Another reversal in ongoing ‘Camp 4’ battle in Santa Ynez Valley
Another reversal has been made in the ongoing battle between the Chumash Tribe and opponents to the development of the tribe-owned land known as Camp 4.
On Monday, Assistant Secretary of Indian Affairs Tara Sweeney reaffirmed the 2017 decision to place Camp 4 into the federal trust, making the land part of the Chumash Reservation.
The latest decision undoes a previous one made by District Court Judge Stephen Wilson less than two weeks ago. Wilson ruled that then Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs Lawrence Roberts did not have the lawful authority to make a decision affirming the 2014 ruling to put the land into the trust.
At the crux of the dispute and lawsuit is the lack of a full Environmental Impact Report, which residents in the Santa Ynez Valley — and particularly plaintiff Ann Crawford-Hall — have demanded the Bureau of Indian Affairs conduct. The BIA previously conducted what many consider to be a less intensive Environmental Assessment, which showed no major environmental impacts to the Camp 4 land and the surrounding Santa Ynez Valley.
Barry Cappello, attorney for Ann Crawford-Hall, released the following statement to KEYT/KCOY.
“This move by the assistant secretary simply is an act which ignores the specific wording of the Judge’s order. The matter is stayed until a final ruling by Judge Wilson. We intend to be back in front of Judge Wilson so he can act on the environmental issues which are serious and which the government has blatantly ignored despite Judge Wilson’s specific directions.”
Bill Krauch, Chairman of the Santa Ynez Valley Coalition, also expressed concerns over the newest Camp 4 decision.
“When you take 1400 acres out of agriculture preserve and convert it to housing, you’re losing the primary effort of the county to maintain the agriculture and the revenue that it produces,” he said in an interview with KCOY/KEYT on Wednesday.
Krauch said residents were also concerned over road congestion, and maintenance costs if housing is built on Camp 4.
In a press release issued by the Chumash Tribe, Chairman Kenneth Kahn had the following to say regarding the decision made by Assistant Secretary Sweeney.
“We are pleased with Assistant Secretary Sweeney’s decision to dismiss the 2014 appeals under her signature… The 2017 decision was recently overturned on a technicality. There was never any concern about the merits of the application itself. Assistant Secretary Sweeney’s swift action and subsequent signature confirms that.”
The tribe purchased the Camp 4 land in 2010 with hopes of developing the land into tribal housing. Unless the land is transferred into the federal trust and thus made part of the reservation, the tribe is restricted from turning the land into housing due to an existing community plan and the designation of the land for low density agriculture use.
