Kalispel Tribe looks to convert 243 acres of Qlispé Raceway Park to trust land

The Qlispé Raceway Park next to the Northern Quest casino in Airway Heights may see more development in the coming years if the federal government approves an application from the Kalispel Tribe of Indians to accept ownership of the property on the tribe’s behalf.

The Kalispel Tribe has asked the secretary of the interior and the Bureau of Indian Affairs to accept 243 acres of the raceway property “in-trust,” which would exempt the property from taxation and local regulations.

The acreage included in the application includes a quarter-mile drag strip and a 2.5-mile paved road course and half-mile oval track, as well as adjacent chunks of land along North Hayford Road.

The Kalispel Tribe purchased the historic raceway from the county in 2021 for $6.1 million.

The property is currently considered fee land, meaning it is owned outright by the tribe and is subject to property taxes and zoning regulations by Spokane County and the city of Airway Heights.

The process of transferring a land title from a federally recognized tribe or eligible Indigenous individual to the federal government was established by the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934.

It allows tribes to enhance housing opportunities, protect hunting and agricultural lands and pursue economic development efforts on their lands.

It also grants sovereignty over tribal lands, paving the way for developments and gaming facilities not allowed under local zoning or gambling regulations.

Former prosecuting attorney Jim Emacio, who volunteers for the county, said he has seen a handful of similar trust land applications from local tribes in his 40-plus years with the county. Two of those include the Airway Heights properties where the Spokane Tribe Casino and the Kalispel’s Northern Quest Casino sit.

Emacio told Spokane County commissioners earlier this month that trust applications are rarely denied by the federal government. The Spokane Tribe of Indians filed a similar application for a 155-acre parcel near their casino in Airway Heights last year.

The Kalispel Tribe did not return requests for comment regarding future plans for the site but stated in its application that it intends to use the land for economic development and continue operating it as a raceway.

The tribe can modify that intended use of the land after the application is approved, which gives the county government some trepidation, as Spokane County commissioners stated in a required response on the impact on local governments last week.

Spokane County commissioners asked the bureau to condition the approval of the application around the Kalispel’s agreement to construct or financially contribute to any infrastructure improvements and pay for additional county services such as law enforcement that may be needed if developed.

The county also requested the tribe pay the amount of property taxes it would normally receive if the land does achieve trust status, which Emacio told commissioners is unlikely to be incorporated to the bureau’s possible approval.

The response and conditions within were nearly identical to the county’s letter in response to the Spokane Tribe’s application last year, Emacio said.

“I want to be sure that we’re consistent in our response,” Emacio told the commissioners.

The county collected around $3,000 in property taxes last year from the three parcels, while Airway Heights collected around $8,000 of the $23,881 total.

The West Plains’ Great Northern School District collected around $4,000, with the rest of the paid taxes going toward state school levies, conservation fees and noxious weed assessment.

None of those taxing districts collected funds from the property while it was owned by the county, as County Commissioner Al French noted in a board of commissioners meeting earlier this month.

Kris Holdt, a levy specialist with the county assessor’s office, said neighboring properties will likely not notice an increase in property taxes if the raceway becomes trust land.

“The county has a huge tax base; it’s a drop in the bucket for the county,” Holdt said. “So if someone’s rate is $1.60, for example, it’ll still read $1.60.”

Airway Heights City Manager Albert Tripp said the city’s feedback to the bureau centered around reaching a mutual understanding with the tribe that any development on the property will align with state and local planning regulations and environmental review processes.

Historically, the tribe has adopted practices consistent with those local regulations when working on developments such as Northern Quest Resort & Casino. Doing so has ensured the developments integrate with the infrastructure of the surrounding community.

Airway Heights has also asked the bureau to ensure any future development follows the established process that allocates the city’s limited water supply, which has been provided by Spokane since high levels of PFAS chemicals were found in the groundwater of the West Plains.

“What we shared with the bureau is that the city supports the application,” Tripp said.

“We also shared with them some different areas that we thought needed to be explored further to develop a shared understanding.”

Emacio told commissioners the application will most likely be approved without any conditions and said it is unlikely the Kalispel Tribe will voluntarily enter into a payment in lieu of taxes agreement to cover public service costs in unincorporated areas of the county affected by future developments.

“But I do believe they’ll be good partners when they develop the land, to assist in all improvement in the unincorporated area that are impacted by development,” Emacio said.