Nevada County Local News: Land Use & Development


All Local Land Use & Development News articles contributed by our local media allies and other local newsrooms.

Image caption: The 1965 law known as the Williamson Act has been responsible for keeping about half of California's farmland out of the hands of developers.
The Williamson Act: How the Law That Protects California’s Farmland Works

The Williamson Act, passed in 1965, now keeps more than 16 million acres of farmland out of the hands of developers. Here's how the law puts the brakes on the development of California agricultural properties.

Image caption: Does California’s signature environmental law protect the state’s scenic beauty, or cause more problems than it solves?
CEQA: The Surprising Story of CA’s Key Environmental Law

The California Environmental Quality Act, CEQA, is both the state’s signature environmental legislation, and is also often named as the villain in the state’s housing shortage. But the story may not be that simple.

Image caption: The Baldwin Hills area in South Los Angeles is one region where a state conservancy would keep open land accessible to the public.
California’s 10 State Conservancies: How They Protect Parks and Open Land

How California’s 10 state conservancies buy up open land and shield it from developers to preserve the natural environment for public use.

Image caption: Since 1972, the California Coastal Commission has ruled over the state’s shoreline.
California Coastal Commission: Where It Comes From, What It Does

What is the California Coastal Commission? How one of the state’s most powerful agency protects public access to the state’s scenic coast from Mexico to Oregon.

Image caption: How California reclamation districts turned millions of acres of wetlands into fertile agricultural land, starting in the earliest days of the Gold Rush.
Reclamation Districts: Turning ‘Swamps’ Into Farmland

California has used reclamation districts to turn millions of acres of unusable swamps into fertile agricultural land, starting in the earliest days of the Gold Rush. Here’s how it happened.

Image caption: Zoning laws tell you what you can and can't build on the property you own. How does government get away with that?
How Zoning Laws Shape California and Society

Zoning laws determine what can be built and where. These laws have shaped California, but are they really just tools for social engineering? The history of zoning is closely tied to racial segregation, as well as the state's shortage of …

Sierra Sun logo From Sierra Sun...

02/07/2025
Image for display with article titled Nevada County’s Hope Ridge House Sparks Lively Community Debate

It was standing room only at a community meeting hosted on Thursday, Feb. 6 by Nevada County to discuss a permanent supportive housing unit that the county may potentially buy in the Amstrong Tract of Truckee.

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02/05/2025
Image for display with article titled California Supreme Court Won’t Take Up Vail Resorts Labor Lawsuit

Vail Resorts' effort to have its labor lawsuit reviewed by the California Supreme Court has failed, appellants learned last week.

California Local Pin Marker From CalMatters...

02/04/2025
State Farm, which already has rate increase requests pending, asked state officials to approve more insurance price increases.

Tahoe Daily Tribune logo From Tahoe Daily Tribune...

01/31/2025
Image for display with article titled ‘HOMEWOOD IS PUBLIC’: Months-Long Wait Is Over With Final Decision

The Tahoe Regional Planning Agency reports hundreds attended their Governing Board meeting both online and in-person at the Stateline office on Wednesday, Jan. 22, where the agency approved Homewood Mountain Resort's Master Plan amendments and gondola project.

Sierra Sun logo From Sierra Sun...

01/29/2025
Image for display with article titled Town Council Selects Three Catalyst Projects for River Revitalization

On Tuesday, Jan. 28, the Truckee Town Council approved the R2SC Community Economic Vitality Action Team's recommendations for Catalyst Projects and authorized staff to negotiate partnerships with selected property owners.

California Local Pin Marker From Local News Matters...

01/29/2025
In the wake of the fire earlier this month at Vistra Corporation’s Moss Landing Power Plant and Energy Storage Facility, the California Public Utilities Commission has proposed new standards for battery energy storage facilities.

California Local Pin Marker From YubaNet...

01/28/2025
Plan on attending a public meeting on February 6 at 5:30PM about the Hope Ridge House project for homeless housing in Truckee. Read on for more information.

California Local Pin Marker From The Union...

01/27/2025
The Nevada County Board of Supervisors attended their annual three-day workshop in preparation for the coming year, and listed their own project priorities as part of the process. Read on to learn more.

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01/24/2025
Image for display with article titled Carnelian Woods Pile Burn Project Highlights Important Partnerships and Lessons

The forest skirting the Carnelian Woods Avenue neighborhood now stands much healthier than the forest that resided there before. A pile burning project there is nearing completion. It's the last leg of a larger fuels mitigation project that included forest thinning.

California Local Pin Marker From Los Angeles Times...

01/24/2025
Damages in the ongoing Southern California wildfires are topping $250 billion, on track for the costliest disaster in US history. Read on to learn more.

California Local Pin Marker From YubaNet...

01/24/2025
Read on to learn more about the services offered by the Nevada County Resource Conservation District to landowners and managers.

California Local Pin Marker From The Union...

01/24/2025
Read on for a report of the workshop held by the Nevada County Board of Supervisors as they prepare for and plan for the upcoming year.

California Local Pin Marker From The Union...

01/24/2025
The Grass Valley City Council is preparing to initiate an update, with public input, of the city's strategic plan, which guides staff and policy into the future. Read on to learn more.

California Local Pin Marker From CalMatters...

01/23/2025
With President Donald Trump bound for Los Angeles today and once again threatening to withhold wildfire aid to California unless the state abides by his water policies, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed two bills Thursday to provide $2.5 billion in state funding for wildfire response and preparedness.

California Local Pin Marker From CalMatters...

01/23/2025
The president’s order has no immediate effect on offshore wind leases already authorized, including two large areas off California’s coast. But it sends a current of uncertainty through the fledgling renewable energy industry, which relies on federal and state support.

Sierra Sun logo From Sierra Sun...

01/22/2025
Image for display with article titled Nevada County Addresses Misinformation About Hope Ridge House

Recent community discussions have surfaced inaccuracies regarding the property at 12255 Sierra Drive. Contrary to claims circulating on social media, this site is not a homeless shelter, transitional housing, substance use treatment center, warming shelter, or halfway house, according to Nevada County. 

California Local Pin Marker From CapPublicRadio...

01/22/2025
A look at how the rebuilding effort is going in the California town of Paradise, wiped out in a 2018 fire, and how it offers insights for the tough road ahead for residents in neighborhoods destroyed in the fires of Southern California.

California Local Pin Marker From CalMatters...

01/22/2025
At the Pasadena City College disaster resource center, the long, methodical work of putting lives back together is underway.

California Local Pin Marker From CalMatters...

01/22/2025
It would be impossible to overstate the complexity of water supply management in California.

California Local Pin Marker From CalMatters...

01/21/2025
Some schools destroyed years ago in the Sonoma and Butte fires are just now reopening. The long, expensive process of rebuilding in LA may eat up much of the money voters approved in November for school repairs statewide.