Letter: County needs to protect residents from impacts of SnowGlobe

Again, my family and I have been subjected to the invasive noise pollution inside our home from yet another SnowGlobe event. I live in the county near Sierra House School. I purchased this home to live in a quiet and peaceful alpine environment. Now, my home is 1.18 miles or 6,225 feet from a large and loud musical venue that violates noise regulations, creates pollution, and drains governmental resources in my community. All the while, I am paying tax dollars for services not rendered. It is very disappointing, to say the least!

As I understand it, the SnowGlobe festival is permitted as a special event by the City of SLT. Upon inquiry, EL Dorado County (EDC) representatives said that they are prohibited from taking action against the City to address noise that migrates to the county from the music, fireworks, and traffic associated with the event. I don’t need lip service, I need action. With regard to case law “prohibiting” EDC from taking issue with noise pollution created in the City, I suggest a fact sheet be created and posted on the EDC website. As a taxpayer, I would like to know the specific cases which County Counsel has identified to substantiate the lack of action by EDC representatives. Like the EDC General Plan says, get together and figure out a solution. There are other community issues for which multi-jurisdictional task forces are created. Why not this one? If multi-agency meetings are being held regarding this event, please post the notes. Let your constituents and taxpayers see the efforts to find a solution.

The SnowGlobe website professes “sustainability” efforts for diverting refuse. Good job! How about creating a more thorough environmental impact statement? Please document and report, in writing, the many sources at this event that enlarge the carbon footprint in an environmentally sensitive area. Solid waste is only one component of environmental impact concerns. What about the generators, diesel fuel, buses, heating elements, wear & tear on the roads, parking in the forest, the NOISE…the list goes on!?! Surely a large business entity like SnowGlobe has the resources to identify and implement measures that are environmentally responsible in the Jewel of the Sierra (a.k.a. Lake Tahoe). Yes, MONEY is donated to local charities, but at the expense of public health & safety, the wildlife habitat, and our environmental resources. How about being an advocate for the community and environment to foster a positive outcome for all?

TRPA’s website lists the various Community Plans. Among the planning considerations identified in the Plan Area Statement for Trout/Cold Creek (which is adjacent to the SnowGlobe event site), peregrine falcon habitat and major deer migration corridors exist through this Plan Area, and the USFS has identified active goshawk habitat here. Now why is that? Oh… that’s right, a regulatory agency was charged with looking out for the health & safety or general welfare of the public, wildlife habitat, and environmental resources. It seems wasteful that funding goes to governmental agencies to identify these types of planning considerations and then all is IGNORED… because SnowGlobe comes to town.

I understand that some efforts are being made by festival coordinators to try to mitigate noise impact to local citizens in their homes, but overall… the City field is the WRONG location for this event. Some people are apathetic to the negative impact. I’ve heard all sorts of opinions contrary to mine. Yet, at the end of the day most stakeholders agree with me, it is simply WRONG to subject anybody to UNWANTED and UNWELCOMED ADVANCES of NOISE within the four walls of a private home, especially when provisions prohibiting the noise exist. Just because some stakeholders benefit monetarily or recreationally from this event, it is not okay to violate the right of a person to have peace and quiet inside their home. Find another location and have fun!

Sincerely,
Valerie Kauffman
A Concerned Citizen