US 50/South Shore Community Revitalization Project approved by TRPA

LAKE TAHOE, CA/NV - It's been 38 years in the making. On Thursday, November 15, 2018, the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA) Board of Directors unanimously approved the final joint environmental document for the US 50/South Shore Community Revitalization Project, also known as the "Loop Road."

Last week, the board of the Tahoe Transportation District (TTD) unanimously approved the same document, the final Environmental Impact Statement (EIR/EIS/EIS).

Both approve what is known as "Alternative B," one of five choices board members had (one being to choose none of the plans and do nothing). The plan will reshape the downtown area of South Lake Tahoe and Stateline with a Main Street Management Plan that promises an improved transportation area for bicyclists, pedestrians and a short circuit transit system, wayfinding signs and parking areas.

The plan will allow for the City to host events in the area by closing streets since it would no longer require Caltrans approval. Proponents say the project will revitalize the community, improve safety through side streets and alleviate congestion.

As with any plans for a community, especially those that include change, there are supporters and opponents as well as those that okay with either outcome. Several people spoke up on the project during Thursday's meeting, an overwhelming number in support of it.

"We have appreciated being part of the process that will enhance the experience for locals and visitors alike," said John McLaughlin, president/CEO for Edgewood Companies. "It will help the environment, a true win-win for the community and the environment."

The plan has been in the works for almost 38 years though the final push to complete the project started 9.5 years ago when Carl Hasty and the TTD got involved. Since that point in time there have both public and private presentations that gave many community members the opportunity to give comment.

And even with approval of the EIS there will be many more public outreach events as they enter the planning stages which can start as early as January 2019.

“The community support and engagement in helping shape the US 50 project has been very encouraging,” said Carl Hasty, district manager of the Tahoe Transportation District. “We look forward to continued collaboration with the community as we move forward to build new affordable housing and create a complete, multimodal street environment, as envisioned in community plans.”

The US 50/South Shore Community Revitalization Project is a bi-state community development project that plans to continue the wave of renaissance on the South Shore. Highway 50 will be redirected around Raleys, Heavenly Village and the casino corridor.

Both the Douglas County and City of South Lake Tahoe representatives on the board had their votes as their last significant vote during their tenure.

Austin Sass, outgoing South Lake Tahoe City Councilman said he didn't see any downsides to the project, only the upside.

"I commend the fellow TTD board members to have the wisdom to adopt the guiding principles of having funding in place and housing built before starting, which was a concern of many," said Sass. "There are things to work out, I am confident everything will be addressed.

Sass said the enhanced recreation, enhanced experience, removal of old, blighted housing, safety, new city streets with underground utilities were a great benefit, something the City couldn't fund.

Nancy McDermid has spent the last 12 years on the TRPA board as part of her duties as a Douglas County Commissioner and emotionally gave her approval to the project.

"Tahoe is in a renaissance and this is very transforming," McDermid said. "A rising tide floats all boats," she added as talking about the benefits areas from Round Hill to Meyers will gain from revitalization.

An estimated 70 percent of traffic going through the Stateline area is going to the other side and not stopping. The planned change to Highway 50 would alleviate that through traffic and stop them from flowing through surface streets such as Chonokis.

Two residents on that street spoke on Thursday, telling the board how excited they were to get the traffic that uses their neighborhood as a shortcut out of the area.

The proposed direction change would take the highway off its current route and move south near the vacant lot behind 7-11, go behind Raleys and the Village Center and end at Highway 50 and Lake Parkway with a roundabout. Sound walls would be placed on the sides of the road to keep the noise out of the neighborhood.

There are conditions TRPA placed on the project: Replacement housing, Rocky Point Neighborhood Plan, and recreation, water quality and transportation improvements. A tree removal and replanting plan, restoration plan and a stormwater treatment plan would also be required prior to implementation.

Affordable Housing

Nothing can start on the Loop Road project until affordable replacement housing is built. At the meeting a representative from a potential partner, Pacific Development Group, spoke to the board, saying how they are ready to move forward and already have a lot where some units can be built. In South Lake Tahoe they have built the Sierra Garden, Sierra Vista, Tahoe Pines and Tahoe Senior Plaza affordable housing apartments.

Other lots within walking distance of the tourist core are being identified as potential project sites.

To complete the project housing units will need to be removed and 109 will be built - 76 deed-restricted and affordable replacement housing units built for those who live in the plan area and another 33 will be built as part of the project. There is an option for an additional 91 units.

Rocky Point Neighborhood Plan

The area that will now be southwest of the new highway placement, the Rocky Point Neighborhood, will have guaranteed amenities in the plan. A neighborhood park, improved street lighting, sidewalks, a transit stop and improved pedestrian access to the Raley's, retail shops and jobs.

The flow of the new highway would prevent drivers from turning right into the neighborhood, thus keeping drivers from cutting through as they currently do at this time.

"As Calpers takes greater and greater shares of local budgets, we need more money in a community, and this will help," said Carl Ribaudo. "The halo Effect of additional environmental improvements can be significant. Improved affordable housing is desperately needed and will be a trigger for more investment. Doing nothing is a decision but would undermine our credibility as a community that wants to take care of our environment."

"Make our own change, or change makes us," he added during public comment. "There is genius in being bold, this is a bold project."

In 2016 some members of the South Lake Tahoe community added a measure on the ballot, Measure T (not to be mixed up with the 2018 Measure T to ban VHRs). It was a grass roots initiative to prohibit the City Council from approving or supporting the Loop Road without a vote of the public. Voters approved it but not before now-Councilman Jason Collin filed papers to keep the subject of the Loop Road/US Highway 50 South Shore Community Revitalization Project off the ballot.

In the lawsuit he sought "judicial intervention to prevent the City of South Lake Tahoe and its City Council from adopting or presenting to voters a fundamentally flawed ballot initiative which, as drafted, is invalid on its face and, if adopted, would violate state law and unlawfully interfere with the City's authority as granted by State Legislature."

A judge backed Collin on his lawsuit but an appeal was filed by the same grassroots group and they just had another hearing in front of the California Appellate Court Tuesday, November 13. It is now up to those judges for a ruling.

One of the Let Tahoe Decide members, Bruce Grego, spoke at the meeting.

"I am disappointed," he told South Tahoe Now of the unanimous approval and a "yes" from Sass.

In the meantime, the US50 South Shore Community Revitalization Project is moving forward. The cost will be about $100 million, paid mostly through grants designated for projects such as this one. Now that approval has been made, staff can start seeking funds for all aspects of the project, especially those surrounding the creation of affordable housing.

Once planners start working on the approved project in January, expect more outreach to the public for more input and ideas. Hasty said they will have areas throughout the plan area providing updates as work moves along.