Tahoe Area Group March 2024 eNewsletter

March 8, 2024

Dear Friends,

In this edition of our quarterly newsletter, we share an update on the Boatworks Redevelopment Project with the public comment section recently closing for the Notice of Preparation of an EIR/EIS. We also share more with our support for the Mountain Area Preservation's lawsuit against the TRPA and more information of the Burke Creek Rabe Meadows Restoration Project. Everything we do is from the generous backing of grassroots conservation volunteers and activists like you! Thank you!

Upcoming Events

On March 22nd at 5pm we will be having Tahoe Toogee, South Lake Tahoe resident and local black bear expert, he'll be speaking on the Urbanized Black Bears in South Lake Tahoe at the Lake Tahoe Community College Aspen and Board Room. This 40 minute presentation will focus on the urbanization of the black bears and the urbanized bear population in the South Shore of Lake Tahoe. From our sponsor, Lake Tahoe Community College's HSI STEM Program, there will be light refreshments and we are asking attendees bring their own reusable water bottles. During the presentation, there will be an ASL interpreter available. Due to the anticipation of this event, seating will be first come, first serve. We recommend registering and finding more information at https://act.sierraclub.org/events/details?formcampaignid=7013q000002IAJFAA4 or click the button below.

The audience turn out listening to David Antonucci give his presentation on the environmental history of Lake Tahoe.

Thank You!

We would like to say thank you to those who were able to donate using the link from our December newsletter! With your contribution, we're able to continue to stay committed to preserving and protecting the natural environment and resources of Lake Tahoe basin and Truckee River drainage.

We would also like to say thank you to David Antonucci who gave us an amazing presentation about the environmental history of Lake Tahoe in February! Thank you Friends of the Library for co-hosting this event with us! And thank you to those who were able to make it out for our first event of the year!

MAP's Lawsuit Against TRPA's Phase 2 Housing Amendments

If you haven't seen the latest news, Mountain Area Preservation, or more commonly known as MAP, filed a lawsuit on February 9, 2024 legally challenging the Phase 2 Housing Amendments that were discussed in the TRPA's December Governing Board Meeting. We as the, Tahoe Area Group Executive Committee, support MAP's lawsuit and are asking TAG members to learn more about this lawsuit by reading MAP's statement and to support them in any way you can.

Information on MAP's Lawsuit Against the TRPA

Boatworks Redevelopment Project

As reported in our newsletter about a year ago, Placer County Planning Commission and the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA) have released the Notice of Preparation (NOP) of an Environmental Impact Report/Environmental Impact Statement (EIR/EIS) for the "Boatworks at Lake Tahoe" Project, a redevelopment project at the Boatworks Mall in Tahoe City. For more information, see the Placer County website . The Sierra Club's Tahoe Area Group has provided comments on the NOP by the deadline. Although we understand the need for revitalization and support tourist accommodation in town centers, the proposed project is entirely too massive and energy resource intensive at a time when climate change demands smarter redevelopment choices. The proposed project redevelops a primarily public use area to almost entirely private use with 79 hotel lodging units and 29 residential condo-hotel units plus a small commercial retail space fronting SR 28. Absolutely no workforce housing is provided.

Considering TRPA’s recent rounds of housing amendments to their Code of Ordinances without any real environmental review all in the name of affordable housing, this proposal for more high-end hotel/condominium complexes with absolutely no on-site workforce housing makes it crystal clear that neither TRPA or Placer County is serious about providing workforce housing in the Basin. Instead of bringing vibrancy and community/social connection to the neighborhood, this project is just more of the same - more high-rise, luxury hotel/condo development. Alternatives should be proposed that scale back the overall size of the proposed development, that include sufficient on-site workforce housing, and that include a reduction in short-term rentals in the area by an equivalent level to the final development of the site. See our comments here.

Our Comments for the Boatworks Redevelopment Notice of Preparation

Photo showcasing the Burke Creek Rabe Meadow area.

Burke Creek Rabe Meadow Riparian Restoration Project

The Sierra Club's Tahoe Area Group continues to be concerned about the Burke Creek Rabe Meadow Riparian Restoration Project proposed by the Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit (LTBMU) of the US Forest Service, who claims that "Burke Creek Watershed has degraded water quality and lower quality aquatic and terrestrial habitat." The project will begin as early as June 2024 and involves an overall grading cut of approximately 6,300 cubic yards and fill of approximately 6000 cubic yards within very close proximity to Lake Tahoe. Although the Tahoe Area Group is supportive, in general, of creek/meadow restoration projects that reconnect creeks to their floodplain, we are very concerned with (a) amount of cut to fill so close to Lake Tahoe and (b) the filling of Jennings Pond, which is a refuge for beavers, ducks and other wildlife. Jennings Pond is also loved by many people in the community who enjoy seeing wildlife in the pond. Numerous letters to LTBMU to provide an Environmental Assessment instead of just a Categorical Exemption under the National Environmental Policy Act have left us dumbfounded that such a large project such as this would receive such little environmental analyses and public involvement. If you would like to join an effort to monitor LTBMU's contractors this summer to ensure that sediment loading into Lake Tahoe and the myriad of wildlife, including Beaver Burke and his family, and the endangered species, Tahoe Yellow Cress, are not harmed, please contact Tobi Tyler at tylertahoe1@gmail.com or Kathryn Bricker at brickerkathryn@hotmail.com.

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Tahoe Area Group March 2024 eNewsletter

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