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In a significant legal escalation, the Twenty-Nine Palms Band of Mission Indians has filed a lawsuit against Riverside County, California, alleging a pattern of fraudulent dealings and racial discrimination. The dispute centers on a large parcel of land the Tribe purchased for $12 million adjacent to the Jacqueline Cochran Regional Airport in Thermal, California. The Tribe’s primary grievance is that county officials encouraged and facilitated this major financial investment, only to later pass a resolution that effectively blocked the Tribe from utilizing the land for its intended purpose. This action, they argue, represents a calculated betrayal that has left them with a costly asset they are unable to develop as planned.
At the heart of the conflict is the concept of a “Through-the-Fence” (TTF) agreement. Such an agreement is a common aviation arrangement that allows a property owner whose land borders an airport to construct a direct access point, or taxiway, connecting their property to the airport’s runways. The Twenty-Nine Palms Band intended to develop their newly acquired land for commercial aviation purposes, which would have required a TTF agreement with the county, which operates the airport. The Tribe asserts that throughout the purchase process, county officials were aware of these plans and did not object, leading them to believe that securing the necessary permission to build the taxiway would be a straightforward and supported endeavor.
However, according to the lawsuit, the situation took a drastic turn in August 2025. The Tribe claims that the Riverside County Board of Supervisors passed Resolution No. 2025-230 on “rushed notice,” a resolution that specifically banned the creation of new TTF agreements at the airport. The Tribe argues this was a sudden and unjustified policy reversal that directly targeted their development plans. They allege that this move was designed to cripple their project and that the county’s official reasoning—that it was necessary for safety and compliance with Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) policies—is a pretext. The lawsuit contends that the resolution is not an FAA requirement, making the county’s justification misleading and a violation of the public trust.
Adding a layer of hypocrisy to their claims, the Tribe points out that the county has continued to allow a similar arrangement for another party. The suit highlights that the H.N. and Frances C. Berger Foundation, another adjacent landowner, has been granted access to the airport. The Tribe argues that this disparate treatment makes the county’s actions not just unfair, but evidence of illegal discrimination. From their perspective, the county has created a two-tiered system, favoriting a wealthy non-Native entity while systematically blocking a federally recognized Indian Tribe, which points to a deeper issue of bias and a failure to engage in good-faith, government-to-government relations.
The Tribe’s legal arguments are multifaceted, alleging a clear “bait-and-switch.” The lawsuit accuses the county of fraudulent inducement, asserting that they were essentially tricked into buying the land based on implied promises that were never honored. Furthermore, they frame the county’s actions as a “regulatory taking,” arguing that the county has effectively deprived them of the land’s economic value without due process or compensation. The legal complaint includes counts for violations of equal protection under the law, substantive due process, and racial discrimination in contracting, asserting that the county’s actions were arbitrary, irrational, and “conscience-shocking,” with no legitimate public purpose other than to deliberately disadvantage the Tribe.
In response to these alleged harms, the Twenty-Nine Palms Band is seeking significant legal remedies from the court. The primary request is for an order to invalidate and terminate the county’s resolution that blocks the TTF agreement. Additionally, the Tribe is seeking financial compensation, including the return of their substantial $12 million investment, as well as damages to cover the lost development value of the property. They are also asking the court to provide compensation for the regulatory taking and to cover their attorney’s fees and legal costs. The lawsuit frames the county’s behavior as not merely a local land-use dispute, but a fundamental breach of trust and a violation of the Tribe’s sovereign rights, setting the stage for a major legal confrontation over fairness, economic justice, and the rights of Native American nations in California.
