Officials oppose casino plan

Monday, April 28, 2003 | 9:48 a.m.

SANTA ROSA, Calif. -- An Indian tribe planning to build a casino near Sears Point, Calif., in partnership with a Las Vegas company hopes to soften opposition by pledging to share gambling revenue with cash-strapped schools and local government.

But local government officials said the casino 50 miles northeast of San Francisco is in the wrong place. It's proposed by the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria and Stations Casinos Inc. of Las Vegas.

Sonoma County Supervisor Mike Kerns told the Press Democrat newspaper he is worried about potential impacts from the casino, citing clogged traffic on Highway 37 and Lakeville Highway, as well as environmental concerns over water, sewer and the adjacent marshlands of San Pablo Bay.

"It's a very pristine agricultural land. It's just not in keeping with planning for that area. It just doesn't fit," Kerns told the newspaper. "It bothers me that any developers can hook up with a tribe and come in and do something on agricultural land that no one else would be allowed to do."

Added County Supervisor Tim Smith: "I'm dead set against it. Clearly, unequivocally, without hesitation, it's a bad deal."