Santa Ynez Valley residents have long harbored frustrations with the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians’ efforts to take Camp 4, a 1,400-acre land parcel, into federal trust. Community groups continually protest the fee-to-trust process, which would ultimately make Camp 4 part of the Chumash reservation—and now, they’ve taken the next step.
Residents in early November launched the Santa Ynez Valley Coalition, a sort of super-group comprising local organizations such as the Santa Ynez Valley Concerned Citizens, No More Slots, the Santa Ynez Valley Alliance, and the Women’s Environmental Watch. The coalition opposes the fee-to-trust process of adding Camp 4 to the Chumash reservation, as well as the bill HR 1157, which would expedite that process.
In a video introducing the coalition, Santa Ynez restaurant owner Jim Sobell said that if Camp 4 becomes part of the reservation, local authorities won’t have any jurisdiction over it.
“It then takes it off of our local tax rolls and environmental reviews and architectural reviews, and the tribe is able to build whatever they please out there,” Sobell said.
Other residents spoke up during the video to say the Camp 4 property should come under the same local laws as their land does, including tax mandates. Andi Culbertson, a land-use attorney, said in the video that the “gist of fee-to-trust” is that there’s “absolutely no control of what is built on that land.”
The coalition video also claimed that the Chumash plan to “connect Camp 4 with other tribal properties to create millions of square feet of commercial development.”
But some of those arguments fall flat, such as Sobell’s and Culbertson’s claims that the Chumash could build “whatever they want” on Camp 4 with “absolutely no control.” As part of the Chumash reservation, Camp 4 would come under federal jurisdiction—which would, for example, prevent the tribe from building a casino on that land.
The Chumash are also working with an ad hoc subcommittee from the county Board of Supervisors to create an agreement on how to reimburse the county for lost property tax, approach building codes, mitigate environmental impacts, and address other points of contention. After nine meetings, the Chumash have agreed to pay the county the standard 38 percent of 1 percent of Camp 4’s assessed value.
The tribe maintains that Camp 4 will be used to build tribal member housing and a tribal center, rather than for commercial purposes. Still, Chumash representatives have agreed to levy sales and transient occupancy tax rates equal to that of the county, just in case.
Tribal-county negotiations are ongoing, with the next meeting scheduled for Dec. 3. They’re racing the clock, as HR 1157 moves through Congress. The bill was amended in the House on Sept. 6, and no further action has yet been taken.
When asked for comment on the coalition, tribal Chairman Kenneth Kahn provided the Sun with an emailed statement acknowledging the tribe’s and county’s progress in their negotiations.
“We will continue that dialogue and look forward to our next ad hoc subcommittee meeting,” Kahn said in the statement.
This article appears in Nov 10-17, 2016.
