Red Hawk Casino plans 75k square-foot expansion and hotel

EL DORADO COUNTY, Calif. - The operators of the Red Hawk Casino in Shingle Springs have submitted the required documents for review of a 75,000 square-foot entertainment center to be developed above the northern half of the existing parking garage.

The state of California currently has Tribal-State Gaming Compacts with 75 Tribes, 63 of them operate 66 casinos. One of those is the Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians who operate the Red Hawk Casino in Shingle Springs, El Dorado County.

The Tribe has prepared a Draft Tribal Environmental Impact Report (“TEIR”) to assess the potential off-reservation impacts of their proposed expansion and it has been released for a 45-day public review.

The entertainment center would incorporate additional entertainment and dining options such as a bowling alley, virtual reality gaming suites, indoor go-karting, bar, and meeting rooms. In addition to the entertainment center, this TEIR addresses the expansion of the existing parking garage. The
southern half of the existing eight-level parking garage would be expanded with an additional three levels. The additional three levels would expand the number of parking spaces from 3,040 to 3,600.

Tribes in the Compacts do not have to obtain the County’s approval to pursue the entertainment center or parking garage expansion, but they are required to prepare a TEIR for public review. They also need to negotiate with the County in good faith to reach an intergovernmental agreement that provides mitigation for significant environmental effects from the project and mitigation and compensation for any impact to public services and
public safety, including law enforcement, fire protection, medical services, emergency medical services, and other public services. The County will engage in those negotiations after reviewing the TEIR.

On June 24, 2021, the Tribe held a groundbreaking ceremony for a 150-room hotel at the Red Hawk Casino. The hotel was already analyzed in a prior TEIR and, so long as the Tribe’s hotel remains consistent with the hotel project already analyzed, the Tribe is expressly exempted from additional environmental review under the Compact. The Tribe was not required to obtain County approval for the hotel.

The Draft TEIR for the entertainment center is available on the Tribe’s website: https://www.shinglespringsrancheria.com/.

Copies of the Draft TEIR are available at the County Planning and Building Department (2850 Fairlane Court, Building C, Placerville), County Board Clerk’s Office (330 Fair Lane, Building A, Placerville), Cameron Park
Library (2500 Country Club Drive), El Dorado Hills Library (7455 Silva Valley Parkway), Georgetown Library (6680 Orleans Street), Placerville Library (345 Fair Lane), Pollock Pines Library (6210 Pony Express Trail), and South Lake Tahoe Library (1000 Rufus Allen Boulevard).

Written comments must be postmarked or received by email no later than August 16, 2021.

Written comments may be sent to:
Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians
Attn: TEIR Comments
P.O. Box 1340
Shingle Springs, CA 95682
EventCenterNOP@ssband.org