Dear Friends:

The public has continued to raise awareness of growing concerns about existing traffic, wildfire danger, over-tourism, and the environmental impacts we are already experiencing with the existing residential and tourist populations.

Numerous recent articles have been published citing these concerns as well as calling out our land use agencies to do something about them before adding to the problem with plan amendments that have been proposed/recently approved:

• Preserving the Essence of North Lake Tahoe - A Call for Responsible Development

• Tahoe’s Abusive Relationship with Tourism Must End

• Stop Endangering Tahoe’s Future

• Urban Plan for Tahoe Flawed, Shortsighted

Unfortunately, as discussed below, Placer County and the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency continue to push forward with these population-increasing amendments without having first addressed the existing environmental and public safety problems in the Basin. We encourage you to read below and continue to provide written and verbal comments to the agencies on these proposals.

On the positive side, public outcry is having an impact in other respects. For example, agencies are listening to the substantial public comments submitted with regards to the proposed changes to the Homewood Mountain Resort!

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,

Overview of Plan Amendments - Placer County and TRPA

For over a year we have been reporting primarily on a Placer County effort to update the Tahoe Basin Area Plan (TBAP) to reportedly promote more affordable or “achievable” housing in areas along the North and West shores. However, there has been less awareness and public outreach by TRPA regarding similar “Housing” amendments to their Regional Plan (termed “Phase 2 Housing Amendments”), which propose more onerous changes that would apply throughout the Basin. The two processes have been confusing to follow, with both related to housing, increased density, increased height (more recently removed from Placer’s TBAP amendments), and other design changes and with both recently undergoing or soon scheduled for hearings in front of TRPA’s Advisory Planning Commission (APC), Regional Plan Implementation Committee (RPIC), and Governing Board. On 10/31 Placer’s TBAP amendments were approved by Placer’s Board of Supervisors (more below); the next step will be hearings/approvals by TRPA’s APC, RPIC, and GB. Agendas and staff reports are posted here at least one week in advance. At this time, the TRPA-related hearings for both plan updates are as follows:

TRPA Phase 2 Amendments:

• Wednesday Nov. 6th - TRPA APC recommended approval

• Wednesday Nov. 15th - TRPA RPIC hearing

• Wednesday Dec. 13th TRPA GB hearing for final vote

Placer Tahoe Basin Area Plan Amendments (tentative dates):

• Wednesday Dec. 6th - TRPA APC hearing

• Wednesday Dec. 13th - TRPA RPIC hearing

• January 2024 - (TBD) TRPA GB hearing for final vote

Continue reading below for updates related to each plan amendment process.

Placer County Tahoe Basin Area Plan (TBAP)

As noted in our recent Alert, Placer County’s Board of Supervisors took a final vote on the TBAP amendments at their 10/31 hearing in Auburn. The amendments reduce setbacks, reduce parking requirements, increase wildfire evacuation risks and result in more residential and tourist units, plus reduce public notification requirements for some projects. These changes, coupled with current environmental and public safety conditions, require a new Environmental Impact Report (EIR) to be developed to identify, analyze, and mitigate impacts. The public showed up and provided substantial comments at the preliminary BOS hearing on 10/16, however, the hearing was ended and then ‘continued’ (without public comment) for final voting in Auburn two weeks later.. Unfortunately - but not surprisingly - the BOS approved the amendments without requiring a new EIR.

The next opportunity for the TBAP amendments to be brought before TRPA’s Advisory Planning Commission (APC) is on 12/6, TRPA’s Regional Plan Implementation Committee on 12/13, and the TRPA Governing Board in January.

FOWS remains concerned about bringing more people to the West and North Shore without first addressing existing traffic, emergency access/evacuation, and other impacts. Read our PC BOS comments here. These issues are compounded by the TRPA’s proposed Regional Plan amendments, which aim to make more onerous changes in areas throughout the entire Basin (more below).

Even if you’ve sent comments to the TRPA APC and Governing Board per previous newsletters/Alerts, we encourage you to send additional comments to TRPA representatives once the agenda for the TRPA meetings are posted here to ensure the comments are on the public record and will be seen by APC and GB members within a week of their hearings. You can prepare your own or use this example letter. Below is a copy and paste list of email addresses:

