Conservancy looks into selling 4 parcels that could benefit the Tahoe Valley Area Plan

When one sees a vacant lot in the Lake Tahoe Basin with a California Tahoe Conservancy (CTC) sign placed on a tree within its borders, it normally that means the parcel will remain vacant.

And in most cases, that is true.

In the basin, CTC owns 4,780 parcels of land totaling 6,400 acres, many of those parcels are about 1/4 acre in size. In the 1980s and 1990s, most of these smaller lots were purchased due to their being deemed environmentally sensitive. If a lot, or a portion of a lot, was once considered to be sensitive, they are permanently protected and cannot be built upon.

Some of the purchases of parcels were made just to start a "bank" where the Conservancy could keep the coverage associated with the parcel.

In 1988, they purchased a 3.6 acre parcel adjacent to what will soon be The Crossing at Tahoe Valley from the Dayton Lumber family for $233,000 (Parcel # 023-231-03 in the map). With that lot, CTC was able to put 18,000 square feet of hard coverage and 30,000 square feet of soft coverage into their "bank" and sell needed coverage to builders and residents needing extra.

The City of South Lake Tahoe and Tahoe Regional Planning Agency asked the Conservancy at the time to save the parcel for the future area plans.

Now those area plans have been completed.

After their last board meeting, the CTC is looking into the possibility of selling four parcels in South Lake Tahoe. All four are located in the Tahoe Valley Area plan boundary and have been sitting in the agency's "bank" waiting for a chance like the present where they could be sold to stimulate the economy.

Since the four parcels are state property, a consultant is coming in to appraise the property and the agency is doing their due diligence during the open process to ensure everything is being done properly before going back to the CTC board for consideration of a sale.

The Asset Lands pre-sale activities that are currently being done by Prior and his team will be funded with up to $200,000 from Proposition 84.

One of the four parcels is the vacant 9.75 acre lot across the street from Cardinale Way and Sierra Vista Apartments.

"We've seen a lot of interest already from perspective buyers and real estate brokers on that parcel," said Kevin Prior, Chief Administrative Officer of the Conservancy.

This parcel was bought in 1989 and has one corner that is permanently labeled as sensitive. If sold, it is deed restricted and will remain restricted, though the bulk of the property is fine for building.

None of the four parcels comes with coverage, so developers would have to purchase that as well.

The original Dayton family parcel was given pre-sale authorization by the board in March of 2014, and the agency has already been doing their due diligence in preparation for a sale and has a lot of interest from a builder.

"We hope that parcel can serve a few purposes since it is on the green belt," said Prior. "We are being respectful of the community's vision and the future use has to meet the criteria of the area plan."

Not only will a green belt be incorporated into future plans for his area, but water quality features and bike trails will also be embraced.

This parcel is adjacent to one of the four being evaluated, and both could be sold to one developer. A project in that spot could be made more feasible if someone was able to combine them, Prior said.

"We want to maximize the public benefit," said Prior. "We're excited to to help implement the vision and working with the City to make it successful."

Besides the 9.75 acre parcel on Lake Tahoe Blvd, the other ones being evaluated are a half-acre parcel on Emerald Bay Road that was originally purchased by CTC in 1989 for $35,000. It is not a sensitive one and was purchased for the land bank parcel program's beginning deposit.

It isn't a quick process but one the CTC wants to be successful at to stimulate the Tahoe Valley Area plan according to Prior. Since taxpayer dollars are involved, nothing in government moves quickly.

In 2012, 17 of the 4,780 parcels the CTC owns in Lake Tahoe were looked at as possibly being sold as they were not sensitive and, therefore, not protected. Two of those lots were sold, both to South Lake Tahoe builder Bob Mcintyre. Each lot now has a large home on it, something the CTC says they have learned from.

"We take this program (of buying and selling parcels) very seriously and we've learned a lot from the process of selling the land," said Prior.

With two of the 17 already being sold, and four more considered for sale, the other 11 lots are in Meyers and Kings Beach.

"We're not moving forward on any of those lots until an area plan is in place so we can implement the public's desire," said Prior.

Details of the four parcels

833 Emerald Bay Road (APN 023-171-09)
This 0.51 acre parcel was acquired at a purchase price of $35,000 (Lake Tahoe
Acquisitions Bond Act) in 1989 under the Conservancy’s Coverage Program to bank the potential coverage. The Coverage Program was initiated in 1987 for the purposes of assembling an inventory of lands with coverage rights to be used on both public and private projects, and mitigation needs. The parcel acquisition provided 6,603 square feet of potential coverage inventory into the Land Bank that was subsequently sold to residential parcels. The parcel contains developable class 7 high capability land that can support compact development consistent with the TVAP. Part of the parcel contains a small, rock drainage basin, with a corresponding license agreement with the City of South Lake Tahoe. That use will remain through a grant of easement to the City for permanent operation and maintenance of the water quality improvements.

981 Tata Lane (APN 023-481-17)
This 0.53 acre parcel was acquired at a purchase price of $26,000 (General Fund) in 1999 under the Conservancy’s Coverage Program to bank the potential coverage. The parcel acquisition provided 2,990 square feet of potential coverage inventory into the Land Bank; 912 square feet has subsequently been sold and the remainder is available for sale. The parcel contains a 762 Individual Parcel Evaluation System land capability score that can support compact development consistent with the TVAP.

1860 Lake Tahoe Boulevard (APN 032-291-28)
This 9.75-acre parcel was acquired at a purchase price of $221,000 (Lake Tahoe
Acquisitions Bond Act) in 1989 under the Conservancy’s Environmentally Sensitive
Land Program. The parcel contains approximately 10 percent class 1b SEZ and 90
percent class 7 high capability land coverage. At the time of acquisition, the staff report specifically mentioned that the sensitive parts of the parcel would be permanently preserved, but that the non-sensitive parts of this parcel could be used for purposes consistent with the future area plan. The City of South Lake Tahoe supported this future, potential use of the land. The SEZ portion of the property can be protected through a conservation easement while allowing for the development of the class 7, high capability land.

1029 Tata Lane (APN 032-291-31)
This 1.6-acre parcel was acquired at a purchase price of $79,000 (Lake Tahoe
Acquisitions Bond Act) in 1989 under the Conservancy’s Coverage Program. When the
Conservancy purchased the parcel, the entire property was covered with a parking lot (28,200 sf); 22,165 square feet of hard coverage was removed, restored, and
subsequently used by the Land Bank to meet excess coverage mitigation obligations.
The parcel consists of approximately 75 percent class 7 and 25 percent class 5 high capability land that can support compact development consistent with the TVAP. At the time of acquisition, the staff report specifically mentioned the land and coverage could be used for purposes consistent with the future area plan and the City of South Lake Tahoe supported this future, potential use of the land.