El Dorado County Local News: Land Use & Development

The city of Folsom released a Central Business District Master Plan last month to "densify" the commercial corridor on East Bidwell and Riley streets.

Released for public review Sept. 30, the master plan area spans 220 or so acres from Sutter Middle School at the edge of the Historic District to Blue Ravine Road.

The plaza at Ski Run that once hosted Nepheles and Café Fiore is set to close for redevelopment at the end of April next year. While the construction on a new complex likely won't happen right away, pre-development applications have been filed through the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA) and consulting work started earlier this year, leading the businesses in the plaza wondering exactly what they'll do come springtime.

As the election approaches and ballots arrive in the mail, residents are finally getting their chance to officially vote on Measure N, also known as the Tahoe Vacancy Tax. The Tribune spoke with six residents of South Lake Tahoe to see what their reasons were for voting yes or no on the hotly debated topic.

The Sacramento County Board of Sipervisors approved, at its Oct. 22nd meeting, up to $1,137,788 in funding to complete construction on Joshua House, a facility that provides end-of-life comfort care for homeless individuals with terminal illnesses, after being discharged from an acute care hospital.

Forest health is a top priority of the Lake Tahoe Environmental Improvement Program (EIP), a landscape-scale collaboration and partnership between nearly 80 public and private organizations to achieve the environmental goals of the region. To date, partners have treated nearly 95,000 acres in Lake Tahoe Basin forests to reduce hazardous fuels.

The affordable housing units in progress for the last two years in South Lake Tahoe finally had their grand opening this Thursday. Mayor Cody Bass along with Julie Regan of the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA), Ann Silverberg of Related California, and Lyn Barnett of the Saint Joseph Community Land Trust (SJCLT) cut the ribbon and heralded in a bright new phase of affordable housing on the rainy day.

The citizen's ballot initiative Measure N, also known as the Tahoe Vacancy Tax, has had a bumpy ride as far as the text goes. Like many measures that go up for vote, there are portions that are written to be legally defensible, but can be largely unclear for the average reader. To clarify some of those elements, the Tribune has gone through the text (which can be found in full here) to answer some of the common questions people have.

U.S. Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit has released the final Environmental Assessment and Draft Decision Notice for the Basin Wide Trails Analysis Project, which examined e-bike use and trail system access and connectivity on National Forest lands in the Lake Tahoe Basin. Depending on the administrative review process, the final decision could be released by January 2025.

September 26 was the deadline to submit campaign disclosure and contribution documents for both the support and opposition committees regarding Measure N, also known as the Tahoe Vacancy Tax. These documents, now in the public record, reveal what individuals, organizations, and groups have contributed money to each committee.

The Tahoe Fire & Fuels Team announced the release of a new map that has been created to showcase fire restrictions throughout the Lake Tahoe Basin. The map shows who owns the land and what type of fire is permitted. It can be found here underneath the "Prescribed Fire & Current/Upcoming Fuels Reductions" map on Tahoe Living With Fire.

Housing, especially on South Shore, has been a topic of particular interest, especially with both voting Measure N and the opening of Sugar Pine Village on the horizon. To clarify what the city's doing with housing, Zachary Thomas, Jessica Wackenhut-Lomeli, Lydia Zuniga, and Monica Manuel all came to Sidellis on Thursday night to hold office hours, chat with the community, and discuss current and upcoming programs.