Originally published in the Tahoe Daily Tribune, 10/10/2025, Written by Eli Ramos

The unique challenges of creating and maintaining housing in Tahoe have been the focus of the Tribune’s housing series. Now, the Tribune takes a look at other mountain communities: their challenges, triumphs and lessons they’ve learned.

The Tribune spoke with housing managers and planning employees from Ketchum, Idaho; Aspen and Vail, Colorado; Jackson and Teton County, Wyoming; Hood River, Oregon; and Mammoth Lakes, California. While these communities span across the states, they have similar problems with location, tourism and funding, as well as their own residents’ thoughts on housing development.

Location challenges

While the mountains, lakes and rivers of these rural areas are beautiful, they pose a challenge for developing housing. Limited land makes it harder to build for increasing populations, especially when surrounded by public lands or protected sites.

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PHOTO: Tahoe Daily Tribune

Originally Published in the Tahoe Daily Tribune, 10/09/2025, Written by Eli Ramos

On Tuesday, Placer County held their Tahoe workshop to get feedback on a priority applicant policy, which could look similar to South Lake Tahoe’s local preference policy. The public feedback will be used to bring a draft to the Placer County board of supervisors on November 18.

Housing development project planner Marie Maniscalco presented to the small group gathered on the potential policy they’re trying to create. She noted that there has been a feeling that Placer County tends to do things from the top-down and emphasized the importance of sharing input for this undertaking.

Nikki Streegan, housing manager, said that the concept of affordable housing priority policies have been considered in the past, most recently during discussions of Dollar Creek Crossing. The policy would only apply to affordable housing units, which are meant to house those at the 80% area median income or lower. The median income in Placer County is about $84,550.

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Originally published in the Tahoe Daily Tribune, 09/24/2025, Staff Report

The Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA) is hosting a third round of public workshops in October to share and discuss recommended policy changes to encourage more affordable and workforce housing in the Tahoe Basin, while maintaining strict environmental protections. These recommendations have taken shape over this year through community input and technical advisory groups, the agency said today.

Two hands-on workshops are scheduled for October 6 in South Lake Tahoe, Calif. and October 7 in Kings Beach, Calif. The series of workshops are part of the multi-year Cultivating Community, Conserving the Basin project and will review and take feedback on how TRPA has used previous input to shape specific recommendations. Small group discussions will help show participants how different policies could result in on-the-ground changes. The recommendations will be presented to the TRPA Governing Board this year for further consideration.

Cultivating Community, Conserving the Basin will modernize the regional growth management system and regional building regulations to help deliver a greater variety of housing types in the Tahoe Basin.

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Originally Published by KUNR, 09/04/2025, Written by Maria Palma

The Washoe County Board of Commissioners voted 3-1 on Aug. 26 to adopt amendments to the Tahoe Area Plan, despite strong pushback from some Incline Village and Crystal Bay residents.

Adopted in 2021, the Tahoe Area Plan serves as a masterplan for growth in the two communities, setting rules for building height, parking requirements, and housing density.

The newly approved changes—developed with the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA)—are designed to support more affordable housing in the region. For example, the amendments allow certain buildings to reach 65 feet in height, up from 56 feet, and lift density caps in some developments.

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From TRPA Newletter

Welcome to the September edition of our eNews!As summer comes to an end, we want to thank everyone who has been engaged in the Cultivating Community process. This phase of of the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency’s (TRPA) housing work is about re-shaping regulations to reflect the balance of people and nature in Tahoe’s unique environment—a challenging and incredibly rewarding effort. As we head into fall, we’re weaving in the ideas so many of you shared over the summer and developing policy recommendations for review in an environmental impact statement. Review the Workshop 2 Summary to see how we’ve pulled that together.

Please join us at upcoming events in September and October detailed below to share your feedback on the policy recommendations we have distilled from the community’s input.

This months eNews highlights the ongoing engagement opportunities open to the public this fall, new housing programs in the region, and the reopening of our Community Academy Scholarship for the public.

Finally, starting later this month, TRPA Housing Outreach Coordinator Kaley Arboleda will be taking over this eNews, so look for upcoming emails in your inbox from Kaley.

– The Long-Range Planning Team

Originally published with Tahoe Living Newsletter

We’re so grateful to all the community members who showed up, shared ideas, and contributed to such meaningful conversations. A huge thank-you to our generous host locations, Bijou Elementary School on the South Shore andTahoe Community Foundation on the North Shore. Lastly, thank you to the incredible caterers, Los Mexicanos and Lupita’s, who kept everyone well-fed and happy — your support made the evening extra special.

With a great turnout and inspiring energy in the room, we’re excited about what’s ahead. Below are some next steps as we continue this important work together!

WHAT’S NEXT?

We’re taking the community’s valuable input and using it to outline potential policy pathways for the Cultivating Community project. These pathways will be reviewed for input from the Tahoe Living Working Group (TLWG) and our Community Partner Group.

This fall, we will host another round of public workshops to share and discuss policy proposals.

We are aiming to bring a policy recommendation to the TRPA Governing Board and initiate the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) process in January 2026. The EIS is expected to take about a year and will include several additional opportunities for public review and feedback. 

