to The Sacramento Bee, the council vote eliminates the need for a costly voter referendum on whether the October ordinance, which altered the city’s development agreement with Hughes, should stand. Casino opponents had submitted 14,900 signatures in support of a ballot referendum that would overturn the council's decision, nearly 6,000 more than necessary.

“I’ve heard loud and clear,” the public’s opposition to the October change, Mayor Steve Ly said before casting his vote to repeal the ordinance, in which he was joined by all the other council members who voted. Councilman Patrick Hume recused himself from the matter.

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Tribal members want to build a $400 million casino, hotel and convention center on the land and asked the the federal government to take it into trust for the tribe

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The 35 acres is part of 100 acres that under the original development agreement was to be part of a shopping mall on Highwy 99 at the south edge of the city. The Howard Hughes Corp. has argued that the casino is needed to driver traffic to the mall.

Under former President Barack Obama’s administration, the U.S. Interior Department had announced its intention to place the land in trust, but did not actually put it in trust.

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What might happen under President Donald Trump, a casino developer who opposed Indian gambling in the past, is uncertain

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After the vote, tribal chairman Raymond Hitchcock said he’s confident the land will be taken into trust by the Trump administration. The Interior Department has already given the tribe its decision, Hitchcock said. He characterized the final steps to place the land in trust as an administrative matter.

Wednesday’s meeting drew a standing-room-only crowd, with a majority of those who spoke voicing opposition to the casino. Many argued that a casino would be a magnet for crime and would alter the character of the Elk Grove community.

While other area casinos like Thunder Valley in Placer County and Red Hawk in El Dorado County are in semi-rural areas, the proposed Elk Grove site is in a city and would be close to residential neighborhoods, they said.

Some urged the council to call an election so residents could make clear whether they wanted a casino or not, while others called for rescinding the ordinance and avoiding the expense of an election.

“Fiscal responsibility has stood in the way of even voting for council people,” said Suzanne Pecci, citing the council’s decisions in recent years to fill several vacant council seats by appointment, “so I can’t see you putting this on the ballot.”

Randy Bekker said many of his fellow speakers misunderstood the council’s action regarding the development agreement and what a referendum would accomplish.

“There is no vote on a casino,” he said. “Repeal the development agreement and stop it. There is no reason to continue this mess. They don’t understand what they are voting on.”

Councilman Darren Suen said that once it was determined enough signatures had been submitted to call for a referendum, the council’s action to remove the 35 acres from the development agreement was frozen.

“The record of decision as it stands today allows it to be put into trust regardless of the development agreement on the property,” Suen said. “The common ground I heard tonight was repeal the ordinance and save some money.”

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/community/elk-grove/article131621604.html#storylink=cpy