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Lake Tahoe Regional Plan Update: Development of recreation areas cited as concern

Adam Jensen
Tahoe Daily Tribune

LAKE TAHOE and#8212; Since its release last month, the Tahoe Regional Planning Agencyand#8217;s Regional Plan Update has stoked fears of a new era of over-development at Lake Tahoe.

And allowing new hotel rooms and homes in areas slated for recreation was one of the major concerns of people who attended a workshop on the update Monday night in Incline Village.

The third alternative in the environmental document for the Regional Plan Update includes a change that could allow tourist, commercial and residential development in areas zoned for recreation by TRPA.



Areas designated for recreation cover 45,208 acres and#8212; 22 percent and#8212; of the Lake Tahoe Basin and include beaches and ski areas.

Alternative three is one of five options in the Regional Plan Updateand#8217;s environmental document and is closest to the recommendations made by the TRPAand#8217;s RPU committee. The alternative is likely to be the focus of much of the discussion as the RPU moves forward.



The change to what is allowed in recreation areas is part of the agencyand#8217;s goal to encourage more pedestrian and bike friendly development, said TRPA spokesman Jeff Cowen, who used the Homewood Master Plan as an example. Any development would be required to show how they will improve Lake Tahoeand#8217;s environment, Cowen added.

Ann Nichols of the North Tahoe Preservation Alliance said the Regional Plan Update and#8220;totally misses the markand#8221; and the change to the recreation classification will encourage development of open space.

and#8220;The focus has gone to development and the economy,and#8221; Nichols said.

Allowing development in recreation areas will favor large developers like Vail Resorts, Nichols said, adding the regional plan should focus on redevelopment and enforcing infiltration of stormwater.

Tahoe Vista resident Ellie Waller said the change should not be included in the Regional Plan Update. Any changes should be looked at on a parcel-by-parcel basis, Waller said.

The concern about over-development is legitimate, said TRPA spokeswoman Julie Regan, but development caps included within the Regional Plan Update will prevent the runaway development that led to creation of the agency in the first place.

Even the most permissive of the alternatives envisions a Lake Tahoe Basin population lower than what it was in 2000, Regan said.

No specific projects are proposed, and it is not possible to speculate on the nature or size of projects that might be proposed under the change to the recreation classification in the future, according to the RPU.

New developments could result in impacts to air quality, noise, traffic, water quality and scenic values. Any development would be required to secure building allocations in line with what is authorized by the agency, be within an approved Master Plan or Area Plan and undergo project-specific environmental review.

How development plays into the change in the recreation classification is likely one to be discussed by the TRPAand#8217;s Governing Board as the Regional Plan Update moves forward, Regan said.


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