Casino to fund roads independently

By: CHRIS BAGLEY - Staff Writer | Wednesday, August 30, 2006 11:53 PM PDT ∞

TEMECULA -- A new gambling contract between California and the Pechanga Indian Band could also be a high-stakes game for Temecula city government, with the twin possibilities of less money for city roads or funding for a freeway interchange that could help alleviate new traffic from an expanded casino, city officials said Wednesday.

Tribal representatives touted the agreement, which they and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger finalized Monday night, as bringing California $3 billion more than its governments would have received under the agreement it replaced. The new pact calls for the tribe to pay $42.5 million a year directly to the state from its 2,000-slot Pechanga Resort & Casino south of the city, compared to the $29 million it now pays into a state-administered fund.

It allows the tribe to add as many as 5,500 additional gambling machines there and at another casino it can now build, on the condition that the state receive 15 to 25 percent of the profits from the new machines.

For the city and Riverside County, however, the jackpot is less certain.

Since voters approved Indian casinos in 1999, local governments in the county have received some $45 million from casinos run by Pechanga and other tribes.

Pechanga pays quarterly into the state's Special Distribution Fund, which doles out the money to nearby cities and counties whose streets are used by drivers who gamble, dine and attend concerts at casinos. Temecula alone has received more than $11 million, said Mayor Ron Roberts, who said he is discussing the effect of the new pact with tribal leaders.

The pact ---- if approved by the state Legislature ---- would halt those payments. But it would also require Pechanga to sign separate "enforceable written agreements" with Temecula and the county before building any new facilities. As with the 1999 compact, the new one would tie the tribe's payments to the traffic, noise and other changes brought about by the new facilities.

"If they build another wing of the hotel or put in more slot machines, it's going to cause a lot more traffic," Roberts said. "Our money will increase also because we are going to have to (build) more infrastructure."

The tribe would have to negotiate a separate agreement with Riverside County. Roberts said payments to the county would probably be comparatively small, enough to allow the Sheriff's Department and Fire Department to provide heavier coverage.

Still, Roberts acknowledged that the pacts could end up bringing in less revenue.

An expansion could intensify the need and boost the funding for a new interchange on Interstate 15 south of the Highway 79 exit, which most drivers now use to reach the casino. Such an exit has been in the works for years; it would be part of an estimated $140 million "eastern bypass" that could follow Anza Road through Wine Country and extend through French Valley toward Winchester Road, Roberts said.

Tribal leaders were in Sacramento to formalize the pact and couldn't be reached for comment, according to a spokesman for the tribe.

Roberts said Pechanga leaders had told him that the tribe has no immediate plans to expand. But they appear to be laying the groundwork.

Just last week, Pechanga and the surrounding Rancho California Water District sealed a deal that tribal officials said would stabilize the flow of ground water to the reservations and its businesses.

A "master development plan" for the tribal lands has included an expanded casino, three new hotel towers, an "arena," a commercial district and a new network of local roads, according to a consultant's report on the project's potential effects on the surrounding areas. The report was accidentally posted on a public section of the firm's Web site for several days in June before being removed from view.

In an e-mailed response to questions from The Californian last month, a tribal leader called the posting "incorrect" and said it was part of routine planning.

"There is no proposed project in place," said Patrick Murphy, president of the Pechanga Development Corp.

-- Contact staff writer Chris Bagley at (951) 676-4315, Ext. 2615, or cbagley@californian.com.