It’s hard to believe that in the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency’s nearly four decades of existence, the agency has never had offices in North Tahoe.

That all changed last week when the TRPA and the U.S. Forest Service opened their new North Shore building in Tahoe City’s Dollar Hill. That’s the first permanent North Tahoe home for two of the lake’s most powerful agencies.

We say it’s about time.

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The idea of housing an agency center at the Dollar Hill location indicates a desire to be more inclusive. It is a welcome change of pace from when TRPA’s previous North Tahoe influence was limited to holding half its meetings on this side of the lake.

Maybe we’re a little touchy here in the far reaches of Placer and El Dorado counties, where county decisions that affect our homes are made seemingly a world away on the west slope. However, since location often translates into influence, we may have a point in our concern about local decisions being made “down the hill.” That was why Truckee, in the far reaches of eastern Nevada County, incorporated in 1993.

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So, it’s welcome that these key Tahoe agencies have come to us rather than us having to go to them. Kudos to the TRPA leaders who included this in their plan to better the agency’s customer service.

We hope the North Tahoe office evolves into a full-service facility, rather than the informational center it is shaping up to be. We feel North Tahoe deserves an office that provides all the services the agency offers.

With Tahoe in the thick of hot-button issues like the Shorezone Plan and Pathway 2007, it’s nice to see the agency present on both sides of the lake.

Likewise, the Forest Service’s presence in North Tahoe comes at a time where the agency is in the news for negotiating on a potential land purchase at Homewood Mountain Resort and trying to prevent the Basin ” north, east, south and west ” from burning up.

To you both, welcome to the North Shore. We’re glad you’re here.