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HomeMy WebLinkAbout35-Public Comments Handout 2 Alliancelor Community Rights PO Box 2807 San Bernardino, CA 92406-2807 alliance4communityrights@}ldelphia.net www.alliance4communityrights.org June 7, 2004 Mayor Judith Valles and Members of the Common Council City Hall 300 N. D Street San Bernardino, CA 92418 Dear Mayor Valles and Members of the Common Council: Late last month, the public learned of a Draft Agreement between the City and the San Manuel Tribal government. This "agreement" would result in the payment by the Tribe to the City up to $5.5 million to improve Victoria A venue. Other provisions of the agreement alluded to payments to the County for unspecific flood control improvements. This agreement was negotiated without the consultation of the leaders of the City of Highland and County of San Bernardino. Furthermore, neighbors of the San Manuel casino expansion project were left out of the process. As the persons most directly impacted by the existing and future traffic, noise, air quality, public safety, and aesthetic impacts of the casino expansion project, we know best the measures that would reduce the casino-related impacts to our families and neighborhoods. The Draft Agreement, as written, is woefully inadequate. All this agreement does is assure that Victoria A venue will be widened so that more vehicles and more persons can trek though our neighborhoods on their way to the Tribe's casino. The Draft Agreement short-changes the City and the neighbors of the Tribe's casino; lacks the specificity required to ensure casino-related impacts are sufficiently mitigated; and will unnecessarily limit the City's options in the event future Tribal developments further increase off- Reservation impacts. The Draft Agreement was the product of a secretive process that excluded the parties (neighbors, City of Highland, County) of the opportunity to provide input and comment. To assist the City in the creation of equitable and responsible agreement, the Alliance for Community Rights (ACR) had compiled a summary of the many issues that our members believe must be addressed in any agreement. Please note, the attached list is only a preliroinary listing of the issues ACR believes must be addressed in any agreement with the Tribe. ACR respectfully requests the right to submit additional and/or more detailed suggestions at a latter date. ACR once again recommends that the City contact Daniel Kolkey, the Governor's Chief Negotiator for Tribal-State Gaming Compacts. Only by pursing a more active role in the negotiation process can the health and safety of your constituents, and the quality of life in our neighborhoods be adequately protected. Should you have any comment or questions related to ACR's suggestions, please feel free to contact me at (909) 289-2426. Thank you for your timely consideration of this matter. Very respectfully, ~;;LL "-'.',"" Carl Winter President, Alliance for Community Rights Entered into Record" Council/CmyDevCms Mta: by ~*~ reAgendaltem (2,....1,~ ~ ~~LL fol.~ City Clerk/CDC SKy Cily .f San Bemlrdino {,/7/0-/ cc: City Attorney, City Clerk . 1. Public Review and Comment I Conformitv willi other Al!reements a) The City must not enter into any agreement with the Tribe until such time that it has provided comment to the California's Tribal-State Compact negotiator as to the numerous significant and specific off- Reservation impacts caused by on-Reservation gambling and commercial operations. b) The City must not enter into any agreement with the Tribe until the outcome of the November elections and the status of the competing gaming-related ballot initiatives is determined. c) Prior to establishing terms of any agreement, the City must engage the public as to the scope of the agreement, the impacts to be mitigated and proposed mitigation. The City must incorporate the desires of the community into the agreement. d) Any violation of the City-Tribal agreement will constitute a breach of the existing and/or future Tribal- State Compact. e) The agreement must mandate an independent and publicly-reviewed audit of the Tribe's conformity with the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA) and the existing Tribal-State Compact. The operation of any expanded gambling must not be permitted unless all current and future gambling operations fully comply with IGRA and the Tribal-State Compact. f) Any agreement negotiated by the City and the Tribe does not constitute and endorsement/approval by the City of past Tribal actions, nor does such an agreement relieve the Tribe of the responsibility and requirement to mitigate for off-Reservation impacts that resulted from previous Tribal actions, nor the Tribe's requirement to comply with IGRA and the Tribal-State Compact. g) The provisions of any future agreement shall not supersede the provisions in any previous agreement unless these issues are reiterated and re-negotiated in the newer agreement. h) Any plan, study, document, review, exhibit, side agreement, mitigation program, condition, financing scheme, statistic, supporting document, ordinance or other information, mandated or cited in the agreement, whether generated by the City or Tribe must be made available for public review. i) The Tribe's intention to pursue future development and/or the announcement of the availability of any study, plan, review, supporting document, and/or environmental review shall be posted at two locations (the intersections of VictorialLynwood and VictorialHighland) for a period not less than 30-days. The posting of any such notice shall be such as it is viewable and readable from vehicles traveling along these roadways. The notice shall be in addition to any other State or Federal noticing requirement. 