Big day at TRPA: Development rights changed and Shoreline Plan adopted

LAKE TAHOE, Calif./Nev. - Years of collaboration with a variety of partners have brought to completion two major initiatives for the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA). During their governing board meeting on October 24 a new Shoreline Plan was unanimously approved as was a comprehensive package of changes to the agency’s development rights system.

These landmark decisions show collaboration is alive and well at Tahoe and leading to real progress,” said Joanne S. Marchetta, executive director at TRPA. “The new Shoreline Plan will improve recreation access and experiences on the lake, as well as the environment along the shoreline. These needed changes to the development rights system will make it easier for the private sector to invest in projects that benefit Tahoe’s environment, communities, and housing options.”

Development Rights

A complex system of development rights that were originally approved to keep large growth and urban development out of the Lake Tahoe Basin so they did not get out of control saw their first major revamping. The development rights of tourist accommodation units (TAU), commercial floor area (CFU) and residential units of use (RUU) were required on any project built in the Basin.

Changes approved Wednesday will allow conversions between the different types of development rights using environmentally-neutral exchange rates. This ability to convert will provide more flexibility and simplicity while also maintaining the overall cap on development potential in the Tahoe Basin.

Another part of the new initiative will make it simpler to transfer development rights around the Tahoe Basin and expand the income eligibility for residential bonus units. These bonus units can now be used for affordable, moderate, and achievable housing, a change intended to help provide greater housing options for low-income residents up to the “missing middle,” people who earn above the area median income but cannot afford the median home price.

"You have a package of recommendations before you that will have a lasting positive impact on our community, the economy and the environment and you should be proud," Tahoe Prosperity Center CEO Heidi Hill Drum told the board prior to their vote.

Hill said the approval of the package will get workforce housing projects around the lake closer to being pencil ready with the elimination of the layers of transfer requirements, and insurance of no charge for allocations. She also said that 10-24-18 will become a date that those in the future will look back as the day that truly turned things around in Lake Tahoe. "October 24, 2018 is the day that true revitalization beings," she said.

“The 2012 Regional Plan was a paradigm shift for Tahoe, recognizing the need for greater private investment to meet environmental goals,” said Jen Self, senior long-range planner at TRPA. “With redevelopment we see numerous environmental improvements, such as the installation of stormwater systems to protect lake clarity, scenic upgrades, and more energy efficient buildings. These changes are all about making the development rights system more flexible to encourage this type of redevelopment while also maintaining our environmental protections.”

Several members of the public and from other agencies spoke of their appreciation of the changes.

Jesse Patterson, chief strategy officer for the League to Save Lake Tahoe said the change to development rights was a step in the right direction as the goals and policies needed to be updated.

"Environmental and economic changes - when one thrives the other can thrive when done in a responsible way," said Patterson.

"We want more Best of the Basin projects," said Patterson of the presentation of this year's awards at the beginning of the board meeting. "Flexibility will attract this."

The board's unanimous approval of the changes was met with applause from the audience.

Shoreline Plan

"Today is the day," said Marchetta of the three-decade long odyssey to develop a plan for the shores of Lake Tahoe.

It was another multi-year collaboration of private and public partners that resulted in a plan that sets development caps and regulations for new shoreline structures such as piers, buoys, and public boat ramps and creates a framework for marinas to enhance their facilities if they incorporate environmental improvements into the project.

Finding the "sweet spot" on a workable plan that all people and agencies could agree on was not an easy endeavor. The shoreline of Lake Tahoe has several different owners including homeowner's associations, marinas, multi-family projects, individuals and the U.S. Forest Service, and all dug in and participated in the process to create the plan.

The Shoreline Plan also creates new programs to ensure shoreline structures and boating activity do not harm the environment, scenery, or recreation experiences at lake Tahoe. The cost of these programs will be paid for through new fees fairly apportioned to various shoreline users and structures, including mooring registration fees, an increase in boat sticker fees, and boat rental concession fees that will take effect before the 2019 boating season.

New shoreline programs will include stronger boater education and enforcement of the 600-foot no-wake zone at Lake Tahoe, expansion of the no-wake zone to all Emerald Bay, and new no-wake zone buffers around swimmers, paddlers, and shoreline structures at Tahoe to prevent unsafe boating near the shoreline where motor boats, paddlers, and swimmers interact.

Other programs provide coordinated enforcement against illegal boat moorings on the lake; more projects to prevent the spread of harmful aquatic invasive species; enhanced monitoring for noise and scenic impacts from boating activity and shoreline structures; and provisions to keep boats with aftermarket exhaust systems that exceed TRPA, California, and Nevada noise limits from operating on the lake.

There are still some areas of the plan that will need adjusting and further environmental evaluation, but planners will have the approved plan to use as a guideline moving forward. Some of those areas are piers in deep water as in Crystal Bay and environmental issues in marinas.

The key to success of the plan will be education, and with a target date of implementation set for March 2019, TRPA and its partners will start getting the word out as to what the requirements will be. Visit www.shorelineplan.org to learn more about the plan and new programs, permitting processes and phases, and fees. A Shoreline Implementation Program Report can be viewed on the website. It details how the Shoreline Plan will take effect in coming months and sign up for email newsletters about upcoming implementation actions.

- South Tahoe Now Staff Report