O;YMPIC VALLEY, Calif. – A historic agreement between Tahoe conservation groups and the Palisades Tahoe resort owner has reduced the size, scale, and impacts of the controversial Olympic Valley project. The League to Save Lake Tahoe (Keep Tahoe Blue) and Sierra Watch announced the agreement Tuesday after years of discussion with one side wanting to develop the area and the other side wanting to preserve the valley at the northwest end of the Lake Tahoe Basin.
“We did it!” said Tom Mooers, Executive Director of Sierra Watch. “This historic agreement is great news for our mountain communities and everyone who joined us in standing up to keep Tahoe Truckee True.”
The two conservation groups and Palisades Tahoe released news of the agreement in a shared statement earlier today.
The agreement, which was reached after years of conflict and months of negotiations, reduces the size and scale of the proposed project — cutting the number of bedrooms allowed by 40 percent and commercial square footage by 20 percent. It also ensures that Olympic Valley will not be home to what became the most controversial component of the original plan: a massive indoor waterpark.
“When people work together, that’s the best way to Keep Tahoe Blue — now and for the future,” said Dr. Darcie Goodman Collins, chief executive officer of Keep Tahoe Blue. “But when we need to take a stand to protect the Lake, we will, just like we have for almost 70 years.”
As part of the settlement, Keep Tahoe Blue and Sierra Watch agree to drop their lawsuit challenging last year’s approvals of Alterra’s Village at Palisades Tahoe Project, pending Placer County’s approval of the revised project blueprint.
Going forward, all parties agree on supporting a new vision for Olympic Valley, with major and material reductions in the size and scale of the project:
- The initial 2011 application called for 2,184 total bedrooms. In 2014, Palisades Tahoe revised its proposal down to 1,493 bedrooms. The agreement announced today calls for a total of 896 bedrooms — nearly a 60% reduction from the 2011 proposal and a 40% reduction from the latest plan.
- Commercial square footage in the Main Village is cut by 20 percent, decreasing the total from 278,000 square feet to 222,000 square feet.
- Sensitive parcels at the mouth of Shirley Canyon, once slated for subdivision, will be permanently protected as open space and will never be threatened by future development.
- The proposed indoor waterpark will be replaced by a smaller Mountain Adventure Center, omitting previously proposed attractions such as waterslides, indoor waterskiing, wave rider, wave pool, waterfalls, and an indoor river.
- Alterra agrees to not seek any additional development on the project property for 25 years.
Although the size of the overall project is substantially reduced, Alterra has maintained its commitment to workforce housing, totaling 296 new beds for resort employees.
Key to Keep Tahoe Blue’s mission, the agreement cuts upwards of 38% of daily car trips, many of which would have entered the Tahoe Basin, along with preventing more traffic, air pollution, and water pollution that would have threatened the Lake’s water quality and clarity.
“Lake Tahoe is a treasure that’s here to be loved and experienced by everyone. And it deserves to be protected for everyone,” said Goodman Collins of Keep Tahoe Blue.
The collaborative effort resolves the epic struggle over Olympic Valley and the Tahoe Truckee Region. It began in 2010, after Alterra’s parent company, KSL Capital Partners, bought the famed Sierra ski resort then known as Squaw Valley.
Sierra Watch organized a grassroots movement of local residents and Tahoe visitors, working together originally as the campaign to Keep Squaw True, then re-branded as Tahoe Truckee True in 2020.
For fourteen years, thousands of volunteers stood together to protect their mountain values, sending letters to officials, turning out for public hearings, and signing a petition in opposition to the proposed development. They planted purple flags in Olympic Valley, marched in local parades, and even made a movie chronicling their shared commitment, The Movie to Keep Tahoe True.
Placer County approved the project in 2016, but Sierra Watch filed suit to overturn those entitlements — and prevailed. In 2021, California’s Third District Court of Appeal sided with conservationists, ruling that the 2016 approvals violated the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).
In 2022, Alterra filed a request for a new round of entitlements — for the exact same project. Two years later, at a packed and emotional public hearing, the Placer County Board of Supervisors voted to approve the project. Sierra Watch filed suit — again. This time, they were joined by Keep Tahoe Blue in a shared commitment to protect the region.
The settlement agreement announced today would end that litigation and, also, the broader conflict.
“For fourteen years, Olympic Valley has been at the frontlines for the biggest fight over the future of Tahoe,” said Mooers of Sierra Watch. “Now it’s another great example of how we can work together to protect the places we love.”
Below is a letter from Palisades Tahoe COO Amy Ohran to the community about the collaboration:
Community Partners,
I’m excited to share the news with you that we have reached an agreement with Sierra Watch and the League to Save Lake Tahoe, ending their legal challenge to our development plan. An official announcement has been shared by all three organizations.
When I joined the Palisades Tahoe team, I made a commitment to our community and to our collective values, including that of collaboration. To me, and our leadership at Alterra, that meant taking a step back to listen and learn; it isn’t about being right, it’s about getting it right.
Together with Sierra Watch and the League to Save Lake Tahoe, we engaged in months-long collaborative negotiations to reach this milestone and end the uncertainty around how to move our resort and Tahoe forward. I hope you’ll agree that the common ground we found is more reflective of the collective voice of our community.
The changes reflect a deliberate approach that allows for meaningful growth in the next chapter and:
- Reduces the total bedrooms within the Specific Plan by 40 percent
- Reduces total new commercial space by 20% in the Specific Plan main Village area
- Affirms the permanent elimination of an indoor waterpark within the Village Specific Plan area
- Protects the land that was proposed for development at the base of Shirley Canyon by creating a conservation easement, preserving the land for recreation and public trail access in perpetuity; and
- Prevents additional development within the Specific Plan boundary for 25 years
We are listening and taking a different approach, and we feel good about the outcome. Grounding in our values, the empowerment we have as leaders of Palisades Tahoe and Alterra Mountain Company supported our ability to collaborate, to find a way to evolve the resort, invest in the community, and find common ground.
We recognize the privilege and responsibility of stewarding one of the most iconic alpine environments in North America. We have committed two lots previously planned for development at the base of Shirley Canyon into a conservation easement in perpetuity.
Over the coming months, we will be engaging in community meetings that will culminate in the revised plan being reviewed by the Placer County Board of Supervisors for approval.
Thank you for your support and partnership. We look forward to sharing engagement opportunities with you.
All my best,
Amy