2. Full Disclosure of Tribal Development Plans: a) The Tribe must provide a detailed description as to the size, location, and type of gambling operations and supporting facilities (e.g., parking, administration) as well as' the size, location, and type of any other commercial operation that is currently developed or is under construction on Tribal lands. Commercial operations shall be defined as any for-profit endeavor including (but not limited): retail or wholesale sales, restaurants, conference facilities, manufacturing and processing, entertainment, and office and professional services. b) The City shall be informed of any future development project(s) that may occur on-Reservation. The Tribe shall provide such notice at the earliest possible date, but in no case shall such notification be less than that required of a non-Tribal development project. 1 c) All future Tribal development projects, in their entirety, shall be subject to environmental review per provisions of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). All provisions of CEQA, including public review, the level of required environmental analysis, and mitigation requirements shall apply to all on- Reservation development. d) All on-Reservation development shall comply with the City's building code and/or the most recent edition of the Uniform Building Code and associated unified codes (e.g., electrical, plumbing, fire). e) The Tribe shall not initiate any development until such time that all mitigation measures identified during the public review process have been, to the satisfaction of the City, satisfied. 3, Restrictions on Development a) Future development on parcels taken into federal trust shall be developed only with the uses stated in the Environmental Assessments prepared for their respective Fee-to- Trust transfers. Per this restriction, only single-family residential uses shall be developed on the Tahiti parcel. b) All on-Reservation residential development shall conform to City standards. 4. Emereencv Evacuation I Response Procedures a) During the "Old Fire" the evacuation of the casino created an unacceptable burden on local citizens. The disorganized evacuation of thousands of casino patrons resulted in roadways that were overly congested or blocked to local residents. Any agreement must mandate the creation of an Emergency Access and Evacuation Plan that adequately details when, how, where, and under what circumstances the evacuation of on-Reservation facilities will occur. The Emergency Access and Evacuation Plan shall consider and incorporate relevant public comments prior to approval. b) The City must have the authority to order the evacuation of on-Reservation commercial uses. This authority must be independent of the Tribal governing or casino-operating authority. c) The Tribe must maintain at least one on-site on-call ambulance during operating hours of the Tribal casino. 2417. During periods of increased patronage (e.g., special events or busy periods), the number of on- site on-call ambulances shall be increased. 5. Landscapine a) Landscaped buffer areas a minimum of 40-feet wide must be established between on-Reservation parking areas, facilities, access roads, and other uses. At a minimum such landscaping shall be located along Lynwood Drive, Marshall Boulevard, and the area adjacent to homes on Blythe Avenue and the Tribe's Lynwood parking lot. The buffer areas must include a combination of berms and vegetation such that on- Reservation facilities are screened from off-Reservation residences and roadways. The landscaping shall include a mixture of shrubs, trees, turf, flowers, vines and/or other vegetation of a quantity, density, and coverage to achieve the screening requirements and to establish a uniform design. Where deciduous trees are planted, landscaped areas shall also include evergreen vegetation to compensate for times of seasonal leaf loss. All landscaped areas shall be maintained in a thriving and healthy condition for the duration of the operation of on-Reservation gambling and commercial uses. The type, location, and design of landscaped areas shall be established by a Landscape Plan. The Landscape Plan shall be submitted to the City for review and approval no 2 later than 60-days from the effective date of the Agreement. The landscape areas cited under the Landscape Plan shall be established no later than 180-days from the City's approval of the Landscape Plan. b) Landscaped areas established in conjunction with any roadway improvements shall be maintained in a healthy and thriving condition and shall be complementary to the on-Reservation Landscape Plan. c) The Tribe shall maintain, at their sole expenses all on-Reservation landscaped areas and shall either: 1) maintain at their sole expense, all roadway landscaping, or 2) pay an equivalent sum to the City to maintain said landscaping. 6. Noise a) The City shall commission an independent review of existing and future noise generated by on- Reservation gambling and commercial uses, casino-related traffic, and traffic associated with tour bus traffic, commercial vehicles, and employee transport vehicles. The Tribe shall provide complete payment to the City for the conduct of the noise study. The noise report shall determine: 1) the existing and future noise impacts resulting from on-Reservation uses, and 2) sound attenuation requirements for any property affected by any noise generated on-Reservation. The noise study shall be completed within 6O-days of the signing of any agreement between the City and Tribe. b) The noise standards utilized to determine potential noise impacts shall be those established by the City of San Bernardino. c) The Tribe shall fully pay for any sound attenuation structure or feature required to reduce potential noise impacts to below the acceptable noise level established by the City. The Tribe shall pay full costs for any structural feature (e.g., dual pane windows) required to reduce noise at any affected property to below the acceptable noise level established by the City. d) The cost for the construction of soundwalls and any other sound attenuation feature shall be fully paid by the Tribe. The location and design of sound walls and other sound attenuation features shall be included in a Sound Attenuation Plan which will be submitted to and reviewed/approved by the City. The construction of these features shall be installed per the Sound Attenuation. The Sound Attenuation Plan shall include (but shall not be limited to): 1) the findings of the Noise Study, 2) measures to reduce noise at