County of Amador v. City of Plymouth

This is an appeal from a judgment granting a peremptory writ of mandate invalidating a municipal services agreement (MSA) between the lone Band of Miwok Indians (the Tribe) and the City of Plymouth (the City) on the ground the City entered the agreement without complying with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). (Pub. Resources Code, § 21000 et seq.)

The City is a small town located in the County of Amador (the county). The Tribe states it is a federally recognized Indian tribe. It has options to purchase 228 acres of land located in or adjacent to the City and has applied to the United States Secretary of the Interior (the Secretary) to take the land in trust for use by the Tribe. The Tribe intends to build a 120,000 square foot “World-class Gaming Facility” (Gaming Development) on the land, comprised of a hotel, restaurants, and night clubs or bars. The casino building is to be located within the city limits and, if constructed, will be the third casino approved for operation within the county,

The city council voted to support the application of the Tribe to , place the lands in trust, conditioned upon the adoption of the MSA., and sent a letter of…