Scotts Valley Band of Pomo Indians wants to build a 400,000-square-foot casino in Vallejo, but the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia is telling them not to ante up quite yet.

The court announced Thursday that it has directed the Department of the Interior to move forward with a concrete schedule for completing prompt reconsideration of the Scotts Valley Casino Project in Vallejo, citing concerns that relevant evidence provided to the agency by local Patwin tribes, among others, had been improperly disregarded.

Despite strong objections from the local Patwin tribes, Solano County, and the state of California, the original gaming approval was granted to the Scotts Valley Band of Pomo Indians, based in the Clear Lake town of Lakeport. However, in March, the Department of the Interior decided to reconsider the original gaming decision.

At Thursday’s hearing, Judge Trevor McFadden directed the Department of the Interior to work with the Patwin tribes to set a schedule for promptly concluding the reconsideration process. The schedule must be filed with the court by Dec. 5.

The project in question is the Scotts Valley Band of Pomo Indians’ proposed 160-acre casino that would include the construction of 24 single-family residences, a tribal administration building, a parking garage, and a 45-acre biological preserve area located within and adjacent to the city boundary in Solano County, near the intersection of Interstate 80 and Highway 37. The casino facility, at a cost of $700 million, would be open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

The court’s direction was seen as a victory for the Patwin tribes, the Lytton Band of Pomo Indians, and the United Auburn Indian Community, all of whom have filed suit challenging the original casino approval and have supported reconsideration of that approval.

“Yesterday’s court hearing is an encouraging step in our fight to protect our ancestral homelands,” said Yocha Dehe Chairman Anthony Roberts. “For years, we have asked the Department of the Interior to consider all the facts and evidence surrounding Scotts Valley’s ill-conceived casino project. The Court’s direction will help establish a transparent process for the Department to promptly review and evaluate this evidence, and we are confident the agency will see what we have known all along – Scotts Valley has no claim to our homelands in Vallejo.”

Meanwhile, Patrick Bergin, counsel for Scotts Valley, said the tribe remains “confident in the merits of the January 10, 2025, gaming eligibility determination and looks forward to a fair and orderly resolution.”

“Judge McFadden’s order provides a clear indication that the Department of the Interior must comply with the Court’s directives and afford Scotts Valley the due process it is owed,” said Bergin. “For nearly a year, the Tribe has faced uncertainty created by the Department’s shifting positions. The Court’s ruling reinforces that the Department must now move forward promptly, transparently, and in accordance with the law.”

Yesterday’s hearing came after an Oct. 30 ruling in which McFadden rejected Scotts Valley’s efforts to invalidate the reconsideration process. The October ruling confirmed the Department of the Interior’s reconsideration authority and noted that the agency may permanently revoke Scotts Valley’s gaming approval at the close of the reconsideration process, though it also cautioned that Scotts Valley must be provided notice and an opportunity to be heard before any rescission occurs.