Community
Boulder Bay public comment ...the 12-inch
Crystal Bay
The most divisive development proposal in two decades for the Tahoe Basin is about to come to a head ...in another month (see: bottom p. 2).
In spite of a local tourist- and development-based economy showing no signs of immediate recovery, Incline inventor/developer Roger Wittenberg's got a $225 million bet that a megaloresort/casino/mall built on the footprint of the we-used-to-have-$.99-breakfast Tahoe Biltmore will save the tony shores of Crystal Bay from slinking further into disrepair (see: Cal Neva).
Though devlopers "scaled back" the project this summer (see: p. 8), opposition says gerrymandering numbers simply doesn't justify changing the footprint of the historic stateline-straddling casino district by redefining current Tahoe Regional Planning Agency code.
"They're only reducing the number of units by 10 percent," said Crystal Bay Realtor Ann Nichols, a founder of the North Tahoe Preservation Alliance. "It's still over twice the number of units that are allowed now. It's almost twice the height allowed now. And they want to develop land that's deed-restricted (currently) for three single-family homes. Other than that, everything's good."
While opposition says questions still remain as to the overall fiscal viability of such a project and whether, predictably, the local ownership would attempt to push plans through the permit process and then attempt to sell to an outside multi-national development corporation, the TRPA is rounding the final turn of its permit OK for Boulder Bay by extending public comment till Feb. 4 and pushing for approval in the spring.
Trustees of the TRPA governing board will hear public comment about the project and the developer's recently released draft environmental impact report 11 a.m. Wednesday, Nov. 18 at the Chateau in Incline. The agency will also host an open house for candid discussion on the project 5 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 1 (Boulder Bay Ground Zero).
Boulder Bay controversy goes beyond the proposal itself.
The project's success has become a rally cry of sorts for the embattled TRPA whose long overdue regional plan includes implementation of a developer-friendly Community Enhancement Program, which would purportedly reward responsible/eco-friendly development.
Agency officials claim the only way to make the program viable is allowing developers (in this era of trending toward building smaller/communal spaces) to build bigger.
How to do this when property is built-out or deed-restricted?
Tourist Accommodation Units.
Tourist Accommodation Units (or TAUs if you speak TRPAese) is a cryptic system (even TRPA officials say they don't fully grasp how it works) means a developer can take a public entitlement of a motel-type unit (usually 1-bedroom) and transfer that square footage to another unit — so, in theory, the end result is the Basin stays the same/at build-out.
Developers, however, found a loophole: There is no codicil that prevents the TAU's original square footage from multiplying from its original size.
Therefore, TRPA opponents contend, a 280-square-foot room from a torn-down South Shore motel, suddenly becomes a 3,000-square-foot villa in Tahoe Vista.
Though Boulder Bay officials trimmed back the TAU size considerably, expansion out and up is still necessary to complete the project.
"Part of this dissolution stems from an homogenization of the Lake Tahoe basin by the TRPA," wrote North Shore resident Carolyn Johnson, who is against using TAUs to accommodate developers' needs. "I and many others like myself do not want TAU's transferred from South Shore to North Shore. It is completely out of line and adverse to what the residents of the North Shore want for their communities. We live here because of the difference.
"In a recent post, I was reminded that TRPA has kept high-rises from occurring, no now (sic) they're going for sprawl. It all adds up the same thing. And may I remind you, all developers want to build the largest development they can. Financially it's in their best interest, but that certainly doesn't mean it's in the best interest of Lake Tahoe. And TRPA should stop and think about that instead of buying into it."
Crystal Bay resident and former TRPA trustee Stu Yount, takes a slightly different tack with TAUs:
"TAUs are another frequently upsetting situation in our permitting maze,"Yount wrote. "Yes, there may well be a better way to incentivize the type of redevelopment we want. However, agreeing on what that would be AND how to fairly and constitutionally transition to such a new system is fraught with lengthy and upsetting deliberations.
"Another fact of life here in recent years, is that our basin has become far more litigious. Very little gets through TRPA without a legal challenge. Naturally, that severely diminishes TRPA’s use of their limited funds for the real goals. It also, again, adds to the cost & risk for investors & developers.
"Although there are some with ulterior motives getting in the way, I strongly believe we all have the same common goal of improving Lake Tahoe’s clarity, maximizing fire safety and making this basin as a whole a better place. When you get right down to it, I don’t think there is 5 percent difference between our goals, just different roads & methods to get to those goals.
"To achieve this, I believe it is vital to acknowledge that commonality and respectfully work together in our own various ways towards that goal."
Boulder Bay proposes the following:
Total units: 359* (*300 hotel, 59 condos, 14 affordable-housing units – Boulder Bay does not currently include the affordable-housing units in the plan's total number.)
Fractional-ownership units: 0
Dining/retail space: 20k sq. ft.
