The Tohono O'odham Nation got one step closer Tuesday to creating a satellite reservation for themselves in Arizona, 120 miles north of their primary reservation along the U.S-Mexico border.
They plan to build a casino and resort on the land. The Arizona Supreme Court ruled it would not review the City of Glendale's petition, which argued that the 134-acre site the tribe wants as a reservation is within the city's boundaries.
At issue is whether the site was lawfully annexed in 2001. City Attorney Craig Tindall said the situation would be different if the tribe wanted to build a resort as a development entity, not as a sovereign nation – that way, the tribe would have to pay impact fees for things like roads, water, and more firemen.
"Those things don't happen for free. So if they build and don't agree to pay, guess who has to? The citizens of Glendale. the people who already live there,” Tindall said. “So of course the [tribe] would pay [if they were acting as a development entity]. And they should pay!"
This victory notwithstanding, the Tohono O'odham are currently involved in three other lawsuits concerning the project: Battling both the state of Arizona and two sister tribes.
The nation claims the resort will produce 9,000 jobs in the area, though Tindall contests that figure. The tribe has never produced an economic impact study that's verified this claim.
