TRUCKEE, Calif. — The joint Truckee Town Council and Planning Commission meeting started on a somber note Tuesday as Mayor Courtney Henderson acknowledged two losses in the community. 

Henderson started the meeting by acknowledging the loss of Kiely Rodni. 

“On behalf of the town of Truckee, we offer our deepest condolences to Kiely’s family and friends. You are all in our hearts as you begin your journey of celebrating Kiely’s life,” Henderson said. “As I was reflecting upon the last couple of weeks, I considered the enormous amount of resources that were put into the search for Kiely by not only our federal, state and local agencies but by volunteers in our community from near and far. I reflected on the community outpouring of support and love that has been shown. And I thought about Kiely’s family and friends and their commitment to hope, their continued strength. I was unsure how to honor Kiely tonight and realized that truly there are no words which can express our heartfelt sympathies and sadness.”

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She continued to read the publicized statement from Rodni’ family. 

After a moment of silence for Rodni, Henderson also spoke about the loss of community member David Horan. 

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Horan was one of the original members of the General Plan Advisory Committee and was an advocate for affordable housing in the community. One of his main focuses on the GPAC was maintaining town character. 

Henderson asked for another moment of silence for Horan and took a five minute break before starting the meeting. 

Tuesday’s meeting focused on a discussion of the conservation and open space element of the General Plan, as well as a review of the General Plan Environmental Impact Report.

Council Member Dave Polivy, as well as Planning Commission Chair Daniel Fraiman and Commissioner Dave Gove were absent from the meeting. 

During the discussion of the conservation and open space element, the council and commission focused on what the town’s role should be in converting neighborhoods currently using septic to sewer. 

Commission Vice Chair Suzie Tarnay said it was something she had personally pursued and found it to be financially and logistically difficult. 

Councilmember Jan Zabriskie said he’d like the Truckee Sewer District to present a cost break-down to the council but he’d like to state the desire in the General Plan to make the conversion. The council and commission members agreed with that direction for staff to explore ways to make the change more feasible. 

They then discussed the question of, “does the draft plan provide the right balance of preservation goals for the Truckee River and Donner Lake while also providing equitable access to the recreation opportunities.”

Councilmember Anna Klovstad said she would like to see more items pertaining to preservation in the General Plan. 

“I don’t feel like we’re in a position where we’re going to be restricting our recreational access, I do strongly feel that if we don’t do a better job of protecting Donner Lake and the Truckee River we will not have recreation on those,” Klovstad said. 

Commissioner Nikki Riley echoed that sentiment, adding that she would like there to be strong language in the General Plan. 

There was consensus about conducting a carrying capacity survey for Donner Lake and Truckee River to help aid in writing future policy. 

As final thoughts on this element, both Riley and Zabriskie said they were disappointed in the lack of public comment and feedback from groups in the community. 

The meeting finished with a presentation about the General Plan EIR which should be certified in the fall at the same time as the General Plan adoption. The EIR evaluates the impacts of the General Plan and Downtown Truckee Plan in addition to offering mitigation measures and a monitoring plan. 

Public comment on the EIR is due by 5 p.m. Sept. 23.

To see the full EIR, visit https://www.truckee2040.com/documents. 

The next Truckee Council meeting is scheduled for Sept. 13 and the Planning Commission meeting is scheduled for Sept. 20.