Stay tuned for future events on our website: Tahoe Living: Cultivating Community, Conserving the Basin

Sign up for Housing eNews! Sign up below for our Housing eNews to hear more updates and opportunities to improve housing in the Tahoe Basin. News in both English and Spanish is available.

Subscribe to the Housing eNews

 A second round of hands-on workshops are scheduled July 22 in South Lake Tahoe, Calif. and July 23 in Incline Village, Nev. to help shape the future of housing in the Lake Tahoe Region, the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA) said today. Participants will provide the groundwork for the Tahoe Living: Cultivating Community, Conserving the Basin project, which is a regional effort to adapt regional policies and rules to better support workforce housing and maintain environmental protections.

The purpose of the two workshops is to transfer ideas the agency has gathered from community members, partners, and housing experts into potential policy changes, according to TRPA.

South Shore Workshop
Tuesday, July 22 from 5-8 pm
Bijou Community School
South Lake Tahoe, Calif. 

North Shore Workshop
Wednesday, July 23 from 5-8 pm
Tahoe Community Foundation (formerly Parasol)
Incline Village, Nev.

Both workshops will include catered food, Spanish interpretation, and activities for children.

Cultivating Community, Conserving the Basin is a multi-year project to help address the crisis of affordability happening in the Tahoe Region and in mountain communities across the nation. As part of the project, TRPA has created a Community Academy, awarded scholarships and grants, published a series of webinars, and convened the Tahoe Living Working Group to modernize land use policies and establish long-term, two-way engagement between communities and agencies, with a particular focus on underrepresented groups.

Workshop attendees can register and find out more at www.tahoeliving.org.

Images

Domus Kings Beach Workforce Units
Caption: TRPA’s Cultivating Community, Conserving the Basin project aims to make deed-restricted affordable housing projects like the multiple Domus Kings Beach Affordable Housing projects easier to build.
Credit: Tahoe Regional Planning Agency

SShore Community Workshop 2024.09.09
Caption: TRPA Senior Planner Jacob Stock speaking to South Shore community members at affordable housing workshops in Sept. 2024. The second round of workshops this month will help the agency convert ideas into potential policies.
Credit: Tahoe Regional Planning Agency

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The Tahoe Regional Planning Agency leads the cooperative effort to preserve, restore, and enhance the unique natural and human environment of the Lake Tahoe Region, while improving local communities, and people’s interactions with our irreplaceable environment. For additional information, contact Jeff Cowen, Public Information Officer, at (775) 589-5278, or jcowen@trpa.gov. 

Originally published by TRPA

The Tahoe Regional Planning Agency is partnering with the Tahoe Truckee Community Foundation and other regional partners to complete an updated assessment of the region’s housing needs. We are seeking survey responses from those who live or work in the region.

The survey takes just 5 minutes and will help direct programs and projects to expand housing options in the Tahoe-Truckee region. We appreciate your help forwarding this survey, particularly to employers you know in the region! 

TAKE SURVEY >

Originally published in the Tahoe Daily Tribune, 05/31/2025, Written by Eli Ramos

Short-term rentals (STRs) have been hotly contested in recent discussions of Measure T in South Lake Tahoe, but their presence in the Tahoe Basin has existed long before online platforms like VRBO and AirBnB. Are STRs really harming housing in the greater Lake Tahoe area? The nuanced answers to that question are what we’re diving into for this housing series article.

A brief history of short-term rentals

Short-term rentals, also called vacation home rentals (VHRs), have been around since the 1950s, providing a homey and often cheaper alternative to staying in hotels and motels. Currently, STRs are defined in the basin as properties that are rented for 30 days or less. While people used to advertise their own homes in newspaper ads, the establishment of online platforms like VRBO (Vacation Rentals by Owner) in 1995 made listings even easier, boosting the popularity of STRs everywhere, but especially in vacation destinations like Tahoe.

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Submitted by NLTFPD, Tia Rancourt, 05/20/2025

In recognition of Wildfire Awareness Month, a coalition of wildfire experts, technology companies, energy providers, and nonprofits launched a groundbreaking pilot project today aimed at creating the most wildfire-ready community in the Lake Tahoe region. 

The Incline Fire Smart Community Pilot is taking place in the Tyrolian Village HOA, a neighborhood encompassing 228 homes across 60 acres in Incline Village, Nevada that has been identified as a high priority wildfire area by the North Lake Tahoe Fire Protection District. 

The pilot is leveraging new technology to identify which mitigations matter the most, while informing insurance outcomes and demonstrating how comprehensive wildfire defense can be implemented and replicated across Tahoe and the West. 

“This initiative has the potential to fundamentally change how communities approach wildfire resilience,” said Amy Berry, CEO of the Tahoe Fund. “We’re combining cutting-edge modeling and state-of-the-art technology with on-the-ground mitigation on public lands, NV Energy’s utility corridor, and in the neighborhood to create a replicable blueprint that can save lives, protect property, and preserve natural resources, while informing insurance outcomes.”

During a demonstration today, the public was able to see a remote-operated masticator from BurnBot remove hazardous fuels in the neighborhood up to five feet from homes. Attendees also heard from a panel of experts on how the project came together and the science and strategy behind it. You can watch the panel discussion here.