12:35 AM EDT on Tuesday, July 31, 2007

By MARIA ARMENTAL
Journal Staff Writer

CHARLESTOWN - Charlestown will join the state in appealing to the Supreme Court a ruling that allows the secretary of state to hold in trust 31 acres from the Narragansett Indian tribe.

In a 4-to-1 vote last night, the Town Council backed the appeal - yet to be signed - over Councilman James M. Mageau's concern about the financial cost to the town.

Also on a 4-to-1 vote, with Mageau again dissenting, the council voted to retain Joseph S. Larisa Jr. as the town's solicitor on Indian affairs.

The land, just north of Route 1 and across Kings Factory Road from the 1,800 acres the town turned over to the tribe in 1978 as part of a land claims settlement, is earmarked for housing for the elderly.

State and town officials say the decision could pave the way for tribal sovereignty over its land - with Indian and federal law trumping local and state laws - and could lead to development, such as a casino.

Currently, the tribe is subject to state and local voters approval to open a gambling venue.

"We could have Smokeshop II across the street," Larisa said.

"If this decision stands, the door is open, and the last time the door was open was 1991, when we all thought that IGRA [Indian Gaming Regulatory Act] could never trump our" state and local control over the settlement land, Larisa said.

A court ruling said otherwise, and the state and town had to turn to Congress to close the loophole in the law by approving in 1996 what became known as the Chafee Amendment, sponsored by the late Sen. John H. Chafee and co-written by Larisa, at the time working for Gov. Lincoln C. Almond.

The latest ruling, Larisa said, reopened the door to a casino.

By law, Indian lands can be used for gambling if they were taken into trust before 1988, if the property is within or contiguous to a tribe's reservation or if the Department of the Interior finds - and the sitting governor agrees - it would be in the tribe's best interest and not a detriment to the surrounding community.

While the 31 acres in question are currently set aside for housing for the elderly - construction has stalled since 1988 as the tribe secured the needed permits and then the legal battles over the sovereignty on the land ensued - a casino could be still built there, Larisa said.

All that would be needed, he said, is a developer to partner with the tribe, agreeing to build the 50 houses elsewhere and paying off the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's loan.

Moreover, Larisa said, developers could partner with the tribe to exempt their projects from taxes and local and state regulations.

"Property taxes are gone," Larisa said.

"If it becomes Indian country [federal reservation lands under tribal jurisdiction], there are no taxes … That includes tribal enterprises."

"All they have to do under trust is to show that the land is going to be used for Indians," Larisa said.

Larisa said the town and the state may turn to Congress for relief.

John Thomas, a tribal elder and Chief Sachem Matthew Thomas' eldest brother, said after the meeting adjourned that the tribe is interested in economic development, which could include a casino.

Thomas said he will address the council at its Aug. 14 meeting to correct what he called disinformation from Larisa.

Larisa said he, too, will attend the Aug. 14 meeting.