2 days ago
- Business
- San Francisco Chronicle
Huge Palisades Tahoe ski village expansion will be much smaller with new compromise
A controversial development plan approved last fall that would greatly expand the Palisades Tahoe ski village will be significantly scaled down after a compromise with conservation groups.
The League to Save Lake Tahoe, which had challenged the plan approval in a complaint filed earlier this year, called the compromise 'a landmark agreement … to limit and cap future development at the famed resort,' according to a Tuesday press release.
The approved plan, first proposed in principle 14 years ago, called for adding 850 lodging units, 1,500 hotel rooms, 300,000 square feet of commercial space, housing for hundreds of resort employees and more to the resort's base village in Olympic Valley. The idea was to create 'a world-class village commensurate with our world-class mountain," former Palisades President and COO Dee Byrne said in November.
Tahoe-area conservation organizations had been fighting the proposal for years, saying it would worsen traffic congestion in North Tahoe and generally undermine the character of nearby mountain communities. After the plan gained approval from the Placer County Board of Supervisors last fall, nonprofits Sierra Watch and the League to Save Lake Tahoe filed a lawsuit to block the development.
However, according to a Tuesday statement from the league, rather than litigate the plan in court, the two nonprofits and the resort engaged in good-faith conversations as well as 'some hard-nosed negotiations' and were able to come to amicable terms on changes to some aspects of the project.
They include a 40% reduction in the number of 'bedrooms' and a 20% reduction in the size of the 'main village area,' according to a letter from Palisades President and COO Amy Ohran posted to the resort's website Tuesday morning.
Also, the resort will create a conservation easement to preserve land at the base of Shirley Canyon — which had been slated for development — for recreation and public access.
The compromise affirms the 'permanent elimination' of a highly controversial indoor waterpark that at one point was part of the proposal, according to Palisades.
The agreement 'prevents additional development within the Specific Plan boundary for 25 years,' according to Palisades.
'We are listening and taking a different approach, and we feel good about the outcome,' Ohran said in her Tuesday letter. She added: 'I hope you'll agree that the common ground we found is more reflective of the collective voice of our community.'
A revised plan is yet to be formally approved by the Placer County Board of Supervisors, according to Palisades. It will be shaped, in part, by a fresh round of community meetings about the project in the months ahead.
Once revisions are approved, Sierra Watch and the League to Save Lake Tahoe have pledged to drop their lawsuit.
