The plan for the village at Palisades Tahoe. | Image: Placer County
Today, November 19, the Placer County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to approve the Village at Palisades Tahoe Specific Plan, which will allow Palisades Tahoe, California, to complete a world-class village and base area. According to the resort, the plan also stands to benefit the broader North Lake Tahoe community with significant funding for regional workforce housing initiatives, transportation, tourism mitigation, and other Olympic Valley and regional priorities.
While the approval of the village plan is great news for Palisades Tahoe resort, there is also opposition from residents and local organizations, including \. “Once again, Placer County decision makers have sided with the narrow interests of Alterra Mountain Company and against the values of the people who live, work, and play in Tahoe,” says Tom Mooers of Sierra Watch. “And, once again, we will continue our commitment to secure a better future for the region and keep Tahoe Truckee True.”
Today’s hearing was well attended and more than 100 speakers took to the podium to express their opinion about the village plan. While some expressed support, many others expressed opposition, citing the impact in public safety due to the location in a very high fire hazard severity zone. In addition, environmental organizations raised concerns of the impact of the village on Lake Tahoe’s clarity. According to environmental review documents, traffic generated by the project would add the pollution that is causing the lake to lose its famous clarity – more than ten times the amount a traffic that would be allowed by a project in the Basin.
The plan, which will be built almost entirely on existing asphalt parking lots and other disturbed areas, proposes up to 850 lodging units, including a mixture of hotel, condo hotel, fractional ownership, and timeshare units. It also includes new, dedicated in-valley workforce housing that will house up to 300 employees, up to 450 new employee parking spaces, new parking structures that will maintain day skier parking, extensive restoration of Washeshu Creek, new and expanded trails and trail enhancements, a new seasonal playground and dog park, and a new fire station in the west end of the valley. It also includes a maximum of 206,211 square feet of commercial space, including non-residential operations and the Mountain Adventure Center (MAC). The MAC is intended to be a year-round, state-of-the-art indoor/outdoor mountain training facility combined with a family adventure camp intended for use by the community, Team Palisades Tahoe ski and snowboard team, and resort guests. It may also include conference spaces, performing arts, skier/guest services, employee spaces, and other resort amenities.
“Throughout this lengthy process, we have actively listened to and incorporated constructive community feedback into the plan. It’s important that our community know that we’re not done listening; there will continue to be opportunities to share feedback as the next steps related to this plan get underway,” Ohran emphasized.
Artist render of older plans for the village at Palisades Tahoe. | Image: Placer County
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