Title: MAP Land Use Planner
Employment Level: 32 – 40 hours per week
Reports to: Executive Director and Advocacy Director
Location: Truckee, CA
Mountain Area Preservation (MAP) is seeking a land use planner to support advocacy work in the Lake Tahoe area. MAP is a 501(c)(3) non-profit charitable organization based in Truckee, CA, dedicated to protecting the region’s mountain character and natural environment since 1987.
Our Mission: to preserve the Truckee-Tahoe region’s mountain character and natural environment for present and future generations.
MAP is a thirty-nine-year-old, grassroots environmental advocacy non-profit established by longtime locals in 1987 to protect open space and advocate for responsible development in the Truckee-Tahoe region.
MAP is weighing in on 20+ land use and development applications in the area while serving on the TRPA Tahoe Living Working Group for the Cultivating Community housing codes process. MAP’s current priority open space campaign aims to protect 7,500+ acres of critical habitat and large landscapes in North Lake Tahoe and the Martis Valley watershed.
As advocates of sound community planning, MAP has delivered significant benefits through negotiations that have led to workforce housing, watershed restoration, parks, trails, transit, and environmental stewardship programs.
The Lake Tahoe Land Use Planner will focus on North Lake Tahoe and the Tahoe Basin, addressing land use and planning items for Placer County, Washoe County, and the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency, as well as related development applications.
Educational & Professional Requirements
The Land Use Planner will have the knowledge, education, and experience needed to perform the essential functions of this job.
Minimum Requirements:
Degree: A Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Urban/Regional Planning, Environmental Policy, Environmental Science, Architecture, or a closely related field.
Experience: 5+ years of foundational planning experience. An ideal candidate knows the Lake Tahoe Basin and is familiar with the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA) Regional Plan, threshold standards, and Bi-state Compact guidelines.
Technical Writing and Critical Thinking: Skilled in translating dense environmental data into clear staff reports, code-compliance summaries, public letters, fact sheets, and other communications.
Public Speaking: Capacity to distill complex information for multiple audiences. The ideal candidate is comfortable presenting to community members, partner agencies, and local government officials.
Bi-State & Multi-Agency Jurisdictions: Ability to navigate overlapping regulations for shoreline projects and related reviews.
CEQA (California Environmental Quality Act): Knowledge of CEQA is essential for reviewing Environmental Impact Reports (EIRs) and Mitigated Negative Declarations on the California side.
NEPA (National Environmental Policy Act): Familiarity with NEPA is necessary for environmental analyses involving federal land in the Tahoe Basin.
Preferred Qualifications:
Land Coverage & IPES: Understanding the Individual Parcel Evaluation System (IPES) and how land capability districts limit "impervious coverage" to protect watershed filtration.
Transfer of Development Rights (TDR): Mastery of how development rights, tourist accommodation units, and commercial floor area are bought, sold, and transferred.
TRPA Environmental Checklists: Familiarity with Environmental Checklists, which TRPA uses to understand environmental impacts in a process that often overrides or runs parallel to state laws.
GIS Mapping & Data Visualization: Proficiency in ArcGIS is highly sought after to map projects, sensitive areas, zoning boundaries, and coverage constraints.
Language: Spanish-speaking and translation skills for land use communication and outreach materials are highly sought to support this role and future MAP outreach efforts for land use.
Key Responsibilities/Role:
Land Use Projects/Priorities for North Lake Tahoe: Oversee daily operations for land use applications, including public process, community and government engagement, and analytical project review. Attend meetings for Lake Tahoe Basin jurisdictions, specifically Washoe County, Placer County, and the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA), including meetings outside regular business hours.
Partner and Government Engagement: Serve as a MAP representative in the public process. Meet regularly with elected and appointed officials on MAP land use projects and policy items.
Communications: Develop advocacy communications for project processes, member engagement, partner outreach, social media, letter writing, and verbal comments for government hearings.
Signature Events: Support MAP’s main fundraising events through planning assistance on two signature events each year, Wild and Scenic Film Festival and the Sierra Forage Dinner.
Outreach: Participate in and support outreach activities, including Truckee Thursdays, local farmers’ markets, and the Tahoe Summit.
Reporting: Track and communicate key land use timelines, hearings, and decisions to the MAP Advocacy Director, Executive Director, and Projects Committee.
Position and Compensation:
Employment Type: 32-40 hours per week, full-time, flexible schedule. MAP offers a generous benefits package: health care, paid time off/holidays, a dependent stipend, a cell phone stipend, and a 401(k) match after one year of employment.
Reports to: MAP Executive Director and Advocacy Director
Compensation: $80,000- $90,000 per year, commensurate with experience.