To fund our grassroots campaign, we need your donations! Santa Ynez Valley Concerned Citizens P.O. Box 244 Santa Ynez, CA 93460

Background More than five years ago, Fess Parker and the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians announced their intent to build hundreds of luxury homes, a hotel, golf course and equestrian center on pristine agricultural land in the Santa Ynez Valley, a rural area of vineyards and ranches in the foothills of Santa Barbara County, California. Under terms of the deal published in local newspapers in March 2004, Parker would sell the Chumash tribe 745 acres for $12 million and a 49% share of the housing and resort development. (The tribe already operates a casino and hotel about two miles from the Parker property.) Parker, an actor-turned-developer, hotelier and winemaker, had tried unsuccessfully to develop this parcel himself, but his ambitious plans would fail the test of California’s Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). For one thing, the agricultural parcel is zoned for no more than 7 homes—far short of the hundreds Parker and the Chumash want to build. But by teaming up with a federally recognized Indian tribe like the Santa Ynez Chumash, Parker had an opportunity to take advantage of the tribe's sovereignty and apply to the U.S Bureau of Indian Affairs to put the land into trustignoring the Valley's tradition of community planning and skirting California's rigorous land-use and environmental laws to build whatever he and his partners desired. Plus, tribe-owned land is exempt from property taxes - even though Santa Barbara County would still have been responsible for providing the area with fire and sheriffXs protection, road maintenance and other services. Since Fess Parker and the Chumash tribe added this project to their master development plan for the Santa Ynez Valley, more than a thousand Valley residents and businesspeople have objected, as have many others throughout Santa Barbara County and California. This coalition, led by Santa Ynez Valley Concerned Citizens, believes: No large development project - regardless of its nature or who the developer is - should be allowed to proceed without public input and full state and local review. As proposed, the Parker-Chumash master development plan does not fit the rural character of the Valley. Allowing the development to proceed without full review would set a dangerous precedent, allowing developers anywhere to partner with tribes to ignore the community and skirt land-use and environmental standards. Subsequent to continued opposition within the Santa Ynez Valley community, a story which made headlines as far away as Washington DC, New York and London, Mr. Parker and the Chumash Tribe withdrew from their negotiations. Current Status: SUNDAY April 4, 2010 The Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians have announced their purchase of 1390 acres [the same property as referenced above, in addition to the remainder of Camp Four] from the family of the late Fess Parker. .Our decision to purchase this land was made as a tribe,. stated Vincent Armenta, tribal chairman. .The land is historically important to our tribe and we are excited to own it. All the land within the valley is significant to us.. Although the sale price was not disclosed, the figure was rumored to be approximately $40 million. According to Santa Barbara County, this property is regulated by the Williamson Act and is currently restricted to agricultural use or open space. It should be noted that in 2009 , the Chumash Tribe strongly [and unsuccessfully] supported Senate Bill 170, which would in effect have simplified and accelerated the process by which Tribal government would be able to cancel Williamson Act contracts on land they purchase.