STATELINE, Nev. – On Wednesday’s governing board meeting for the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA), the board discussed the appeal for Tahoe City’s telephone pole, the South Shore area plan amendments, and aquatic invasive species funding, along with the Lake Tahoe Restoration Act.

Telephone pole

Before the governing board, the legal committee met to discuss the AT&T telephone pole that is set to be installed at the opening of Dollar Point in Tahoe City. In late September last year, TRPA issued a permit to Epic Wireless Group on behalf of AT&T to construct a telephone pole, replacing the existing one with a new 52-foot wooden pole. Though the TRPA notified the neighborhood, the process was appealed on October 17.

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The appeal consisted of three main points: there was insufficient notification, a misleading lack of opposition from homeowners in the affected area, and that other sites for the pole weren’t properly considered. The appellants Lori and John Brooke, Dennis Reed, Christie Carlson, Kurt Lindofer, and Devin Dixon also felt that there wasn’t adequate visual representation of the project and that TRPA’s refusal to grant a 30-day notice extension to the hearing violated the rules of procedure.

TRPA’s legal committee argued that their notification process was exceeded, as they notified all property owners within a quarter mile of the project, which is larger than the 300-foot requirement they set, and that the refusal of the extension was within the discretion of the hearings officer, and that the appeal actually provided a further six months for public comment. They also said that their alternate sites weren’t viable: Placer County didn’t agree to one, another would have violated TRPA’s scenic thresholds, and the third was too far to meet the intended coverage goals of the pole. Lastly, they stated they did not need to include a visual representation of the project in the initial notice, and that TRPA does not have the authority to protect private views.

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In response, Lori Brooke stated that she and the other appellants were, “looking for a more thoughtful approach.” She asked the board to consider requesting Placer County for the pole’s placement at Dollar Creek Crossing, the county’s property across the way that will have at least 80 units of affordable housing. She also stated that the notification, while wider in radius, didn’t actually reach the lower end of Dollar Point’s neighborhood, and that 73% of the people she’d surveyed in the neighborhood were opposed to the pole. “We’re not saying no, we’re saying let’s do this right.”

Public comment also raised concerns about visual clutter, potential impacts on fire egress during the construction period, health concerns, and worries about its impact on the pool in the neighborhood. Board member Cody Bass asked if the pole would actually improve coverage as it only represents one of the carriers in the Basin.

Though the motion to grant the appeal received several yes votes, it did not receive five affirmative votes from California representing board members. Placer County representative Cindy Gustafson was absent from the meeting, but El Dorado County Supervisor Brooke Laine was one of the California votes to appeal the permit. As a result, the permit remains viable, and the pole’s construction will go on.

South Shore Area Plan amendments

During last month’s meeting, the Regional Planning Committee (RPC) discussed the outcomes for the area plan changes in South Shore. That recommendation, along with the Advisory Planning Committee’s (APC) recommendation, was brought to governing board for consideration. These excluded the Barton Hospital healthcare subdistrict and instead focused on a change in frequency for sign cycles, an issue with the zoning that split Kingsbury Manor Mobile Home Park, and the Phase 2 Housing Amendments.

The recommendations for the sign cycles were split in the APC, but unanimously recommended by the RPC—it allowed for the sign to change every five minutes, rather than every 15.

The Kingsbury Manor Mobile Home Park zoning issue was recommended to be fixed in order to bring the parcels officially into compliance. Before, when the zones were determined, the owners of the property agreed to the area plan, including the building height restriction. This fix would ensure that those agreements are still true for the parcels, regardless of the ownership in the future.

The Phase 2 Housing Amendments, which allow higher coverage, height, number of units per parcel via density, and reduced parking for deed-restricted multi-family housing developments, were unanimously recommended by both the APC and RPC.

Public comment included concerns on the sign cycles’ scenic and character impact to South Shore, worries from Incline Village and Crystal Bay about fire evacuation dangers due to increased density, and support for workforce housing from both Robb Olson and CEO and president of the Tahoe Housing Hub, Erin Casey.

After deliberation of the recommendations, the motions for these amendments passed.

Environmental improvement

The Environmental Improvement Committee (EIC) met prior to the governing board, where they discussed the current federal and state legislation that supported the regional plan and Environmental Improvement Program (EIP).

The Lake Tahoe Restoration Act was a major win for TRPA last year, but as federal funding and staffing fluctuates, the TRPA continues to keep an eye on it. Executive director Julie Regan spoke about how “Team Tahoe” recently flew to Washington D.C. to educate elected officials and committee staff about the funding requests for fiscal year 2026.

On the California side, the Proposition 4 Climate Bond was voted on in the election, meaning TRPA staff are currently working on how to allocate funds and program development for the first year of the bond. Regan also addressed the efforts to secure transportation funding in California. Lastly, the TRPA’s annual budget request, which included increases in staff salaries and matching Nevada’s increases, received positive votes from Assembly and Senate sub-committee hearings.

On the Nevada side, the Interim Oversight Committee for TRPA and the Marlette Lake Water System submitted eight bill draft requests after the 2024 interim session. Of those eight, six have been introduced into the legislature. TRPA also presented its biennium budget request to the Joint Subcommittee on Public Safety, Natural Resources, and Transportation.

During the governing board meeting, a recent CalMatters article that addressed the environmental impacts in Lake Tahoe and whether or not TRPA’s funding was helping became a point of discussion. Some board members dismissed the article’s findings, which sparked the ire of public comments that hailed CalMatters and CapRadio’s reporting as nonprofit media sources and potential watchdogs for the TRPA.

Lastly, the governing board also heard a presentation regarding a fee update for Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS) management, after the AIS staff report. Because of the recent discovery of golden mussels in the San Joaquin Delta, staff requested an increased number of decontaminations: $30 to $60 for water intake systems and $0 to $60 at affected areas with mud, plants, animals, or water found during the inspection. The maximum fee is $120, and the attached mussel fee would remain at $350. Staff indicated that because of the lower levels of calcium in Lake Tahoe, the golden mussel would rapidly become a dangerous issue if introduced.

The governing board passed the motion to adopt the proposed resolution that updated the fees.

The next governing board meeting will take place on April 23.

Eli Ramos is a reporter for Tahoe Daily Tribune. They are part of the 2024–26 cohort of California Local News Fellows through UC Berkeley.