SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein introduced a bill on Monday to slow a California Indian tribe's bid to open a casino near San Francisco, a controversial plan backed by California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Schwarzenegger last year approved a plan by the Lytton Band of Pomo Indians to build a 2,500 slot machine casino in San Pablo, California, across San Francisco Bay from San Francisco, in exchange for the tribe's agreeing to share its gambling revenue with the state's cash-strapped government.
Feinstein said her bill would require the tribe to go through the same process as other tribes that acquired land after the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, closing a loophole for the tribe written into a 2000 law.
Lytton would have to go through a two-part process requiring state and federal approval and talks with area residents.
State lawmakers refused to ratify a deal between Schwarzenegger and the Lytton Band in the final week of their last legislative session and local opposition to the 250-member tribe's planned casino has been rising.
It would be the first major tribal casino in an urban area of California and has inspired other tribes to propose large gambling halls in the nearby cities of Oakland and Richmond.
However, state lawmakers from urban areas are concerned increased traffic and crime and gambling addiction would offset any economic gains to local governments and the state.
Feinstein echoed their anxiety. "I have serious concerns about the expansion of Nevada-style gaming -- with its slot machines and in-house banking -- into urban areas," the former mayor of San Francisco said in a statement.
As she unveiled her bill, the Lytton Band said it would scrap plans for a hotel. Additionally, the tribe said its casino would not be as large as critics imagine.
"It won't be like something that was airlifted out of Las Vegas and dropped down in San Pablo," said tribe spokesman Nick DeLuca. "It will be something that is appropriate to San Pablo in terms of how it looks and how it fits into the community."
