It's been a hectic, unnerving couple of weeks in the Tahoe Basin and more storms are on the way. As state and local agencies mobilize teams and equipment to clear roofs, keep hospitals and supply routes open, reduce flooding, and protect meadows, Lake Tahoe residents are finding a little extra grit, checking in on one another, and shoveling in shifts.
For its part, the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA) is supporting our partners on stormwater infrastructure, emergency measures, and communications. The collaboration and partnership practiced in the Tahoe Region every day is serving us well. Our gratitude goes out to the women and men venturing out into these extreme storms to keep our communities and lake safe.
Julie Regan
Executive Director
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March 22 Governing Board Meeting
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Here are a few of the items to be covered at the TRPA Governing Board next Wednesday, March 22. The meeting will be both online and in-person.
- Cascade to Meeks Trail Feasibility Study informational presentation
- Amendments to TRPA's deed-restricted "Achievable" housing incentives
- Lake Tahoe Community College 100-bed student housing project
- Washoe County Tahoe Area Plan amendments
View Meeting Info here
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Weathering Tahoe's Storms
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Executive Director Monthly Column
Tahoe’s perseverance has been on full display over the past weeks as residents, businesses, plow drivers, and emergency responders have managed a dangerous and exhausting confluence of atmospheric rivers and winter weather. While we welcome the snowpack and the water it brings, the intensity at which it arrived has major downsides for our communities and the lake.
Since the 1960s, researchers have been measuring the depth of Lake Tahoe’s water clarity as a key indicator of the health of the watershed. Declining lake clarity led to limits on new development and protections for the meadows and wetlands that play an important role in filtering runoff before it enters the lake. While the lake’s long-term clarity has stabilized at around 70 feet, it is exactly this kind of weather system that can flush polluted sediments, not to mention our crumbling roadways, into Lake Tahoe.
Read the column...
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Lake Tahoe Restoration Act Extension
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A fundamental piece of legislation in Lake Tahoe's restoration is moving through Congress thanks to the support of Tahoe's legislative delegation in Washington DC, led by US Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D, Nev.).
A few folks from Tahoe visited Capitol Hill this month to share the impacts of extreme weather and climate resilience strategies being implemented by more than 80 partner organizations under the Lake Tahoe Environmental Improvement Program (EIP).
The Lake Tahoe Restoration Act passed into law in 2000 and was reauthorized in 2016, opening up $415 million in federal funding to match state, local, and private investments in the EIP. Since 1997, partners have created an estimated 1,700 jobs in the region and invested $2.8 billion in aquatic invasives species, forest resilience, water quality, and transportation projects.
Read more...
Pictured from left: Tahoe Chamber Exec. Dir. Steve Teshara, League to Save Lake Tahoe Exec. Dir. Dr. Darcie Goodman Collins, U.S. Sen. Cortez Masto, TRPA Exec. Dir. Julie Regan, and TRPA Government Affairs Manager Devin Middlebrook
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Tahoe Trails Strategy Released
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Buried beneath an ever-deepening blanket of snow in the Lake Tahoe Basin are more than 580 miles of official dirt trails that provide recreation, transportation, fitness, and fun. For the first time ever, a coalition of Tahoe partners has developed a Tahoe Regional Trails Strategy to take a basin-wide perspective to trail planning and building.
Public and private trail partners are encouraging the public to provide feedback on the draft strategy through March 31. The planning team will host a virtual webinar March 21 beginning at 5:30 p.m.
Also, the recently released Cascade to Meeks Trail Study will be presented to a committee of the TRPA Governing Board Wednesday, March 22. The draft study will help partners in the State Route 89 Corridor Plan identify preferred routes for the trail, access points, and potential costs.
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In case you missed it: TRPA's Executive Director is among the many amazing leaders and community members being recognized by @TahoeChamber during Women's History Month. Click on the image to view them all.
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Next Phase of Housing Amendments:
Height, Density, and Coverage
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In response to the affordable housing crisis in the Tahoe Region, TPRA staff continue to bring forward policy changes to get more workforce housing in the basin. The agency is preparing to revise regional height, density and coverage standards to give local governments a greater range of incentives and abilities.
The Tahoe Living Working Group will provide input on these code amendments at its upcoming working group meeting April 21 from 9 a.m. to noon. The public is encouraged to attend and participate in this fifth convening of the working group.
The meeting will be held online and in-person at the TRPA offices at 128 Market Street, Stateline, Nev. Watch for additional announcements and stay posted to Tahoe Living Working Group webpage.
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