Laine's New Year's message for El Dorado County District 5 residents

As we close out this year, I wanted to take this opportunity to share some positive changes I see coming our way in 2025.

Change is inevitable. With change comes new opportunities and new challenges.
I am excited to welcome two new members (Mr. Ferraro and Mr. Veerkamp) to the El Dorado County (EDC) Board of Supervisors. Our ability as Supervisors to work together for the betterment of our county is critical. Our previous board was successful in finding ways to compromise. We listened to one another and worked together to promote meaningful changes to make El Dorado County stronger and better. I look forward to welcoming our new Supervisors to the team and continuing to work successfully with Supervisors Parlin and Turnboo.

During the summer of 2025, we anticipate rolling out the Emerald Bay Transit Pilot Project. Most all of us have experienced the traffic congestion and illegal parking issues on State Route 89 which attracts over 1.5 million visitors annually. The demand for parking is at least three times more than what the area can handle.

As part of the pilot project, illegal parking along the roadside will be restricted using barriers and No Parking rules will be strictly enforced. Easily accessible and consistent shuttles will be available along with potential waterborne transportation.

These changes will make for a more positive experience for those wanting to enjoy Emerald Bay’s spectacular beauty, while at the same time addressing the traffic congestion. (Stay tuned. More to come…)

The City of South Lake Tahoe has partnered with El Dorado County to begin running local transit systems. The goal is to improve the current system to be more robust, to complement other transit options (such as micro-transit), and to provide service throughout the south shore - particularly where it is currently non-existent.

As we work to improve county operations and take on new issues, we will continue to focus on high priorities such as county planning & building - code enforcement (now locally based and fully staffed), street maintenance, and snow removal - just to name a few.

There are positive changes coming to the EDC Tahoe Planning & Building Division. The process to obtain a building permit has been streamlined. As many of you may have experienced, getting a building permit for even simple projects in our county was difficult. A fully staffed local building department (located at 924 B Emerald Bay Road) will be in place in early 2025 that will help review and process completed applications more efficiently.

So, change is inevitable. But when we all work together to improve our quality of life, change can be embraced. I look forward to 2025 and working hard with all of you to continue these positive gains. Happy New Year!

Brooke.

Brooke Laine is the El Dorado County District 5 supervisor.