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HomeMy WebLinkAboutS10-Council Office ~I'f" OF S.AN BERNARD,...O .... ..... . . I..J - REQU~T FOR COUNCIL Ac:10N ....J From: Councilman Steve Marks Subject: Bingo on Indian Reservation Dept: Council Office Dare: June 13, 1985 Synopsis of Previous Council action: NONE Recommen-:Jed motion: That the Mayor and Common Council hold discussion of problem and ideas regarding the establishment of a bingo operation On the San Manuel Indian Reservation. ~~ Signat~e Contact person: Councilman Marks/Phil Arvizo Phone: 383-5178 . .One . t;hrouqh seven Supporting -;lata attached: Memos-Newspaper Article Ward: FUNDING REQUIREMENTS: Amount: N /A Source: N /A Finance: Council Notes: 75-0262 Agenda Item No..5"-/O . I '"'''' .'. ,.; ..'c, .r ,:, ." r f: o o JUSTIFICATION Immediacy of this item is self-explanatory. The effect of a bingo operation on the citizens of the City of San Bernardino are far reaching and dramatic. Immediate action must be taken to preclude severe problems to this community. o C.., . c t C I l' Y ~ SAN B E ~ A R D ~EROFFICE MEM~NDUM 8586-212 I N 0 o TO: Memo for Record FROM: Council Office SUBJECT: San Manuel Indian Reservation DATE: COPIES: June 13, 1985 (6374) Mayor, City Attorney, City Clerk, City Administrator, Planning Director Police Departn~nt ------------------------------------------------------------- Several residents in the Fourth Ward, close to the San Manuel Indian Reservation, have reported that: Bingo on reservation is eminent. Gas lines on mobile homes on reservation are being shut off to move homes to another location so as to build parking lot on reservation. Indian Chief is coach at Serrano. to be in by Labor Day.- EIR has been performed on what was thought to be City property by Urban Environs at the request of Bureau of Indian Affairs. -He says Bingo Sale of land parcel APN 285-153-16 has brought $115,880 according to records in Sacramento ~ureau of Indian Affairs, Carmen Fazio, (916)484-4482. Property has been sold to Mr. Thomas J. Miller; c/o Dominici Visconci, 23811 Chagrin Blvd., Cleveland, OH 44122. Property donated to San Manuel Indians through Bureau of Indian Affairs in Riverside. -Signed- PHILIP A. ARVIZO Executive Assistant to the Council PAA:jv Attch. .f f '.,. C I 'l' Y ~ SAN B E ~ A R D ilTEROFFICE MEM~UM 8585-287 .0 I N 0 'l'O: Memo for Record FROM: Council Office SUBJECT: Bingo in the San Manuel Indian Reservation DATE: COPIES: May 14, 1985 (6344) Councilman Steve Marks ------------------------------------------------------------- Mr. Rudy Corona, Assistant Attorney General, (619)237- 7756, provided me with a complete overview of the Indian Bingo problems with the Federal, State and County jurisdic- tions. FOllowing is a brief synopsis: (a) Indian Reservation .Bingo. is a national concern. (b) Indian Reservation .BingoWis highly vulne~able to organized crime. , (c) OJ:"ganized crime connection with Indian .Bin~owlcon- firmed by U.S. Department of Justice. . . (d) Indian Reservation .Bingo. is big business in many other money making schemes. (e) There are and have been various bills introduced for legislating some form of Bingo. (f) There is ongoing litigation in California against various aspects of .Bingo.. (g) The term WBingo. is a catchall used by the Indians. (h) Shady Company vying .for installation of Racing Satellite - after one company agreed not to build. (i) Trying to bring jurisdiction under FBI but Depart- ment of Interior does not like idea. (j) Eleven major Bingo's statewide; seven more in pro- gress. (k) Have case up before 9th Circuit Court for correct analysis. . .C. //" ("0"- INTEROFFICE Bingo . May 14, 1985 Page 2 MEMORAmO: 8585-287 0 o Mr. Corona will be sending briefs of any court action won thus far. One can contact Mr. Corona for further infor- mation. JTC: jv ~ COLE ~:i~f:trative Asistant to the Council ~ , (\~ o l { CITY ^' SAR BEl'\NARDIRO flTEROPPICE MEM~UM 8504-311 TO: Councilman Steve Marks, Fourth Ward FROM: Frank A. Schuma, Planning Director SUBJECT: Bingo in the San Manuel Indian Reservation DATE: April 18, 1985 (6318) COPIES: ------------------------------------------------------------- We have received some complaints from adjacent property owners that the San Manuel Indians are proposing to begin a bingo game in their community center on Victoria Avenue. We have not received any official confirmation that this is going to occur. In the event that the San Manuel Indian Reservation does begin bingo operations, the City would have no control over. the operations on the reservation, since it is located on federal land. . The only control the City would have would be on the us~ of land surrounding the Indian reservation. To date, no inqui- ries have been made about usage of land west of Victoria Avenue for Off-street parking. I, personally, went out and inspected the existing situation on Victoria Avenue on Tuesday, April 16, 1985 and found that some work was being performed on Victoria Avenue itself. However, no work was being performed on properties west of Victoria Avenue. The property is zoned single-family residential and is Master Planned as such. No parking lot would be permitted within this zone. We will keep you informed as to any new developments in this situation. ~>l Q--. ~ FRANK A. SCHUMA Planning Director mkf cc: Council Members Mayor Holcomb -' ~ AL.JUI'!: , ~ . ~~:~V~.