Environmental impact study shows traffic problems, but water supply is safe

Sunday, April 23, 2000 | 1:51 a.m.

LAKESIDE, Calif. - A $150 million expansion planned by one of California's most profitable American Indian casinos will likely create traffic problems but there is sufficient water to supply an 18-hole golf course and a 120-room hotel, according to an environmental impact report.

The impact study on the expansion by the Barona Band of Mission Indians is the first conducted under an agreement reached last year between 59 tribes and Gov. Gray Davis that allows some Las Vegas-style gambling at reservations casinos.

The only major potential problem with Barona's expansion, which is detailed in the 98-page study released Friday, is traffic. Water supply, increased noise and air quality were not considered threatened.

Wildcat Canyon Road, the only road leading to Barona, already handles more than 14,000 vehicles a day at peak times - double its intended capacity. The expanded casino is expected to draw more than 19,700 vehicles a day at peak times.

Widening sections of Wildcat Canyon Road could relieve some of the crunch but that may also harm sensitive plant and animal species, the report stated.

Barona's plans include a two-story casino of about 300,000-square feet, a 120-room hotel and an 18-hole golf course. The 233-acre course is scheduled to open this summer with the casino and hotel expected to be finished next year. The tribe doesn't plan to add any more video slot machines to its current bank of 1,057.

Other additions include a two-story carousel; bingo and off-track wagering areas; a VIP lounge; a childcare center; a 100-seat steak house; and an expanded buffet restaurant.

In terms of water supply, the reservation valley draws from a separate aquifer than its neighbors, the report said, confirming what San Diego County hydrologists have said previously.

Additionally, the tribe's projected water use would be well within safe limits of replenishment, and a new wastewater treatment plant being built as part of the expansion will help increase reclaimed water use for irrigation and landscaping, the study said.

A public hearing on the impact report was scheduled for May 3 at the Barona Community Center in eastern San Diego County.

"The information that comes out of the hearing is very important to (tribal leaders)," said Linda Devine, Barona Casino assistant general manager. "They want to hear what everybody has to say."

The project developer, Bergman, Walls & Youngblood, is the same firm that designed the Paris Hotel and Casino on the Las Vegas Strip.