The 27th Annual Lake Tahoe Summit, hosted by U.S. Senator Alex Padilla, was held at the North Tahoe Event Center on Wednesday, August 9, 2023. Tahoe Area Group participated in the Summit by having a booth with information about our activities and involvement in the Basin. The theme of the Summit was "Sustainability and Stewardship in the Face of the Climate Crisis."

"It's important to protect the lake, the land, and the people," said one of the speakers. Yet, the very next day, Placer County Commissioners approved amendments to their Tahoe Basin Area Plan (TBAP) that only benefit developers. It was touted as helping with the affordable housing problem in the area, yet there are no assurances in place for developing truly affordable housing. The plan will only increase density, coverage and luxury development at the expense of the health of the lake, which is already suffering from its "people problem" and microplastic pollution, and at the expense of the residents when (not if) they have to escape the Basin during the next big wildfire.

Tell TRPA (trpa@trpa.gov) and Placer County (cindygustafson@placer.ca.gov) to stop feeding the demand, catering to the developers and the Prosperity Center, and return to their mandate of protecting Lake Tahoe. "Build it and they will come" is not working for Lake Tahoe!

Thumbnail photo by Holly Coughlin.