Dear Friends:

We have a lot of important updates for you this time around! Topics include the following:

• Homewood Mountain Resort

• Meeks Bay Resort Restoration Project

• Evacuation Plans

• USFS Plan to allow for e-bike use on dirt hiking and biking trails

• Ongoing plan revisions and proposals by TRPA, Placer County, and El Dorado County that will result in more density, more height, and more crowds

• Final hearing on Palisades Tahoe massive Village Project

As always, we will keep you updated on West Shore activities and other projects in our bi-monthly newsletters. We look forward to your continued feedback and support, and encourage you to contact us with any additional ideas or questions you may have.

Sincerely,

As outlined in our previous newsletter updates, Placer County and TRPA proposed separate sets of plan amendments in 2023 that increase density, height, population, traffic, and contribute further to public safety concerns associated with emergency evacuations and access. The following information provides updates regarding the two agencies’ amendments.

Placer County Tahoe Basin Area Plan (TBAP)

At this time, the lawsuit filed by FOWS and other organizations against Placer County’s amendments is proceeding through the next steps prescribed by California law. The documents that constitute the administrative record have been produced.

TRPA Housing Amendments

The TRPA will be bringing forward “Phase 3 Amendments” that aim to improve housing in the Region. Preliminary policy decisions will be evaluated by the Tahoe Living Working Group. The first meeting of this group is scheduled for Dec. 11. FOWS was recently interviewed by the TRPA consultant to provide input to this process.

More information regarding previous housing amendments and concerns can be viewed on the Mountain Area Preservation (MAP) web page. In addition, TRPA’s Advisory Planning Commission recently held a hearing on changes proposed by TRPA staff that would make it easier for local governments to increase height and density under the guise of improving housing for residents. MAP submitted this comment letter, explaining why the proposal could actually have the opposite effect and further exacerbate concerns about public safety and emergency evacuation. The proposal is scheduled for a vote by TRPA’s Governing Board on Dec. 18. The agenda will be posted here on Dec. 11.

Emergency Evacuation Planning Activities

Wildfire Evacuation Analysis and Documents

In our last newsletter we reported on the release of two documents related to emergency wildfire evacuations:

1. An independent evacuation analysis funded by the non-profit organization Tahoe Clean Air that modeled evacuation times for hypothetical no-notice evacuation scenarios, which can result when wildfires quickly become a threat without advance notice (note the second part was released last month evaluating scenarios for west and south shore); and

2. A Regional Evacuation Plan circulated for public comment by the Lake Tahoe Fire Chiefs Association, which focused more on operations and responsibilities in planned evacuation scenarios and did not include estimated evacuation times.

To date, land use agencies have seemingly dismissed the information provided in the first report although it is the most comprehensive, data-driven analysis of such scenarios ever completed and such an analysis is recommended by the California Attorney General. Comments on the second item (Regional Evacuation Plan) are requested by November 20th and can be emailed to Steve Leighton, Fire Chief. Read FOWS comments here.

#GivingTuesday (December 3)

Further, as previously noted, FOWS launched a fundraising campaign to help fund the costs of litigation related to Placer County’s amendments to the Tahoe Basin Area Plan. We sincerely appreciate the generous donations that have been coming in to date; however, we still have a way to go to reach our goal of $40,000.

All donations are tax-deductible. Click here to donate.

Homewood Mountain Resort (HMR)

During a Sept 25th TRPA Board meeting, TRPA began exploring an enforcement framework that could protect public access. However, roughly two weeks later HMR announced that they would not open this season because their financial partner withdrew their funding. The Sierra Sun recently reported additional information and responses from multiple parties. All documents and information about the application process are on TRPA’s Homewood Mountain Resort information page.

Meeks Bay Resort Restoration Project

8305 & 8307 Meeks Bay Ave. Development/Vacation Rentals

The projects are still undergoing design review and alteration and have not been taken before the TRPA Hearings Officer for a second hearing. There are no other updates at this time. For those interested in these projects; please contact Dana Schneider for more information.

US Forest Service Electric-bikes and Trails Proposal

The final Environmental Assessment (EA) for this project, which proposes to allow e-bikes on dirt trails where not currently allowed, was recently released. FOWS submitted these comments expressing concerns that a full environmental impact study is necessary to analyze and develop appropriate mitigation measures for a number of issues, including increased trail conflicts among users, the additional environmental impacts of e-bikes, and the complete lack of any increases in enforcement requirements or personnel and resources associated with the project. In addition, the Sierra Club submitted these comprehensive comments in Objection to the project.

Other updates

Tahoe/El Dorado Area Plan (“TED”):

The video recording of the September virtual public workshop and the workshop summary are now available. A Phase 1 online survey was also recently completed and results can be viewed here. Agency coordinators also note that a new survey will be posted to the TED website soon as they move into Phase 2. According to the website, the TED Area Plan has three phases and is currently still in Phase 1:

• Phase 1 includes holding community visioning workshops, conducting stakeholder outreach, preparing a County and TRPA land use/zoning consistency study, and drafting an outline for the plan.

• Phase 2 is a future phase that will include developing the draft document plan, holding additional community workshops, and making revisions to the draft plan.
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• Phase 3 is a future phase that will include the public comment period for the draft plan with public hearings for possible adoption of the plan.