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Jamul Casino Report Released Today

CALIFORNIA – As reported by the San Diego Union-Tribune: "The Jamul Indian band is releasing a long-awaited environmental report today on its proposed high-rise casino and hotel, offering hundreds of pages of charts, images and details on one of the state's most controversial Indian gaming projects.

"The draft Tribal Environmental Impact Statement, prepared for the East County tribe by Sacramento consultants, analyzes 16 environmental issues, including traffic, water and public services.

"In almost every category, it concludes that the project's off-reservation effects can be mitigated satisfactorily – a finding unlikely to be shared by neighboring residents who have fiercely battled the tribe's casino ambitions since the mid-1990s.

"…Describing the $250 million project, the report says it would be built in two phases, with a multistory casino and adjacent parking structure followed by a 12-story, 400-room hotel. The casino would consist of six floors, two of which would be for gambling operations including up to 2,000 slot machines.

"…Addressing a main concern of opponents, the report says the casino would generate 7,714 vehicle trips a day on state Route 94, a two-lane highway serving as the area's only main artery. The hotel, when opened, would add 1,200 daily vehicle trips, for a total of 8,914.

"To reduce those impacts, the report says, the tribe would provide funds to the California Department of Transportation to widen sections of the highway and add traffic signals, turning lanes and other improvements…"

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