Well over 120 people turned out for Tuesday's hearing on casino expansion.

Photo by: Sean Rabé

It was standing room only Tuesday afternoon at the Amador County Board of Supervisors chambers when well over 120 residents and neighbors of the Jackson Rancheria came to voice their opposition to the proposed expansion of the Jackson Rancheria Casino & Hotel.

At the outset of the hearing, board chairman Louis Boitano read a brief statement concerning the hearing’s purpose. Input was desired, he said, regarding proposed traffic circulation options to access the casino and a proposed intergovernmental agreement between the Rancheria and the county to construct improvements to the New York Ranch Road/Ridge Road intersection.

In addition, Boitano stressed the county cannot approve or deny any project proposed by the Rancheria. According to federal and state law, only the state and federal governments have that authority under Native American tribal compacts.

That fact didn’t stop the public from getting in its two cents, however.

The three-hour long hearing saw no support for the casino’s expansion from the audience members. A mass of citizens spoke out against the current and possibly future traffic problems of New York Ranch Road, which they contend is a direct result of the casino. Traffic will only get worse if the casino is allowed to expand with no alternative access provided.

Residents of the New York Ranch and Ridge Road areas spoke in favor of the Rancheria’s proposed alternative entrance and new road, to be located just outside the city limits of Jackson on Highway 88. While the majority of speakers were of this faction, a few of Jackson’s residents spoke as well.

“If this proposed access road is approved,” said Jackson City Manager Mike Daly, “it will create a situation comparable to driving through the city at 3 p.m. on the Friday of a three-day week-end all the time.”

According to preliminary traffic studies, if the new route were built and had just 60 percent of the casino’s traffic diverted through Jackson, the level of service of the city’s main highways would drop to an “F” rating - which basically equates to near gridlock.

New York Ranch Road residents have their own problems, however. According to information supplied by the county, the average number of daily trips on Ridge Road has increased from 6,637 in 1990 to over 14,350 in 2003. Similarly, the average number of daily trips for New York Ranch Road has increased eight-fold, from 754 in 1990 to 6,396 in 2003. Of that number, the county estimates over 85 percent is attributable to the Rancheria.

In addition, traffic accidents at the intersection of Ridge and New York Ranch roads have increased dramatically, though the numbers differ depending on who cites them.

One New York Ranch Road resident summed up the prevailing attitude of the crowd like this:

“I have been in four accidents on New York Ranch Road myself,” said nearby resident Steve Huntington. “The accidents aren’t being reported. The overall problem is you need to find a way to diffuse the traffic. We need another entrance. I realize Jackson doesn’t want it either but Highway 88 is a state highway that can use state funds to solve the problem. The point is that this does not affect you,” he continued, motioning to the board, “it affects me and all of us,” while he gestured to the audience amid applause.

Even if the board had wanted to make a decision Tuesday, it did not have enough information to do so. A recently-revised traffic study report prepared by the Rancheria was behind schedule. After over two hours of public comment, the board chose to continue the hearing to April 15 at 1:30 p.m. at the Jackson Civic Center, to allow more people to attend.

The second public hearing then got underway to solicit public input on an intergovernmental agreement between the county and the Rancheria for upgrades to the intersection of New York Ranch Road and Ridge Road.

The county successfully obtained a grant for $331,125 to fund improvements along the intersection. That amount would pay for only the lengthening of a right-hand turning lane for those turning onto New York Ranch Road traveling east on Ridge Road and may have provided an acceleration lane for those turning west onto Ridge from New York Ranch. However, the grant contained a 10 percent local match.

The Jackson Rancheria stepped forward to provide the $33,112 match and pledged additional funding for an enhanced project that would provide the basic grant project plus a right-hand turning lane for those turning east onto Ridge and for additional lighting for the intersection. A flashing light may also be possible for the intersection with the Rancheria’s additional funding. The complete project comes in at just under $600,000.

After receiving more public input on the matter that echoed what had previously been stated, the supervisors then had a chance to discuss the project.

District Five Supervisor Mario Biagi expressed his opinion that the intersection needed nothing less than full signalization to make it safe. “These upgrades will not solve any of the problems that intersection has,” he said, adding the project was a “Band-Aid” approach to fixing the safety issues.

California Highway Patrol Officer John Hardy gave his opinion on the intersection, noting that “anything the county can do to upgrade that intersection has the full support of the CHP. The intersection will continue to see accidents - we encourage you to secure the grant to take steps to improve that intersection.”

With that, District One Supervisor Richard Escamilla motioned to accept the agreement as presented, which would include the additional enhancements offered by the Rancheria. The agreement was approved with a 3-2 vote, with Biagi and District Two Supervisor Richard Forster voting no. In addition, the board approved sending a letter to the Rancheria asking for further cost contributions for additional intersection enhancements, including signalization, by a vote of 3-2, with Forster and Boitano voting no. “I think we need to deal with the entrance issue more than the signalization,” Boitano said.