Tahoe Regional Planning Agency’s Governing Board on Jan. 25 unanimously approved the Tahoe Basin Area Plan, which includes the 118-room Tahoe City Lodge redevelopment proposal.

The decision follows the Placer County Board of Supervisors’ Dec. 6 approval of the plan and associated lodge project.

THE LODGE

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“Now that we have approvals, we’re moving forward with refining the design and making sure everything is compliant,” said Kila Properties CEO Samir Tuma, the applicant behind the Tahoe City Lodge project.

Tuma said that during the environmental review process, one of the issues that came up frequently was parking. He said the project meets the requirements.

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“We met the requirements but we want to make sure everything works well and we won’t have any issues,” he said.

The Tahoe City Lodge consists of a four-story “condo hotel” that would replace the white shopping center with fading red and white trim known as the Henrikson Building, located at 255 North Lake Blvd.

The lodge will include a mix of hotel rooms and one- and two-bedroom suites, as well as a restaurant, rooftop pool and bar, according to a press release from TRPA.

“We hope to break ground in the summer, and that would have us opening our doors in the fall of 2018,” Tuma said.

The redevelopment proposal was endorsed by the League to Save Lake Tahoe in October. The current structure at the proposed location was also the site of a small fire earlier this month.

THE AREA PLAN

The Tahoe Basin Area Plan, which acts as a blueprint for land use and development in the coming years, was also approved last week.

It covers 72 miles of land within the California side of basin, from the Placer-El Dorado County line around the northwest shore of the lake to the Nevada state line.

According to the statement from the TRPA, the plan aligns with the agency’s 2012 Regional Plan Update and allows property owners to build secondary dwelling units, regardless of their lot’s size, in an effort to help reduce the local housing shortage.

The secondary units are not allowed to be used as vacation rentals and must be deed restricted affordable housing.

Of note, in December, the California Clean Energy Committee, a Davis-based nonprofit, filed a lawsuit against Placer County for its approval of the Tahoe Basin Area Plan.

The CCEC — which has not made allegations about the Tahoe City Lodge — alleges the area plan’s environmental impact report was flawed.

According to previous reports, Placer County feels the EIR was adequate.

Amanda Rhoades is a news, environment and business reporter for the Sierra Sun. She can be reached at arhoades@sierrasun.com, 530-550-2653 or @akrhoades.