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Developers withdraw from canyon springs project

Hannah Jones
hjones@sierrasun.com

Developers heading the Canyon Springs project have announced they will be withdrawing their application from the project in a letter to the Town of Truckee.

The project was set on 283 acres of land adjacent to Glenshire neighborhood with 177 market rate lots, 26 of which designated for affordable housing units and 182 acres of public trails and open space, according to the town.

In a letter sent to the town from Christopher Huck of Canyon Springs Joint Venture and Paul Curtis of the Curtis Family Trust, which was also backing the project, the two said there were concerns over whether the current plan would fulfill the needs of the whole community as Truckee continues to grow and change.



“Recently there has been much attention given to the issue of housing and housing affordability in our region,” the letter read. “Housing and the character of a community are major elements of any general plan and will be major considerations in the update in Truckee.”

Huck cited the concerns of the community and criteria in the existing General Plan that the town is in the process of updating.



“The project is planned and designed to conform to the current property zoning and the General Plan, but obviously there was quite a bit of concern and controversy,” Huck wrote in a statement. “This process will hopefully address these issues through public input, and arrive at a community consensus for the future direction of our Town as a whole.”

“We want the General Plan Update process to be able to consider the future of our property in light of the concerns, desires, and needs of the community without the impediment of an existing pending tentative map application,” he continued.

The town has formally closed the application planning application. If the company wishes to continue with the project they must submit a new application, prompting the town to conduct additional public outreach.

The lack of housing in the area has been a growing concern of community members. A 2016 Tahoe Truckee Housing Needs Assessment reported that 65 percent of homes in the area are vacant, mainly used for vacation homes, and that 58.6 percent of the local employees commute into town.

Currently the Mountain Housing Council is working to secure lots for affordable housing projects as well as developers to build. There are 304 achievable housing units, which the housing council defines as all projects it is currently working on that are underway in North Lake Tahoe, including the Artist Lofts, Coburn Crossing project, Meadow View Place and the Tahoe City Marina apartments.

In order to accommodate the future workforce, however, an estimated 12,160 housing units are needed, according to the report.

Hannah Jones is a reporter for the Sierra Sun. She can be reached at 530-550-2652 or hjones@sierrasun.com.


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