THIS IS SERIOUS! PLEASE MAKE TIME.

On Wednesday, 6/14/23 at 1 PM, the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA) will hold another meeting with another committee in their relentless drive to systematically approve more large development at Tahoe.

The Local Government & Housing Committee meeting will be available in person at TRPA’s offices or by zoom. See the link provided by TRPA and go to the staff report on page 13 of the TRPA packet Local Government and Housing Committee Documents June 14, 2023 – HYBRID MEETING|Tahoe Regional Planning Agency — TRPA (https://ntpac.us9.list-manage.com/track/click?u=c2651ac4497b4fa0886fa6f7f&id=40a1d4909c&e=05ca50f483)
Microsoft Word – Zoom Webinar Public Participation (trpa.gov) (https://ntpac.us9.list-manage.com/track/click?u=c2651ac4497b4fa0886fa6f7f&id=8c6f7cff78&e=05ca50f483) or send your comments to mambler@trpa.org (mailto:mambler@trpa.org) and ask to have them distributed to the housing committee.

TRPA is advocating for significant changes in the building code, such as increasing multi-family density (240%), coverage (75%), and height (37%). This is dangerous.

The suggestion to build 60 units per acre, with 100% coverage and 4 to 5-story buildings, along with a parking ratio of .75 parking spaces per unit, is an unsubstantiated solution conjured up by the consulting firm, Cascadia Partners of Portland Oregon. Cascadia is promoting an increased urbanization scheme and promising a 12-15% return on investment for developers. What does the public get? It’s worth noting that Cascadia’s previous work, as listed, has been focused on cities such as Austin TX, San Antonio TX, Sacramento CA, Kansas City MO, and Bend OR, which have vastly different circumstances compared to Lake Tahoe.
In 2008 TRPA proposed a more lenient code to promote large development to fix Tahoe’s economy.

In 2012 TRPA claimed public/private partnerships would build large projects as the way to fix lake clarity. Now in 2023 TRPA’s scheme is even more urbanization and further relaxation of the code to fix the affordable housing problem. Yet Tahoe is left with more mansions, worse traffic, more congestion, larger wildfires, invasive species, lake plastics and a continued worsening of lake clarity (2023 clarity improvement is considered an anomaly).

Things are not surprisingly starting to fall apart, but SR 28 on the North Shore and SR 89 on the West Shore are still 2 lanes.

The non-profit Prosperity Center is the self-anointed quasi-governmental wannabe that wants to handle some of the money and be the intervener (some of the same Washoe County/TRPA/Placer County members are featured). TRPA/Tahoe Transportation District want billions over the next decades including $7m/year from the public. This begs the question of a conflict of interest.

The big interest here is BIG MONEY, unfortunately it is bringing big problems. When is it ever enough? The future envisioned for Tahoe by the TRPA is MORE, MORE, MORE. There never seems to be enough, enough new development, enough population. Housing is a worldwide problem from Venice to Hawaii. There are plenty of solutions touted by other areas: reducing short term rentals, limiting house size, visitor reservation systems, or large employers building housing on site (Vail/Palisades should).

Until capacity, cumulative impacts and public safety needs are clearly understood. Until there is a healthy dose of skepticism with real checks and balances; nothing more should be approved, or code changed.

This thing needs to be put on hold. Stop the train. Speak, write or show up. Participate in the meeting and say “NO MORE” to TRPA..