KINGS BEACH, Calif. – The Placer County Board of Supervisors met at the North Tahoe Event Center on Tuesday, Nov. 18, to hear, discuss and take action on topics related to North Tahoe.

Area plan amendments

The supervisors conducted a public hearing on and unanimously adopted amendments to the Placer County Tahoe Basin Area Plan.

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The amendments seek to address housing affordability and availability by increasing building coverage, height, and density, while lowering parking requirements in areas already zoned for this type of development, such as town centers and areas zoned for multifamily housing.

The amendments were sparked by the Tahoe Regional Planing Agency’s own Dec. 13, 2023 and June 26, 2024 amendments to its codes and regional plan. The amendments are required to be subsequently incorporated into each Tahoe jurisdiction’s area plan.

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The changes are intended to aid by allowing developments to produce more units with a smaller footprint in order to make them more affordable. The added flexibility these amendments offer is only available to deed restricted achievable housing.

For more information, read the Sun’s article titled, Placer County Supervisors adopt density increasing amendments to area plan.

Housing topics: local preference and a housing trust

The supervisors received a presentation regarding a potential priority applicant policy for affordable housing aimed at preventing local resident displacement and offering current residents and workers first priority for affordable units.

Developers, property managers and sales agents would administer the policy, placing qualified preferred applicants at the top of the list for available properties.

The policy would be countywide, but divided into two geographic regions:

• Tahoe Truckee Unified School District (TTUSD)
• remaining western Placer County

Tahoe applicants would have priority for units in the TTUSD region if one adult 18 years or older within the household is currently employed an average of 30 or more hours per week at a location within the TTUSD geographical boundary, or has primary residency in the TTUSD boundary, or has had residency within the last 10 years.

The drafted policy is planned to undergo a fair housing analysis. Results could lead to modifications to the policy.

After the analysis, the policy is expected to come before the board for potential approval in the spring of 2026.

In another housing item, the board directed staff to draft an agreement for the county to provide start up funds for a housing trust in eastern Placer County.

The housing trust, to be operated through Housing Tahoe, a nonprofit, seeks to leverage private funds through a charitable structure to acquire, preserve, rehabilitate, and construct community-serving housing.

The immediate focus for the nonprofit would be on protecting existing units, which are currently marketed as opportunities to investors.

However, Housing Tahoe sees an opportunity to step in, acquire and deed restrict the units, preserving them for the community. A charitable structure in this endeavor allows them to unlock private donations and partners to diversify funding streams for housing efforts.

The strategies combat an 8,200 unit shortage in housing within the TTUSD area, as identified in the July 2023 Housing Needs Assessment Update from the Mountain Housing Council.

Housing Tahoe is currently in the process of obtaining federal 501(c)(3) status and until the status is approved, plans on partnering with a non-profit organization who can serve as a fiscal sponsor to legally receive and administer tax-deductible donations on its behalf.

A future decision for the board could be funding Housing Tahoe with around $500,000 to support its establishment and early housing preservation activities in a phased approach, tied to defined milestones.

An funding agreement for this will come before the board at a future unspecified date.

Transportation topics: TART plan update and free to rider extension

The board approved a two year extension of the Tahoe Truckee Area Regional Transit (TART) Free to the Rider Bus Service. The service, which set out to reduce vehicle miles traveled by offering free bus rides, replaced fares collected from passengers and was first implemented in 2019.

In addition to the annual $275,000 of Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT) funds from Placer County, local partners also contribute to the free service in lieu of purchasing employee fares and passes. Those local partners include resorts such as Northstar California Resort, Palisades Tahoe, Homewood Mountain Resort and other partners.

The board also approved the TART 2025 Systems Plan Update.

The update, which is a short range transit planning document and replaces the 2016 plan, offers an overview of services, operation plans and provides recommendations for modifications.

Analysis found the fixed route ridership is highest in the winter and spring, and during commute hours. It also found that while TART’s mainline fixed route ridership has decreased in the last five years, TART Connect ridership has increased in the last three with peaks on Fridays and Saturdays.

Identified challenges of fixed routes include finding and retaining drivers, seasonal fluctuations in demand, coordination with other transportation providers, and funding. Between 2023 and 2024, there were 16 driver vacancies. The plan identifies strategies to attract drivers and retain them.

Challenges with TART Connect is the redundancy and competition it creates with fixed routes, its lower productivity, and funding.

Numerous public outreach efforts and surveys informed on the update and recommendations.

Some of the service recommendations from the plan update include:

• 30 minute frequency on all routes in winter and summer to start, with potential expansion to year-round 30 minute frequency
• Maintain the West Shore route as separate and extend it to Tahoe City
• Extend all TART fixed routes for an evening service between 6:00 p.m. or 8:00 p.m. in the summer and winter months
• TART Connect fares when fixed routes are operating
• TART Connect expansion to Ponderosa Palisades and Martis Valley

Capital recommendations include replacing buses with electric buses, installing zero-emission bus charging stations, adding stop shelters, creating a park and ride plan, real-time bus information software and real-time bus displays.

The plan also included a scenario for the loss of TOT funds, which are not guaranteed. The loss would likely result in a drastic reduction of fixed routes and discontinuation of TART Connect.

Tourism business improvement district renewal

The board conducted a public meeting to hear comment on the renewal of the North Lake Tahoe Tourism Business Improvement District, which is administered through the North Tahoe Community Alliance (NTCA).

Through the business improvement district, tourism related businesses (including lodging, retail, restaurants, activities) self-assess a percentage that is typically passed on to the customer. The collected revenues are then reinvested within the North Tahoe community on programs and projects that directly benefit the businesses that are paying the assessment.

In its five years, the North Lake Tahoe Tourism Business Improvement District has reinvested $34.2 million into the community and leveraged an additional $42 million. The funds have gone to projects improving trails, promoting environmental stewardship, mitigating human impacts, improving transportation and workforce housing.

To be considered before the board, renewal requires petition signatures from a majority of the paying business owners in the proposed district. According to NTCA President and CEO, Tony Karwowski, the district has amassed 67.25 % of weighted revenue signatures so far.

The renewal proposes certain changes to the district’s management plan, including increasing the renewal term to 10 years, rather than five, for efficiency. Another change is the removal of the tier two and tier three businesses, which are not high producing businesses, and often transient for arts and crafts festivals. This has demanded significant staff time and energy to track them down.

The district boundary and assessment percentages are not changing with the renewal.

Public comment was for largely supportive, highlighting the need for the district in the community, while also highlighting the continued desire for the district’s transparency.

The NTCA finances are audited by a third party every other year and a third party reviews the finances in the off years. The finances are publicly available online. The NTCA is also required to give an annual report to the Placer County Board of Supervisors.

The board was also introduced to and waived the first reading of the ordinance renewing the business improvement district. A public hearing and second reading will take place at the board meeting on Dec. 9., where the supervisors may adopt and renew the district.

For more information on the meeting topics or a video recording, visit placer.ca.gov/10065/_2025.