LOS ANGELES -- The Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians is seeking permission to turn a square-mile portion of downtown Palm Springs into a multibillion-dollar complex featuring high-rises, shopping malls, restaurants, a theme park and a second casino.

The controversial development plan is to be submitted Wednesday to the city Planning Commission.

"The city should have a great run from this plan because it's in the downtown area," Agua Caliente Chairman Richard Milanovich told the Los Angeles Times.

The tribe unveiled an initiative last week for the November ballot that would boost payments to the state in exchange for more gambling rights. The proposal would remove state restrictions that allow a maximum of 2,000 slot machines and two casinos per tribe.

The 412-member Agua Caliente Band is already the only tribe in the state with two casinos, including a $95-million downtown Palm Springs gambling palace that opened in November and one in Rancho Mirage.

"If everything in the plan manifests it will be a glory day," Palm Springs City Manager David Ready said. "If only a third of it happens, it would have a huge positive impact on the entire city."

Not everyone, however, is thrilled.

Homeowners, hotel owners and others say they object to the size, design and location of the complex, which would be on a 640-acre site a short block east of Palm Canyon Drive and a mile west of the city's international airport.

Bill Gonzalez, president of the Palm Springs Allied Homeowners Assn., was among a group of residents who complained to the city attorney that the project would affect property values of homes and bed-and-breakfast inns that now enjoy a measure of solitude and serene desert views.

"The attorney insisted the money generated by this project will help the city," Gonzalez said. "He also said, 'The tribe is a sovereign nation and there's not much we can do about it.'

"But we say: 'Let's take back our city. Let's not allow the tribe to get away with this. Let's turn the tribe's power and gas off if necessary.'"

The Agua Caliente tribe defends its plan, calling it a vision for "a unique and cohesive district with its own identity, which is separate but linked to downtown Palm Springs."

The tribe compares it to Pleasure Island in Orlando, Fla., an entertainment complex that includes eight nightclubs and evening street parties set off by music and fireworks.