TAHOE CITY, Calif. – Although digging season doesn’t open in North Lake Tahoe until May 1, Placer County staff are already working on applications to ensure crews can get started quickly this summer when the ground is dry.

Grading and digging work is confined to drier months—May 1 to Oct. 15—to protect Lake Tahoe’s famed water clarity from sources of erosion and sediment.

“It’s important folks remember that Tahoe’s shorter dig season results in increased interest in building permits,” said Community Development Resource Agency Deputy Director Gabe Armstrong. “That’s why it is wise to submit applications early. Those who can submit at the start of the year have a greater chance of starting work May 1 than those submitting closer to the start of the summer.”

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During the normal grading season, soil work can proceed in dry conditions but is prohibited when a project area is covered with snow, saturated with water, muddy or unstable, and during periods of precipitation. Working in dry conditions prevents soil compaction and stops loose soil and mud from washing away from project sites or into roadways, storm drains, waterways and the lake.

In addition to the standard county requirements for a grading permit, the Lake Tahoe Basin has enhanced requirements for the following grading activities:

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• Fill or excavation greater than 3 cubic yards for projects that include sensitive lands
• Fill or excavation greater than 10 cubic yards for projects that include non-sensitive lands

A grading permit is also required for work in the Lake Tahoe Basin that involves:

• Construction site grade alterations to increase or decrease the existing ground level more than two feet 
• New structures on undisturbed lots
• Ground disturbance greater than 1 acre
• Construction with the potential to cause an unstable slope (slope >2:1)
• Grading in a floodplain
• Grading within or adjacent to a drainage course or wetland
• Exterior retaining walls of any height with an extra load behind the wall
• Vehicular bridges
• Pond construction or modification
• Swimming pool fill operations with depth of fill greater than 4 feet

Our Engineering and Surveying Division issues permits and residents can rely on the county’s eServices website to conveniently submit permit applications for commercial and residential development projects.

The county office in Tahoe is also open for in-person appointments. Staff operate the counter from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays, as well as 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesdays (excluding county holidays). The counter is closed Fridays.

Learn more about grading permits here: https://www.placer.ca.gov/2371/Grading-Permits.