At its Tuesday meeting, Truckee Town Council entered an agreement with the Truckee Donner Land Trust to provide $500,000 in order to fund work at the recently acquired Canyon Springs site in eastern Truckee.

The Truckee Donner Land Trust, with partner agencies, raised $11.6 million for the purchase of the 290-acre property in order to preserve the area as open space. The site is seen as a wildlife habitat and includes several springs, mixed conifer forests, and chaparral.

Funding, provided by Truckee’s unallocated reserves, will go toward trail construction and maintenance, and ongoing stewardship at the property.

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MEASURE R HEADS TO BALLOT

A 2014 sales tax measure for trail work will be up for renewal this June.

The decision to add Measure R to the June ballot came before Truckee Town Council on Tuesday. Following unanimous approval, it will now be decided by Truckee voters.

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Previously, Measure R was a 0.25% sales tax dedicated to trails. Voters will be faced with the decision to renew the measure at a rate of 0.5%, which would generate an estimated $3 million annually. The measure would remain in place until ended by voters.

Proposed trail construction during the next 20 years is estimated to be more than $92 million, and includes $47.5 million for paved trails, $31 million for the construction of structures like bridges, $4.3 million for dirt trails, and $10 million for class trails. Construction of Class II trails — bike lanes along established streets — within town is funded by Measure V, but those funds aren’t eligible for potential bike lines on the state highway network, according to Town Engineer Dan Wilkins.

“I’m so happy that this is going to be going forward … as an organization we definitely support this 100%,” said Truckee Trails Foundation Director Paco Lindsay. The Truckee Trails Foundation won’t receive funding from Measure R, which will go toward town-specific projects, while the foundation focuses its efforts on U.S. Forest Service and Truckee Donner Land Trust trails.

FIRE IMPACT FEES

Town Council unanimously approved of an annual inflationary increase to the fire impact fee charged to new building permits within Truckee.

Collection of a fire impact fee has been imposed on new building permits in Truckee since 1995 and is assessed in order to fund fire protection facilities.

The Truckee Fire Protection District requested the fee increase, which would change the existing cost for a single-family residence from 84 cents per square foot to $1.20 per square foot. New retail space fees increase from 86 cents per square foot to $1.27 per square foot, and permits for office space will increase from $1.24 per square foot to $1.82 per square foot. New rates go into effect on March 14.

Justin Scacco is a staff writer with the Sierra Sun. He can be reached at jscacco@sierrasun.com