=:; S:'~~:~~::l: ::~910n. FACTS: What is the City'C) 1. The City Administrator's Office was first contacted. The City has no information concerning the affairs of the San Manuel Indian Reservation. Referred me to Bureau of Indian Affairs in Riverside. 2. The Superintendent of Bureau of Indian Affairs, Riverside, phone - 351-6624, usually does not get involved in any local law enforcement or legislative activities. He referred me to Riverside County Sheriff Department's expert on Indian Reservation Bingo. 3. Sergeant Jan DUke, Riverside County Sheriff's Department, phone 787-2500, provided the following information: The Court and Law Enforcement Official of Riverside County COn- siders unlicensed bingo games in violation of the penal code and County ordinances. The County has taken action in the courts against unlicensed bingo games. However, the Indian Reservation has filed a suit asking for restraint against any issued decisions through the federal court. Riverside County is prepared to. fight the issue through the court system to the U.S. Supreme Court. The San Diego'Sheriff's Department can offer further information because they are also pursuing the same course. 4. The San Bernardino County Sheriff Department, Sergeant Jim Bailey, Vice Officer, 383-3841, stated that there are no'pending actions within this County. Also, the County positibn is that it is a federal matter and the County has no jurisdiction in the res- ervation. Perhaps, the FBI can provide further information. IfoU>ACT: The effects of a bingo game on the San Manuel Indian Reservation are as follows: a. Potential for organized crime. b. Traffic problem on road leading to reservation. c. Charitable organizations who raise money through bingo games will be affected since they are limited by law to a prize of $250. .The reservation pays very large prizes. SUMMARY: It was suggested that the City conduct a background investigation if bingo is going to move into the San Manuel Indian Reservation. Jivn (j o' /t .parlO!r~y~~;n65 bOzMdary 8). CARL YETZER Sun $t.HWrIIer SAN BERNARDINO - High. stakes bingo may come to lbe area II lbe San Manuel Band or Mission Indlans carry out plans to build a bingo parlor on reservation land at lbe northern dty limits. Tribal Cbalrman Henry Duro laid Wednesday that lIIe proposed )l8J'lor was "somethlng we've been CODSidering for a IoDg time" but referred all olber questions to the tribe's attorney, Jerome L. Le\'!ne of Los Angeles, Bingo (Continued from A.l1 city of San Bernardino and one c:It)' counc:llman already bas an. nounced he'll fight the proposal. A series of fedenJ court decl. lions have held that blDgo Illegal on Indlan reservations In states that permit the game to be played for c:I1ar1table pUl'JlOlllS. However, unlike church.basement bingo, which usually Is UmIted by JocaJ ordinances to one or two nights a week and t200 In prizes, Indian bingo bas virtually no limits on prize money or lbe number of ses- lions. . Ron Jaeger, the uslstant area director for lbe U.s. Bureau of In. dian Affairs office In Sacramento, confirmed that an operating agreement bet,,'een the tribe and the Ohio.based Western Enter. talnment Corp. was approved by the bureau on May L The agreement was executed after lbe tribe voted 18-4 to pass a bingo ordinance on Jan, 19. Jaeger laid. He uld the operating agreement provides that lbe tribe Will get 60 percent of the parlor's proceeds and Western Entertain. ment would get 40 percenL Tom Dowell, .manager of lbe BlA's Riverside office, laid the tribe recently acquired a flvHlcre parcel on the west IIde of Victoria and that It was donated to the gov. ernment and made a part of the reservation. Levine laid that a port/OIl of that parcel may be UIed for park. lng, but that It aJso ClIlIld be used for housing, recreation or as a . creen belt and buffer lOne be- tween the reservation and nearby hOllIeS. Becaule Indlall relervatlonl are considered lOVerelgn territo- ries under federal law, mOlt Jocal _1___1__ __..I __~__ __~.~___ Levine uld the the exact Ilze and Iocltion or lbe parlor lIad not yet been determined but lblt the operation probabl)' would be slml. Iar In scope to lbe bingo parlor operated b). lbe Morongo tribe In Cabazon. which seats 2,000 people and offers casb prizes ranging from '12,000 to moooo a night, The project has atread)' raised lbe Ire of IOme area residents. The reservation at the north end of Vlctorla Avenue In Highland is lurrounded on three sides b). the (please Se-' P'!ll1n. A,!,I -~ , -~.