Overall square footage at build-out: 475k sq. ft. Condo square footage: 1.556 sq. ft. (avg.)
Units-per-acre: 22.1
Tourist Accommodation Unit square footage: 556 (originally proposed as 866)
First Friday at Brickelltown is back... just in time for fall
9/02/10, 8:18 am, By Alanna Hughes
- 4 p.m. Friday in Brickelltown
- Bring your cruiser bike (cheaper/better peeps than Burning Man)
Ski Porn season kicks off at Squaw Sept. 18 with Standard premiere
8/31/10, 9:22 pm, By S. Cowley
- North Shore-based snowboard heavies preimere 'The Storming' Saturday, Sept. 18
- Monster'll be there too...
Sorry Burning Man - it's all about the Ski Loft Tent Sale
8/30/10, 7:52 pm, Staff Report
- 8 a.m. Friday
- Bring all your pennies... (what's left of 'em)
REI Summer - Ticker
-Basin Bargain Basement - The bargain of bargains
8/29/10, 8:59 pm, By A. Pridgen
- $105k for starter condo in KB
- Yes, we toured a similar unit in '06 for more than $300k ...actually, maybe it WAS this unit
Bomber pre-season ski sales from local manufacturers
8/25/10, 7:50 am, Staff Report
- From Praxis Powderboards to Moment Rubys ...to a surprise entry
- It's time to buy local... buy new
Skiing is no more
8/22/10, 11:47 am, Staff Report
- RIP Skiing Magazine
- ...Are you next, SKI?
Date set for 7th annual Downtown Truckee Wine Walk And Shop
8/22/10, 9:25 am, Switchback PR
- Filling up that fall calendar yet?!
- Well, here's where to start
REI Summer - Ticker
-Squaw to host SATELite Festival in September
8/22/10, 7:28 am, By A. Richmond
- New outdoor(ish) event pronounced 'satellite' ...not 'Sate-lite' like we orig. thought
- ...Not 100 percent sure what it is — but ncludes wine, so we'll be there
Tahoe Mountain Sports gets you warm for Ski Loft tent sale
8/20/10, 6:44 pm, By Lis Korb
- First come tent sales... then ski porn premiers
- Then (gulp) snow... are you ready?!
Legendary Incline bear featured in WSJ
8/18/10, 8:31 pm, Staff Report
- Free BUBBA
- That's right - It's our fault... not the bear's... but is that what the Journal thinks?!
Trail Building Backcountry Camps
8/17/10, 8:49 pm, TRTA
- Get on those trails
- ...and get your build on Saturday and Sunday (and again Labor Day weekend)
REI Summer - Ticker
-Win an iPad from IVGID
8/15/10, 7:03 pm, Staff Report
- Golf, ski, beach, compute
- repeat
Squaw creates new top marketing position... sale rumors spark again
8/10/10, 8:18 pm, Staff Report
- Wait, Squaw CREATED a position...
- Ok, something's definitely going down... (25-year industry vet Scott Clarkson tapped as VP of Marketing and Sales)
Jim's trip ...halfway... round The Rim
8/07/10, 1:16 pm, By. A. Pridgen
- Hammerel raises triple his goal amt. to benefit the TRT
- ...and tears up his knee
Volunteer trail-building workdays with the Tahoe Rim Trail Association
8/05/10, 7:45 am, TRTA
- You heard about Jim Hammerel's mission to speed-traverse the TRT
- Now you can pitch in too
REI Summer - Ticker
-Goodbye Norm
8/03/10, 8:08 pm, By A. Pridgen
- The Godfather of Incline, Norm Rosenberg, passes - he was 92
- Incline's left-leaning champion leaves legacy ...starting with the library
Test drive a Tesla... before it's too late
8/01/10, 9:30 pm, By A. Pridgen
- Tesla, the Palo Alto-based electric car company has gone through more than $300 million VC $
- ...but still hasn't tapped into Uncle Sam's reserves for the Model S - go check it out at the Hyatt
Sugar Bowl dining room and Belt Room Bar open for business
7/30/10, 10:22 am, By John Monson
- Good grub, great views
- And nothing beats Belt Room post PCT
Ultimate Frisbee - ultimate course
7/27/10, 8:56 pm, By A. Richmond
- Squaw opens disc golf course
- Signature hole (no. 4) has 1080' downhill... wow
REI Summer - Ticker
-Squaw's MTB park open for first time since '03
7/23/10, 7:22 pm, By Amelia Richmond
- 2k feet of single-track
- 'K, we're in
Remembering Kenny Guinn
7/22/10, 10:08 pm, Staff Report
- The man who created the Milennium Scholarship and SNPLMA passed away Thursday
- Guinn, who oversaw Nevada during its most prosperous years, was 73
Lokal boy makes good - former PlumpJack star Edge shines in Sonoma
7/20/10, 6:23 pm, By A. Pridgen
- Rick Edge takes saucy edge down to downtown Sonoma
- Lokal is the (new) place to be and PlumpJack alum makes it so
Tahoe skier visits were estimated to be up 17 percent last winter
7/19/10, 8:40 am, Staff Report
- Numbers of skiers on the hill increased - but overall spending stayed modest
- Cheap passes the plan again for 2010-'11
REI Summer - Ticker
-Cushing steps down from Squaw post ...rumors of sale sparked
7/13/10, 6:06 pm, Staff Report
- Former Intrawest exec takes over
- ...Rumor mill turning overtime: is Cushing family getting ready to bounce?
