Langdon Farms Casino Project
Late Breaking News – June, 2008
The Mega Casino project detailed below is the worst of the development scenarios on the part of Maletis Brothers Development to develop Landgon Farms and the surrounding agricultural land they have acquired. While it seemed to die in 2007 and be replaced by the goal of developing a commercial/industrial transportation complex of tilt up concrete buildings, as detailed below, a new proposal to sell the land to the Klamath Tribe is back on the table.
- The Klamath Tribe has developed a formal “strategy” document for what they call their “Aurora Project,” namely to acquire all this land from the Maletis Brothers, and via a clause in the Tribal Lands Restitution law, to turn it into sovereign tribal lands. The stated intention is to pursue commercial development, but common sense says a casino must be in the long term plans (even if presently denied) given the desire to have this much land this close to metro Portland.
Download the Klamath Strategy for the Aurora Project in PDF - The regional office of the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) has written the Klamath Tribe a letter providing guidance and support in this endeavor.
Download the BIA letter in PDF - The City of Wilsonville has written a formal letter of protest to the BIA in opposition to this proposed land acquisition and development, and detailing the legal shortcomings; i.e. the attempted mis-use of a loophole in the Tribal Lands Restitution Law to allow acquisition of lands outside of Klamath County.
Download a copy of the City of Wilsonville letter in PDF - Nigel Jaquiss of Willamette Week broke the story on Wednesday, June 25, providing overview of the project and detailing the goals and parties involved.
Download this document at the bottom of this page
A Mega Casino on French Prairie The idea of siting a ‘Mega Casino’ on French Prairie first came to light in late 2005 with a proposal by Wayne Johnson, representing the Resource and Economic Development Company, to involve Maletis Brothers Development, and the Klamath Tribe in building a casino, big box stores and a destination resort on land owned, optioned and controlled (approx 400 acres is quoted) by Maletis Brothers Development.
It states that “We finally located a site that surpassed all our wishes, the famed Langdon Farms golf course only 15 miles from downtown Portland with I-5 frontage and access from a major interchange” and goes on to add that “this is the best location in the State of Oregon for a Destination Resort and Casino.”
Current Langdon Farms Golf Course
Langdon Farms Golf Course at the I-5 and Charbonneau exit
The site plan showed the development of a 200,000 square foot casino, a convention center, a strip center, a 300-400 unit motel, 2 parking structures and larger areas of auto, RV and truck parking all located in the triangle enclosed by I-5, Arndt Road and Highway 51 (the Hubbard cut-off). Currently most of this area is being farmed. To the east, on the area enclosed by Miley, Airport and Arndt roads and by Highway 51, the plan was to locate big box stores and up to 1,000 apartment units in the area south of Langdon Farms golf course and north of the airport and to place condo units around an extended golf course. The proposal was convoluted, looked hastily prepared and nothing appeared to come of it.
Langdon Farms Casino Project
Rendition of proposed Casino & Convention Center/Hotel at Langdon Farms Golf Course
However, in May 2006 the Klamath Tribe applied to the federal government for the right to build an off-reservation casino on French Prairie. The site was unspecified. The tribe filed to beat the cut-off for pending federal legislation seeking to curtail off-reservation gaming. Chris Maletis confirmed that Maletis Brothers Development have an option to purchase the land where the casino would be located. Even though that land is designated ‘Exclusive Farm Use’ (EFU) and although his golf course is designated EFU with a conditional use permit specifically for a golf course only, he is quoted in the Wilsonville Spokesman as saying ‘It is an urbanized area. We are in favor of development. This is an area that has been earmarked by arms of the state as an area for job creation”. In an interview with KATU-TV News in the summer of 2006 he stated that the land in question is not being farmed, a statement that seems at odds with what the eye reveals when driving through the area.
An editorial in the Oregonian earlier this year stated “it is all but impossible to imagine the federal government or any Oregon governor approving, for example, the Klamath Tribe’s out-of-nowhere request to build a casino near an existing golf course south of Wilsonville”. Further they said “other than in the exceptional case where an overwhelming public interest exists, those applications (referring to off-reservation casinos) ought to be denied, and Congress should firmly shut the door on off-reservation casinos”. However, subsequently the legislation to ban off-reservation casinos was defeated in the House of Representatives.
Vigilance is required, as the Maletis brothers seem determined to take their Exclusive Farm Use French Prairie land and add to their wealth by encouraging the development of warehouses, casinos or any other commercial or industrial project they can find.
Prepared by: Board of Charbonneau Country Club
FOFP Position on this Project.
Friends of French Prairie is opposed to the Langdon Farms Golf Course conversion to a casino and hotel development for three reasons:
- The property is zoned EFU and Langdon Farms received a Conditional Use Permit for a golf course on EFU land when it was founded—a possibility that no longer exists under current zoning regulations. Virtually all the land around it is EFU and being farmed—and should continue as such.
- While this property straddles I-5, the Boone Bridge over the Wilamette River, the Canby/Hubbard-Charbonneau interchange on I-5 and all the surface streets are almost at their maximum capacity now. The stretch of freeway between the south Wilsonville exit and Landgon Farms is among the busiest and most accident prone sections of freeway in the state at present. The infrastructure will not support this type of massive development.
- This property is at the “doorway” into French Prairie, being at the north end of Marion County and south of Charbonneau at Wilsonville (both within Clackamas County), and a development of this size would not only violate current zoning and be in flagrant opposition to the French Prairie Vision Statement, but could easily be the beginning of a non-stop development land rush along I-5 from metro Portland to Salem. Picture the I-5 corridor from Seattle to Olympia!
Bill could target golf course land
April 4, 2007
[Download PDF here]
SEEING GREEN: The Klamath Tribe and golf course owners seek a windfall from a loophole.
June 25, 2008
[Download PDF here]
Oregon Agriculture Alliance: Ag Informer
June 17, 2008
[Download PDF here]
Brothers mulling sale to Klamath
July 13, 2008
[Download PDF here]
Fight Brews Over Rich Farmland
August 15, 2008
[Download PDF here]
