24.11.1.030 Findings

(a) The Pueblo de San Ildefonso possesses inherent sovereign powers over the Pueblo's lands.

(b) In the exercise of that sovereign power, the Pueblo grants leases, easements, rights-of-way, and access permits that authorize access to and use of the Pueblo lands.

(c) The Pueblo must review and evaluate applications from outside parties for new or renewed rights-of-way, leases, permits and other proposed land uses and land encumbrances on Pueblo land.

(d) The Pueblo cannot rely on the Bureau of Indian Affairs to conduct or pay for the economic, safety, and legal reviews that are necessary to ensure that the Pueblo's interests are protected prior to any approval of such applications.

(e) The Pueblo has limited financial and staffing resources and cannot and will not bear the cost of reviewing applications of outside parties interested in using Pueblo land for business purposes.

(f) It is appropriate that outside parties applying to use Pueblo land should be required to pay the Pueblo's reasonable costs of reviewing and evaluating and acting on an outside party's application.

(g) In October 2011, the Pueblo approved a land use application fee to cover the Pueblo's reasonable costs in reviewing and evaluating an application for a right-of-way, lease, permit or other document to use Pueblo lands.

(h) The Pueblo's land use application fee authorization was done by Resolution No. SI-R11-032 and was not codified and included in the Pueblo's Code that is posted on the Pueblo's website, and must be amended to reflect the changes in the Pueblo's governance structure resulting from the Governing Agreement that was enacted and approved in December 2011, a date after the approval of the land use application fee.

(i) It is in the best interest of the Pueblo to amend and codify the Pueblo's land use application fee authorization.