Thursday, Aug. 18, 2005 | 9:41 a.m.
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. -- The county failed to reach agreement with the Santa Ynez Band of Mission Indians over management of 6.9 acres near the Chumash Casino that the tribe wants to annex into its reservation.
The Board of Supervisors' announcement Tuesday came as a federal Bureau of Indian Affairs deadline looms for comments on the annexation proposal. If the property becomes reservation land, it will be taken off the tax rolls and be exempt from county regulation.
The tribe wants to build a museum, cultural center, park and commercial center.
County Counsel Shane Stark said the board "regretfully" announced that the agreement had not been concluded. He told the News-Press later: "We do not believe at this time, or in the reasonably foreseeable future, that we would reach an agreement on the 6.9 acres."
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