What is the Tahoe Basin Area Plan? 

The Tahoe Basin Area Plan (TBAP) is Placer County’s blueprint for development and conservation in North Lake Tahoe, between Stateline and Tahoma. Based on community input, the plan sets goals for achieving environmental restoration efforts and outlines land-use regulations in the Placer County portion of the Tahoe Basin. The plan is also intended to implement the Regional Plan developed by the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA). The TBAP was most recently adopted in 2017, with updates following in 2021. 

Why are the amendments important for North Lake Tahoe residents and businesses? 

Placer County is currently proposing amendments to Housing and Economic Sustainability within the TBAP. It is a large package of amendments, including modifications to certain building mass, parking, multi-family, and groundwater interception requirements, particularly in Town Centers. These amendments are crucial for residents and businesses in North Lake Tahoe as they could significantly influence developments approved in the future, especially in Kings Beach and Tahoe City, and how those core areas look and feel. 

MAP Tahoe Basin Area Plan Concerns & Questions 

The main goal of these amendments is to remove barriers, streamline development, and, ultimately, make the development process easier. MAP has some concerns and questions about this approach. 

Workforce Housing and Redevelopment

While this could facilitate much-needed redevelopment and workforce housing projects, it could also foster future projects driven primarily by market demand. Projects that will pencil out economically (think luxury condos) will not likely be the projects that this community wants or needs—workforce housing—without more incentives and direction. Placer County is proposing the development of a future reservation and conversion manual to prioritize TRPA development rights toward the most community-benefitting and high-priority projects. This tool truly could help to prioritize needed workforce housing and redevelopment, but unfortunately, the details of this conversion manual are left to a future, likely internal County process, so we don’t know if it will really help the community or not. 

Height

These amendments originally proposed an increase in building heights (a potential 28% total increase in height for specific projects in certain areas, from 56’ to 71.68’). After serious public outcry, this proposal was removed from the package of amendments. This seemed like a genuine response to concerns, but we have since learned that these height increases are coming back by the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency before the end of the year. This is a huge concern as building heights could greatly impact North Lake Tahoe’s character and cause safety problems related to shading during winter.

Building Mass and Scale

The amendments propose lot size, width, and setback reductions in specific locations and under certain conditions. These changes may be appropriate on a case-by-case basis but do have the potential to change the look and feel of town centers.  

Multi-family Zoning by Right

In several sub-districts, multifamily developments are currently allowed if they go through the use permit process. The amendments propose allowing these developments by right if they are 100% deed restricted to affordable or achievable housing. This could potentially facilitate workforce housing projects but removes the community’s ability to provide oversight. Additionally, the current definition of achievable multi-family housing in Placer County is 220% of the average median income (AMI) or an annual income of $202,400. Unfortunately, for many local workers, that is still far away from being “achievable.”

Public Comment Letters by MAP 

Don’t Fall for the TBAP/TRPA Trap!

Following Placer County’s height proposals in the Tahoe Basin Area Plan (TBAP) amendments process has been confusing at best, and now a bait and switch by removing the increased height proposals from the TBAP and allowing them to come back through a separate planning process with the TRPA. 

Any citizen or environmental stakeholder trying to follow this over the last year has been confused, angry, and has lost faith in the public process. And the best part is Placer County admits the building heights will come back at some later date, even after assuring folks that the building heights are off the table based on community input. That deceptive move is piecemeal planning. And at MAP, we aren't making this stuff up. Because, after all, we are tracking the TRPA process, too. 

Environmental Review

After much public comment on the issue, Placer County agreed to conduct an environmental review under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) for the TBAP Amendments. However, the resulting 17-page addendum to the EIR left much to be desired. It barely introduced the potential impacts, let alone completed a full analysis of the environmental impacts that could result from these amendments. MAP believes a better review is warranted as baseline conditions have changed since the TBAP was first adopted, and cumulative impacts have increased with outside basin projects. Climate change has a greater impact on our mountain communities, and anything that could exacerbate water quality degradation should be reconsidered. A full environmental review is needed for the TBAP amendments so that we can address ways to mitigate and minimize impacts.

Wildfire

For anyone living in Truckee Tahoe, we know that we now have two seasons: winter and wildfire. Especially after the Caldor Fire, emergency evacuation from the Basin is at the forefront of everyone’s minds, particularly when we discuss adding more development to an already constrained area. While the proposal doesn’t allow for more density than what is currently allowed, it will help to facilitate more projects at a faster rate, and if that happens, the development will be denser than it is now. We need to have appropriate mitigation measures in place for the health and safety of our community. 

Reservation and Conversion Manual

Placer County proposes developing a future reservation and conversion manual to prioritize TRPA development rights toward the most community-benefitting and high-priority projects. We’d like the community to be part of the process to determine what those projects are. This shouldn’t be developed behind the scenes but with full input from the folks living and working in North Lake Tahoe. 

Transition Zones 

Placer County should consider utilizing transition zones where the length, density, setbacks, and heights transition from the most massing directly in town centers and transition down as you get closer to residential and mixed-use zones. This would make the increases in mass feel much less abrupt and overwhelming. 

Tahoe Basin Area Plan Public Process

It has been a fast-paced process and confusing alongside the TRPA Phase 2 Housing Amendments. The Placer County Board of Supervisors approved the TBAP amendments on 10.31.2023, and now they are being reviewed by the TRPA in a series of public hearings that started in December. To provide public comments to the TRPA, email: publiccomment@trpa.gov. The FINAL HEARING is set for February 28th. Check out our events calendar to keep a pulse on the upcoming hearings.

Tahoe Basin Area Plan Timeline & How to Participate 

TBAP Resources:

TBAP Action Alerts: