In The News – Coming Together to Tackle Tahoe’s Housing Crisis
October 20, 2024 | Member Submitted
Originally Published in Moonshine Ink, 10/10/2024, Written by Karen Fink
Today, about half of Lake Tahoe’s workforce lives outside the Basin. Collectively we have watched residents move away from the lake or face greater housing insecurity as smaller cabins and affordable rentals become ever scarcer. Large homes and condominiums are gradually taking their place. Even though access to affordable housing serves a basic human need, here and in mountain communities across the nation it is increasingly difficult to provide.
As the next phase of the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency’s Tahoe Living program launches this fall, it is time to move beyond the low-hanging policy fixes TRPA has made thus far and start examining the fundamental changes needed to address inequities that have been building in our systems for decades. To do this successfully we need the creative ideas of as many community members as possible.
In early 2024, MAP, an environmental advocacy group, initiated legal action against TRPA, challenging amendments to its Regional Plan that MAP claimed violated the Tahoe Regional Planning Bi-State Compact. These amendments, which relaxed restrictions on height, density, and coverage for projects in town centers, raised concerns about potential overdevelopment and its associated environmental impacts, including increased pollution and wildfire risks.
By mid-2024, the parties reached a settlement that emphasized collaborative policy-making. The agreement included adjustments to housing policies to prioritize lower-income and workforce housing. Furthermore, TRPA agreed to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for future housing phases, ensuring thorough environmental assessments moving forward.
Looking at the housing and population data in the area, we are trying to address the housing situation under the assumption that there are jobs that serve Incline Village that don’t pay sufficiently to live in the village.
There is a lot of information available. I have read everything I could possibly get my hands on about housing in Incline Village. I read the Washoe Tahoe Housing Partnership, which presents lots of data, countless examples, and test cases from other regions similar to Incline. The fact is, and will always be, that there will always be more demand than supply in the world’s most beautiful and accessible places.
Taking that as a given, we are trying to create viable solutions for our community’s essential workers, e.g., Teachers, Police, Fire, Landscaping, and more. There are several ways to address this problem from community outreach and information gathering (linking those who need homes to those who have them) to more targeted efforts like physically building more livable space (new construction or redevelopment).
Over the past several months, we worked with a local developer to redevelop a property to accommodate (4) more economical units. Still, we were stopped by TRPA because we did not want to vary from what is written in their codes.
We have also been working with Placemate and a committee that was selected to represent the interests of the village with the county. After many hours, we developed a contract that we believed would benefit our village. The Placemate program will help connect property owners with long-term renters by providing a small monetary incentive to the property owner.
The Housing Committee is also working toward providing a platform to dive deeper into topics related to housing by hosting the Housing Speaker Series. The first in the series will focus on unlocking housing in Incline Village. These meetings will be recorded and available on the website for future viewing and discussion. If you are interested in helping build a sustainable community, please visit IVCBA.org.
*For more information on Housing, Our Speaker Series, the Housing Committee and updated news, have a look at our Housing Resource page: http://ivcba.org/programs/housing/
In The News – New reroute of Tahoe’s Tyrolian Trail now open
October 18, 2024 | Member Submitted
Originally Published in the Tahoe Daily Tribune, 10/16/2024, Submitted
INCLINE VILLAGE, Nev. – The newly rerouted, final segment of the popular Tyrolian Downhill Trail in Incline Village, Nevada is now complete, offering mountain bikers a fun new section of technical singletrack while incorporating important environmental improvements. The new 0.75-mile trail segment was rerouted to move the lower section of the trail away from nearby residential neighborhoods and to reduce impacts on the nearby creek.
Built by the Tahoe Area Mountain Biking Association in partnership with the US Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit and with funding support from the Tahoe Fund, the Tyrolian Reroute includes technical rock work, a 24-foot wood bridge, and a new 0.25-mile connection to the Diamond Peak Resort parking lot where the trail concludes. Previously, the final 0.5-mile of the trail ran parallel to the road.
Written by Jonathon Gardner – IVCBA’s Community Engagement Liason
In an effort to provide more structure to improvements made around Incline Village, IVCBA reached out to an organization known as Main Street. This organization has a strong presence at the state level and continues up to a national organization. The Main Street program is focused on enhancing the economic vitality and quality of life in traditional commercial districts, particularly in small towns and rural areas. As you may already know, Incline Village is considered a rural area by most definitions.
Established by the National Trust for Historic Preservation in the 1980s, the program promotes a holistic, community-driven approach that integrates economic development with cultural preservation and tourism. The program is structured around a Four-Point Approach—Economic Vitality, Design, Promotion, and Organization—and emphasizes engaging local stakeholders in planning and implementation efforts. This ensures that revitalization initiatives reflect the community’s values while fostering a strong sense of identity and encouraging investment in local businesses.
We have experimented with the Main Street organization for the last year or so and have found that it provides great blueprints for the successful implementation of community improvement projects. It aligns well with the desires of our community as well as the mission of IVCBA. The program can bolster the local economy by supporting local businesses that cater to both residents and visitors. Our Main Street program has helped several Design initiatives throughout the community and will continue to enhance the aesthetics of commercial areas through improved signage, beautification efforts, and other projects that resonate with the village’s beautiful surroundings. Through collaboration with residents, business owners, and local organizations, Incline Village can create a vibrant community atmosphere.
The Incline Village Main Street is working on several projects, one in particular is the Roundabout, and we have entered the phase where we need your opinions and feedback. Please take the Roundabout survey. Your input is critical for the success of these projects. Please see the brief description of the project below The survey has more information as well.
Roundabout project overview:
Stemming from conversations with many community members, Incline Village Main Street has set out to beautify the Roundabout. I have heard many times that people wished that the roundabout was more welcoming and beautiful. I have also seen several cars who have crashed into the roundabout and hit a bronze statue or something else.
There is no water and no electricity currently plumbed to that space. The plants that are in the roundabout have mostly died and withered away. Is there a better solution?
At the beginning of the year, the Incline Village Main Street formed a small focus group consisting of landscape designers, engineers, architects and other interested community members. We discussed the important functions of a roundabout for a community as well as the opportunities roundabouts present to unite people by creating a sense of place. We spoke with representatives from Washoe County as well as NDOT. We even walked the property several times with those in charge of transportation safety at TRPA.
Some of our early conversations discussed relocating the bronze statues to a safer location (such as the public library) so that they could be enjoyed by children. Some members of the community spoke up against that idea suggesting that the statues should remain in the roundabout.
Our goal has always been to unite the community by beautifying the roundabout and making it safer. We do not have a final design for the roundabout at this juncture, but with the help of the community, we are getting closer to a viable solution.
We seek YOUR help at this point. Please complete the survey linked here. On the survey, you’ll see a working concept for an idea of what the roundabout could look like. We hope to make the roundabout safer and more beautiful. We hope that it will serve as a welcoming representation of our little corner of paradise here in Incline Village. Your input is greatly appreciated.
In The News – Tahoe champion Madonna Dunbar heads back to her ‘rolling roots’
October 15, 2024 | Member Submitted
Originally Published in the Tahoe Daily Tribune, 10/10/2024, Written by Katelyn Welsh
INCLINE VILLAGE, Nev. – There is much in the Incline Village region that reminds Madonna Dunbar of the serendipity that’s brought her to where she’s at now as the Resource Conservationist at Incline Village Improvement District Waste Not Programs and Executive Director of Tahoe Water Suppliers Association.
“I think of that when I pull into work,” she says, explaining the first night she slept in Incline Village was just one turn from her current office about 500 yards away.
It all started in August 1998 while traveling the country in a bus with her husband, Pablo (Tenzin) Ortega, stopping at national parks and doing seasonal work.
In The News – Mast year: Massive seed collection success for the Sugar Pine Foundation
October 14, 2024 | Member Submitted
Originally Published in the Tahoe Daily Tribune, 10/07/2024, Submitted by Tressa Gibbard
For the Sugar Pine Foundation (SPF) – a local non-profit dedicated to restoring Tahoe’s sugar pines and overall forest health – this September was incredibly busy with seed collection because 2024 proved to be a mast year for sugar pines and most conifers in the Tahoe region. This is significant because reforestation starts with collecting seed.
A “mast year” is when an entire population of a certain tree or shrub produces a large amount of fruit, seeds, or nuts, which are collectively referred to as mast. (The term “mast” comes from the Old English word mæst, which refers to the nuts of forest trees that accumulate on the ground.)
In The News – Biltmore’s notice of default rescinded
October 14, 2024 | Member Submitted
Originally Published in the Tahoe Daily Tribune, 10/14/2024, Written by Brenna O’Boyle
CRYSTAL BAY, Nev. – The previous notice of default for the Tahoe Biltmore Hotel and Casino site has been rescinded.
“We are focused on ensuring a successful outcome for all stakeholders as we actively work through the restructuring of financing,” said Ebbie K. Nakhjavani, founder and CEO of EKN. “As a result of these efforts, the notice of default has now been removed. We remain fully committed to the revitalization of the Tahoe Biltmore property as we continue to invest and make progress on site work in anticipation of demolition and groundbreaking by Spring 2025.”
In 2021, EKN Development bought the property for $56.8 million. It is set to become Lake Tahoe’s first Waldorf Astoria.
In The News – What you need to know about Tahoe’s regional evacuation plan
October 14, 2024 | Member Submitted
Originally Published in the Sierra Sun, 10/7/2024, Written by Katelyn Welsh
GREATER LAKE TAHOE AREA, Calif. / Nev. – Fire agencies around the Tahoe Basin recently publicized the Lake Tahoe Regional Evacuation Plan, but most of the information within it is not particularly new.
What is new with the plan, Tahoe Douglas Fire Protection Fire Chief Scott Lindgren explains, is it makes evacuation plans available to the public and consolidates all individual area emergency plans into one place.
“It’s now informing the public what we have in place, what we’ve been cooperating with each other,” the chief says, “We’ve just made it more public and more accessible.” Previously this information was provided at the time of evacuation, he explains, partly due to plans getting adjusted, changed and modified for the situation.
Washoe County Emergency Management Using RAVE Alert System
October 14, 2024 | Member Submitted
Submitted by North Lake Tahoe Fire Protection District, Tia Rancourt
Washoe County Emergency Management is now using the Rave Alert system for emergency alert notifications. If you are already registered with CodeRED your information was transferred over however; please register with the Smart911 App as it has more detailed information options such as preferred communication methods, access, functional needs, pets, etc.
