Project for Homes Overlooking Lake Tahoe Withdrawn

A project that sought to build some 112 residential homes on land overlooking Lake Tahoe has been withdrawn from the review process.

Instead, the project applicant will submit a revised project that does not include building resort residential homes in the Tahoe Basin and instead clusters all development into the Martis Valley.

The Martis Valley West Project will retain the proposed protection of 6,376 acres of land in the Martis Valley (the east parcel) into permanent conservation. The east parcel development rights to 760 residential units, 6.6 acres of commercial, and the associated amenities will still be transferred to the west parcel and 600 units will be retired from development. The project’s boundaries will be adjusted to remove the Tahoe Basin land.

Project discussions were facilitated by county supervisors Jennifer Montgomery and Jack Duran. They brought together the Martis Valley West Project applicant (Sierra Pacific Industries and Mountainside Partners–formerly East West Partners) and the conservation community (Mountain Area Preservation, Sierra Watch, the Sierra Club, and the League to Save Lake Tahoe). From these discussions, and from the concerns expressed by both the public and Supervisor Montgomery, the applicant has agreed to modify the project.

“As the locally elected Placer County representative, I am very pleased to present a compromise that creates a win-win-win outcome for all involved,” said Supervisor Montgomery who represents the county’s portion of Lake Tahoe. “The conservation community benefits by protecting 6,376 acres of undeveloped land. The Basin wins through everyone’s adherence to its regional plan update. And the project proponents win by creating a development proposal consistent with planning and zoning in and out of the Basin.”

Because the Basin land will be separated from the rest of the project, approvals will not require Tahoe Regional Planning Agency action. Additionally, the applicant will work with the Agency to more accurately define the boundary line for the Tahoe Basin. If necessary, a boundary line adjustment will be done to ensure the project is a separate legal parcel from any land within the Tahoe Basin. The applicant will then work with the county to adjust existing legal parcels and Assessor Parcel Numbers to match the Agency boundary lines.

The applicants may still pursue county and Agency approvals for Basin land uses that are currently allowed under the Regional Plan Update. However, any future Basin project will be a standalone project and not subject to an agreement between the applicant and its conservation partners. This existing agreement spells out density transfer, development reduction and conservation components in the Martis Valley. 

The proposed preservation of the 6,376 acres will connect more than 50,000 acres of contiguous open space in the Martis Valley.