TRPA Governing Board & staff:

cindygustafson@placer.ca.gov, hayley.a.williamson@gmail.com, shellyaldean@gmail.com, cisco@sos.nv.gov, ashleyc@alumni.princeton.edu, jdiss.trpa@gmail.com​, belindafaustinos@gmail.com,  jfriedrich@cityofslt.us, Meghan.hays9@gmail.com, AHill@washoecounty.us, vhoenigman@yahoo.com, jsettelmeyer@dcnr.nv.gov, BOSFive@edcgov.us, wrice@douglasnv.us, TRPALeumer@yahoo.com,  jregan@trpa.gov, jmarshall@trpa.gov, publiccomment@trpa.gov  

TRPA Advisory Planning Commission:

brendan.ferry@edcgov.us, jcarr@ndep.nv.gov, estahler@lands.nv.gov, hroverud@cityofslt.us, JDrew@ncenet.com, susankesslerchandler@gmail.com, cjacobse@placer.ca.gov, judymike@mac.com, nvwlfpack@icloud.com, Ben.Letton@waterboards.ca.gov, eyoung@washoecounty.us, kmoneil@douglasnv.us, hferris@carson.org, kevin@alibi.beer, galling@sierraecotonesolutions.com, stephen@lakevalleyfire.org, executive.assistant@washoetribe.us, steveteshara@gmail.com, publiccomment@trpa.gov

TRPA “Phase 2 Housing Amendments”

On 11/8, the TRPA Advisory Planning Commission (APC) voted to recommend yet another set of population- and traffic-increasing amendments to their Regional Plan, impacting areas throughout the entire Basin. The North Tahoe Preservation Alliance provided this report after the APC meeting, and this recent alert from the Mountain Area Preservation provides helpful information and visuals explaining what these amendments mean.

In general, the amendments will increase height, density, coverage, and remove parking requirements for up to 946 deed-restricted units within Residential Bonus Unit areas, which along the West Shore include areas on both sides of SR 89 from North of Meeks Bay to Tahoe City. The changes are greater for areas within Town Centers such as Tahoe City and Kings Beach, but also affect development in Sunnyside, Homewood, and Tahoma. Further, the changes will supersede local Area Plans, which underwent years of engagement with the public prior to adoption! An interactive map for areas affected by the zoning changes is available on TRPA’s website at: https://gis.trpa.org/housing/. The following information includes a comparison of the existing vs. proposed code included in the staff report.

According to the staff report, the amendments will be heard by the Regional Plan Implementation Committee on 11/15 and taken to the Governing Board for approval on 12/13.

While FOWS supports the need for affordable housing, we remain concerned with the addition of more people and development into areas without first evaluating the impacts based on existing conditions nor a comprehensive analysis of alternative options to encourage affordable housing. We encourage you to send comments to the RPIC members (listed below) prior to the 11/15 meeting and to the full Governing Board prior to their 12/13 hearing (GB addresses above).

Regional Plan Implementation Committee & TRPA Staff:

cindygustafson@placer.ca.gov, shellyaldean@gmail.com, jdiss.trpa@gmail.com​, AHill@washoecounty.us, vhoenigman@yahoo.com, jsettelmeyer@dcnr.nv.gov, jregan@trpa.gov, jmarshall@trpa.gov, abettinger@trpa.gov, publiccomment@trpa.gov

Homewood Mountain Resort

The community-led group Keep Homewood Public (KHP) recently reported the following update from an 11/7 multi-agency meeting on their Facebook page:

“Discovery+TRPA+Placer Meeting Update:

”…The presentation and discussion included the Master Plan, permits, architecture, public engagement, and delays. After the meeting, regulators decided that they will not consider one-off permits (e.g., timber harvest or gondola), but will require Discovery to wrap it together with Master Plan amendment requests as well as public access. Regulators have also requested a “strong public engagement plan” from Discovery. And in response to Discovery's claim that the community supports their current project plans, Cindy Gustafson cited the over 2K people who have voiced opposition.

KHP would like to acknowledge and thank Placer County and TRPA for defending community priorities here. They clearly are stepping up to hold Discovery accountable. Thank you so much regulators!!

We also have to thank our community for continuing to voice your opinions…”

8305 & 8307 Meeks Bay Ave. Development/Vacation Rentals

As detailed in past newsletters, the proposed rebuild of these lakefront properties into a mega-sized residence to be used as a vacation rental has been a concern of neighbors, community members, and FOWS. Not only would this create significant impacts to the local neighborhood, but could also set a precedent to allow for this type of out-of-scale development to occur in other areas. The Meeks Bay community has requested that West Shore residents send letters to the TRPA Governing Board at   publiccomment@TRPA.gov to oppose this mega-development in a residential neighborhood. We will advise on the hearing dates when they are scheduled.

Meeks Bay Resort Restoration Project

We have not received any updates since our last newsletter. More information is available on the project’s website.