-. do not appl)' to them, The reservation is located next to a resJdentlal neighborbood, and area residents have reacted ",it!. IOme concern about the proposed project, according to San Bernar. cIIno Counc:llman Steve Marks. "There Is an upscale resl. dentlal development just off Vlc. torla," he Ald, "and If this (parlor I goes In and It Is of lbe scale and magnitude that ",'e've been led to believe, It's going to be very dis . ruptive to lbe residents of tha area, "And It Is going to have a Del atlve effect on all of lbe non.pro: It organizations In the area lbl currently operate under lbe blnf ordinance we have here In Sa. Bernardino," he said. Marks said lbat be has alrea" . talked with city lIaff and h' asked them to look for every legLi . . way possible to stop lbe project. But Levine laid that lbe trib~ ....ants to be I gOod neighbor an' a good citizen" and will v..ork \' :L lbe clt)' to make lbe operatiol a' compatible as possible. He also emphasized lbat thp revenue derlved from lbe parlor wUl go to fund needed educatio- nal, health and senior c:Itizen serv- Ices on lbe reservation. Jaeger said lbat It ""85 his 1m, pression that an environmental Impact study haer' been done in connection ..1th the project and that It fOund lbere would be DO ' negative Impact. ; But Pat Meyers of Urban En\1- . rODI of Redlands, which per. ' formed lbe stud)', said lbat lbe negative declaration applied only to the Impact of having lbe five- 0 acre parcel attached to the reser. vatlon. The study made no finding ,. as to what lbe tribe had in ~d for lbe parcel or what the en~1, 0 . roDDlen~l. co~uences ~~ _ any , : I I - . : Sin ManuO 1 : IndIan I : Reservation : . I . . . I : t . ,-.-------- r',.1 ~ < c _________ ~ - C> :;: ~ < E 'ii c. Patton State Hospital Highland Ave. ,., , (CITY .OF SAN BEDNABP~N.q;>r~ MEMORAND~ ril" ..,~ ':&11 ";#'!'~.'.~I~!f'l '" I..... 101"1" ......hu...\1.. "U To MAYOR AND COMMON COUNCIL 19~5 JU"i". pI' ,.. 27 From RALPH H. PRINCE, U III Of J'j'" City Attorney Subject San Manuel Indian Reservation Date June 14, 1985 Approved Date Under existing law the City has no authority to regulate Bingo Games held on the subject Indian Reservation. Information provided by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) indicates that the operation of Bingo Games on the subject Reservation has been environmentally reviewed in accordance with the provisions of the National Environmental Protection Act (NEPA). Our office will be reviewing the Indian Bingo Game environmental report and determine whether or not th~re has. been compliance with applicable NEPA regulations. It is the understanding of this office, that any Tribal Council Action involving Indian land which requires BIA approval, is subject to NEPA review. If the Indian Tribal Council requests City approval of any project under CEQA then such a project would, if not exempt, be subject to CEQA regulations. In connection with exchanging Reservation land for City or RDA land, suc~ an exchange would require approval of the local Riverside BIA office, regional Sacramento BIA office, and the, national BIA office for final approval by the BIA. Subsequent to such approval, the land exchange would be approved by an Act of Congress. The Riverside BIA office advised that an Indian Tribal Council may purchase land or exchange land and that land does not have to be contiguous to the Reservation. Such land would become part of the Reservation. The Riverside BIA office also informed our office that all California Bingo Games operated by Indians are situated on Reservations. It should be noted that a Tribal Council could purchase or 'other- wise acquire land without requiring an Act of Congress to approve such acquisition, however, if Indian Reservation land is transferred, an Act of Congress is required. H. PRINCE, Attorney RHP:ca C'''Y 011 "...OQ , o o o o Bingo is big business, we are not against the Indians or Bingo but, we are against anything that has to do with big business, be it a McDonalds or a bank or a shopping mall. This is a residential area and we want to keep it that way. We have some concerns and these are a few: 1. A large volume of traffic with limited access. 2. A decrease in property value. 3. Safety for children in the area. 4. A high noise level. 5. An attraction for criminal elements. 6. Jurisdiction prDblems. Was the public notified that property within was being donated to the Federal Government? why? 8. what is the status of the property now? the city If not, 7 . 9. will an environmental impact study be needed for the use of the property? 10. Could another meeting be held in the evenings to facilitate a wider public involvement?