The Redding Rancheria said it has received the federal approval it needs to move forward with a controversial plan to expand and relocate the tribe’s Win-River Resort and Casino to prime land along the Sacramento River Interstate. The U.S. Department of the Interior voted July 1 to transfer the Rancheria-owned land along the Sacramento River, just south of Redding on Interstate 5, to federal trust status for gaming purposes, the Rancheria said in a statement Tuesday.
The tribe first announced in 2016 that it planned to relocate the Win-River Casino to the area known as Strawberry Fields in Churn Creek Bottom, near Redding’s southern border. In order to operate a casino, the land would have to be given in trust to the federal government for the tribe’s benefit. Such a move exempts the land from both local taxes and local development regulations.
“This landmark decision marks the culmination of a federal agency review process that included nearly two decades of extensive expert analysis of the environmental, economic and social impacts of our proposed casino relocation project,” the Rancheria said in the statement.
More: Why Redding Rancheria's Plan to Expand and Relocate Win-River Casino Has Divided Opinion
As for when construction on a new casino might begin, the Rancheria said Tuesday it expects “interest groups” opposed to the project to challenge the government’s decision in federal court.
Opponents, including Speak Up! Shasta, have said that opening an expanded casino on the Strawberry Fields Rancheria property would bring more crime and traffic to the community, and group members also fear that the large-scale development would harden what is now largely farmland.
Supporters have said the expanded complex would bring new jobs and more visitors — and their dollars — to Shasta County. Also, proponents said, other commercial development is set to open soon, including a new Costco and other retailers.
Speak out! Shasta spokesman Robb Korinke said in a statement released Tuesday, “Thousands of Shasta County residents oppose this damaging project, and the Redding Rancheria wants local taxpayers to foot the bill through their sham deal with the Board of Supervisors. Let me be clear: We're not going anywhere — and neither is this casino.”
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In March, after the casino relocation project's final environmental impact statement was published in the Federal Register for public review, Korinke criticized a 30-year financial agreement reached last year between the Shasta County Board of Supervisors and the Redding Rancheria.
In February, a group called the California Land Stewardship Council filed a lawsuit against the Shasta County Board of Supervisors over its approval of the agreement to fund police, fire and emergency services for the proposed casino project.
The deal, approved by regulators last summer, is illegal, the lawsuit alleges.
According to the Rancheria's statement this week, “challenges are unfortunately common in Indian Country, and we are confident that DOI's decision-making process for our casino relocation project was thorough, sound, and consistent with federal law. The Tribe has waited more than two decades for the restoration of these Native homelands to come to trust and will continue to monitor developments in the coming weeks to take all necessary steps to protect our interests in the decision.”
The Rancheria plans to build a 69,541-square-foot casino, a nine-story, 250-room hotel, restaurants, a conference center, an events center, a convention center and a 132,000-square-foot regional shopping center on a 232-acre parcel of undeveloped land west of Interstate 5 known as Strawberry Fields. The property is just south of the I-5-South Road interchange near a new Costco store scheduled to open in late 2022.
Win-River's current hotel has 84 rooms, while the casino occupies approximately 60,000 square feet on Highway 273 between Clear Creek and Canyon Road.
The Rancheria wanted to transfer its 232 acres to the federal government for the benefit of the tribe. The move exempts the undeveloped land, which is zoned for agricultural use, from both the local taxes and local development regulations that now apply.
Record Searchlight reporter David Benda contributed to this report.
This article originally appeared on Redding Record Searchlight: Redding Rancheria Gets Federal Approval to Relocate Casino