adjacent properties, 3) the schedule for the construction/installation of improvements, 4) and evidence that adequate monies to fully fund the necessary improvements have been deposited in a dedicated account controlled by the City. Any such monies shall be deposited upon approval of the Sound Attenuation Plan. The Sound Attenuation Plan shall be submitted no later than 60-days from the completion ofthe Noise Study. e) No outdoor public address or sound amplification systems shall be permitted. f) Deliveries to/from anyon-Reservation gambling or commercial operation shall be restricted to the hours 7:00AM to 7:00 PM. 7. Lil!htinl! a) The Tribe shall submitted to the City for review and approval a Lighting Plan which establishes the type, location, and intensity of all artificial lighting sources utilized on all on-Reservation gambling or commercial structures. The Lighting Plan will include measures to reduce the amount of light from on- Reservation sources to levels at or below City Standards. b) On-Reservation flashing, neon, electronic message, variable message, strobe, or searchlights are prohibited. 3 8. Roadwavs / Roadwav Improvements a) Necessary roadway improvements, as established by the City or other responsible jurisdictions, shall be fully funded by the Tribe. The roadway improvements will be set forth in a Roadway Improvement Plan that shall be submitted to the City and other responsible jurisdictions for review and approval. b) Upon approval of the Roadway Improvement Plan, the Tribe shall deposit funds adequate to complete the identified roadway improvements into a dedicated account under the control of the City and other responsible jurisdiction. c) Access to Marshall Boulevard and Piedmont Drive shall be limited to emergency access only. On delivery, valet, service, patron, or employee access to these roadways shall be permitted. No access through the existing gate or the curb-cut on Marshall Boulevard shall be permitted. 9. Sienaee a) Any signage associated with on-Reservation gambling or commercial operations shall conform to City standards. No on-Reservation oversized, electronic, variable message or billboard shall be permitted. 10. OIT-reservation Tribal controlled properties a) No off-Reservation property located within residential areas (Cactus Circle, Yuma Drive, Piedmont Drive, Blythe Avenue, Del Norle Circle, Val Mar Circle, Glenmare Street) controlled by the Tribe, its members, or Tribal development entities shall be utilized to facilitate on-Reservation gambling or commercial operations. Activity restricted shall include (but is not limited to): storage, parking, employee/patron/entertainer lounge, staging area, or sales.) II. School Impacts a) The Tribe must fully fund crossing guards at existing school crossing sites. This requirement can be achieved by fully compensating the San Bernardino Unified School District for the costs of crossing guards or providing crossing guards fully dedicated to providing crossing protection. b) The Tribe will fully fund patrols for Belvedere Elementary School. This requirement can be achieved by fully funding school police or a private security company to patrol the school yard and the areas between buildings. The security patrol will be on-site whenever school is not in session or when no District personnel are on-site. 12. Litter /Graffiti a) The Tribe shall maintain on-Reservation areas and areas adjacent to access roads in a neat an orderly manner. The Tribe shall be responsible for the removal of any graffiti on any structure, feature, or wall constructed, funded, owned, or maintained by the Tribe. The removal of graffiti shall not result in a discernable difference with adjacent areas. b) The Tribe shall submit to the City for review and approval a Litter and Graffiti Removal Plan. The Litter and Graffiti Removal Plan shall establish the Tribe's responsibility to maintain Tribal areas and areas along access roadways in a neat and orderly fashion. The Litter and Graffiti Removal Plan shall include (but shall not be limited to the area of Tribal responsibility, and the manner/schedule in which litter and graffiti will be removed. 4 13. "Problem" Patrons and Criminal Activitv a) The Tribe shall not evict problem patrons into adjacent residential neighborhoods. The Tribe shall either: 1) maintain a "transit lounge" or holding lounge where such patrons can wait for transportation. 2) have Tribal security escort the problem patron to the nearest public transportation (waiting until they board); or 3) provide transportation to the patrons residence. The Tribal Security Force shall maintain statistics of the number of problem patrons evicted from the Reservation and provide said statistics to the City of San Bernardino Police Department (SBPD). b) The Tribe shall continually monitor access roads and adjacent residential areas for "problem" patrons. As required. the Tribal Security Force shall contact SBPD for assistance removing said patrons from these areas. The cost to the SBPD to respond to, detain, process, and prosecute said "problem patrons" shall, upon request by the SBPD, be fully reimbursed by the Tribe. c) The Tribe shall maintain accurate and timely records as to every request to the SBPD for service to on- Reservation gambling or commercial uses. The Tribe will submit said records to the SBPD on a monthly basis. d) The Tribe shall fully reimburse the SBPD and/or District Attorney for any law enforcement activities resulting from on-Reservation criminal investigations. 14. Consultation with the City and Local Residents a) The Tribe and the City shall provide regular (quarterly) opportunity for neighborhoods residents to directly express to Tribal representatives concerns related to the on-Reservation gambling and commercial uses. b) The Tribe will provide a dedicated phone/fax number which neighbors can utilize to register complaints or concerns. These numbers shall be publicly posted for a period of no less than 3D-days. The Tribe shall maintain an accurate and timely record of all calls recorded, and shall provide the Tribe's response to the issue related. Any such record shall be available to the public for review. 5