TRPA's Asian clam bake
7/11/10, 9:19 pm, By Jeff Cowen
- $1.4 million effort to eradicate invasive species from the lake...
- And it involves (no joke) laying a rubber mat on the lake's floor... hi-tech
Kids' zip line at Squaw ...Boo ya
7/08/10, 5:12 pm, By A. Richmond
- KT zip line
- What about for the grown-ups?!
Just like that ...red flags are up
7/06/10, 6:22 pm, Staff Report
- Three-year anniversary of Angora looms ever-present
- Thunderstorms Wednesday/Thursday portend danger
REI Summer - Ticker
-Nevada County approves PR firm's contract the same week it OKs budget cuts
6/30/10, 9:19 pm, Staff Report
- Wait a minute - you're saying Tahoe will spend more than a million dollars this year on, sloganeering...
- Meantime, budget cuts include child care, welfare-to-work and MediCal programs ...nice
Truckee's Lautner drops a PCT hiking book
6/28/10, 8:55 pm, Staff Report
- 32 eco-friendly trips on the Sierra stretch of the PCT ...with GPS coordinates
- Two thumbs up - pick it up...
Lake Tahoe Based Russian-American Partnership turns 20
6/24/10, 11:27 am, By TBI
- Tahoe-Baikal Institute celebrates two decades of watershed protection and cultural exchange
- Political and economic ups and downs notwithstanding
Tour de Nez photo gallery
6/22/10, 8:20 pm
- The weekend that was from Reno to Northstar
- And lots of Nash
REI Summer - Ticker
-Rebuild the Rim Trail every summer Saturday
6/11/10, 9:07 pm, TRTA
- Start summer right by giving your most precious gift
- ...Your time
TRPA tries to clarify
6/01/10, 8:30 pm, By Dennis Oliver
- So, what, if anything, does this have to do with Boulder Bay?!
- ...More importantly how 'bout that casino (strip club?) corridor...
Opinion ...TRPA ensures Tahoe times they area a-changin'
5/22/10, 8:35 pm, By Ann Nichols
- Density to increase under proposed TRPA regional plan
- But, will they build it (or will they come?)
TAUs on the table from TRPA
5/14/10, 10:08 pm, Staff Report
- If you don't understand the headline
- ...Go the the May 26 meeting and you'll see puh-lenty
REI Summer - Ticker
-Cal Neva now in TRPA doghouse
5/09/10, 6:49 pm, Staff Report
- TRPA will handle foreclosed property with kid gloves over more than a decade of flunking its eco report card
- Time to blow everything up but the casino floor, Sinatra Showroom, the lakefront cabins and the Indian Room
Celebrate National Trails Day with the Tahoe Rim Trail
5/06/10, 5:33 pm, TRTA
- Build a trail
- ...Get a free lunch
Save Martis Valley - one click at a time
5/04/10, 7:13 pm, By Renee Deinken
- Well, it's not like Martis Valley is in any danger of getting developed by broke-ass East/West
- ...But still good to preserve; Check out the new site
LTVA spends almost a mil. on slogan ending in preposition
5/02/10, 8:21 pm, By A. Pridgen
- That's right, your new slogan to lure Affliction-wearing d-bags to Stateline's new strip club
- ...'Get your vacation on' (ohh noo). Inside: Our five (free) slogan suggestions ...Holla
REI Summer - Ticker
-Cost of doing nothing too high for Tahoe
4/29/10, 8:22 pm, By Joanne Marchetta
- If you can make it through TRPA director's tome...
- We'll have resident feedback for you Friday
No downhill slide for Diamond Peak
4/09/10, 7:00 am, Staff Report
- While others founder
- ...DP in the black and breaking ground on new $4 million admin/ticket/locker/child ski center building
Foreclosed Cal Neva casino goes dark ...for good
3/24/10, 10:32 pm, By A. Pridgen
- One year after 'no-sale' at a foreclosure auction and interim management team shuts down Nevada's most legendary casino
- ...Sad, sad day... Casino doors to shut March 31 - rest of Basin gaming on life support
And yes ...the KB roundabouts were originally scheduled to be complete this summer
1/27/10, 9:35 pm, Staff Report
- Tahoe Regional Planning Agency board votes unanimously (again) to approve three-lane/roundabouts in KB
- ...Yes, you've heard that (here) before
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