Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians seeks to govern San Carlos property

A proposal to remove a 365-acre parcel—with an assessed value of $13 million—from Santa Barbara County’s property tax rolls and land-use jurisdiction raised some red flags for the Board of Supervisors. In its Nov. 10 letter to the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the board stated that it “does not intend to challenge” the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians’ recent application to place the San Carlos property into federal trust, before outlining the property tax revenue (approximately $142,000 annually) it would lose if approved. By designating the land into federal trust, the tribe would gain sovereignty to govern it. “The county deeply values its government-to-government relationship with the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians. Over the past several years, the county, the tribe, and other local jurisdictions have worked side by side on projects that matter to everyone in the [Santa Ynez] Valley,” the letter stated. “That record of partnership rests on open communication.

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