Bureau of Indian Affairs rules and regulations hinder economic development on Indian lands, speakers at an Urban Land Institute symposium said.

Ernest Noia, a developer and attorney in Palm Springs, said the BIA's rent policies put tribal lands out of reach. He said developers should be able to pay down the fair market value of land rather than pay 10 percent of the value in rent.

Dennis Freeman, another developer, agreed that paying part of the fair market value up front will encourage development. "There's still only so much people are going to pay on rent," he said, The Riverside Press-Enterprise.

Kim Snyder, the superintendent for the BIA agency in Palm Springs, said the office is short on staff. She said the appraisal and leasing process can be "cumbersome," the paper reported.

The Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians and its members own 32,000 acres in Palm Springs, where real estate can be pricey. Tom Davis, the tribe's planning director, said the tribe has sometimes been outbid when developers come looking to buy Indian allotments.

According to the tribe, 5,000 acres of the tribal and individual Indian land base is being leased.

Get the Story:
Land developers face hurdles on Indian property (The Riverside Press-Enterprise 10/19)
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