Tahoe Truckee Region Local News: Land Use & Development


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

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 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 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: 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 …

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05/14/2025
Image for display with article titled Snow Removal Updates and Planning Division Updates: El Dorado Board of Supervisors Meeting Updates

For one of their two annual visits to South Lake Tahoe, the board of supervisors for El Dorado County met to receive updates from the Department of Transportation and the Planning and Building Division on their fiscal years—an important topic given the county's major budget cuts.

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05/14/2025
California lawmakers are considering a bill that would pause updates to state housing standards. Is the building code to blame for California’s housing crisis?

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05/13/2025
Image for display with article titled Fee Increase Approved, Impacting New Development in Northstar Community Services District

The Placer County Board of Supervisors approved a resolution increasing a certain fee on new development in the Northstar Community Services District at a meeting on Tuesday, May 13.

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05/12/2025
Image for display with article titled Sierra Community House Chats Services in TTCF’s Latest Lunch and Learn

The Tahoe Truckee Community Foundation (TTCF) hosted their latest Lunch and Learn on affordable housing on Friday, giving Sierra Community House's housing coordinator a platform to speak about the services they offer and their importance to the North Tahoe and Truckee community.

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05/10/2025
Image for display with article titled Prosser Firewise to Host Wildfire Education Day for Local Homeowners

With wildfire season fast approaching, Prosser Firewise is inviting residents of Prosser Lakeview and Prosser Woods Estates to attend a neighborhood Firewise Education Day on Saturday, May 31, 2025, from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at 11526 Ida Way in Truckee.

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05/09/2025
Image for display with article titled Upper Bijou Park Creek Watershed Restoration Project Construction Set to Begin May 12

The Upper Bijou Park Creek Watershed Restoration Project is a watershed-scale project that seeks to address water quality and flooding issues through a phased approach. It aims to treat urban runoff from roadways, commercial and residential areas within an approximately 850-acre watershed that discharges to Lake Tahoe via the Ski Run Marina.

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05/09/2025
A conversation with State Fire Marshal Daniel Berlant about the new fire hazard maps and how local communities are preparing for widfires.

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05/08/2025
Image for display with article titled Wild River Waldorf Unites Entire School on 40-Acre Forest Campus in Truckee

After years of navigating separate campuses, shifting pandemic protocols, and a grueling permitting process, Wild River Waldorf School is finally bringing its entire student body together on one 40-acre forest property just outside Truckee.

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05/08/2025
Image for display with article titled Hazardous Fuels Reduction Treatments Begin Near Meyers

The USDA Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit is scheduled to begin hazardous fuels reduction mastication treatments in Meyers near the Pioneer Trail and U.S. Highway 50 intersection the week of May 12, 2025. These operations will target ground vegetation and brush, primarily manzanita and will not target any trees.

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05/08/2025
Earthquakes, wildfires and floods all could cause problems for California prisons. A new audit says they aren’t ready to quickly evacuate prisoners.

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05/07/2025
Image for display with article titled VHR Permits, Strategic Plan Adoption, and Pioneer Trail Pedestrian Project: South Lake Tahoe Council Updates

On Tuesday, the South Lake Tahoe city council held another lengthy discussion on VHR permits and other items on the agenda. During the seven-hour meeting, council formally adopted its strategic plan, approved a parking lot rental agreement, and approved a contract for the Pioneer Trail pedestrian project.

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05/06/2025
Image for display with article titled North Tahoe PUD Awarded $1.25 Million for 2025 Kings Beach Watermain Replacement Project

This summer, the North Tahoe Public Utility District will replace and upgrade more than a half mile (2,700 feet) of watermain pipeline and install five new fire hydrants in the Kings Beach grid neighborhood on Trout and Brook Avenues.

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05/06/2025
Image for display with article titled Scoping Meeting for Barton Hospital Will Be Held May 14

The Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA) Advisory Planning Commission will be holding a scoping meeting on May 14 for the Barton Hospital project, which recently had its environmental review level raised to an environmental impact statement.

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05/05/2025
Image for display with article titled Granite View Condominium Revised Environmental Report Available for Public Review

A revised notice of preparation for an environmental impact report for the proposed Granite View Condominium project is now available for public review and comment through May 22. A public EIR scoping meeting is scheduled for May 8 in Tahoe City to receive public input.

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05/03/2025
Image for display with article titled Get Defensive During Wildfire Preparedness Week

Lake Tahoe fire and forestry agencies are inviting the community to Get Defensive during Lake Tahoe Wildfire Preparedness Week from May 5 through 10. The Tahoe Fire and Fuels Team (TFFT) is a partnership of local, regional, state, and federal organizations helping host a week of events around the lake to kick off a summer of wildfire preparedness.

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05/02/2025
Image for display with article titled Skate Park Renovation Project at Bijou Community Park to Begin May 6

The City of South Lake Tahoe announced that construction on the much-anticipated skate park renovation project at Bijou Community Park will begin on Tuesday, May 6, 2025.

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05/02/2025
Image for display with article titled Tahoe Donner Association Signs Landmark Wildfire Insurance Policy Tied to Forest Management

In a groundbreaking move that could reshape wildfire insurance nationwide, the Tahoe Donner Association has secured a first-of-its-kind policy that links premium pricing directly to decades of active forest management.

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05/02/2025
Image for display with article titled Long Waitlists, Low Turnover, and High Demand: Lake Tahoe’s Affordable Housing

As prices for housing continue to climb, with non-equivalent wage increases, finding affordable housing is becoming increasingly difficult, even for those earning above 80% of the area median income. What does "affordable housing" actually refer to? Here in the basin, who is it meant to serve? And is there enough of it to help those who need it?

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05/01/2025
Image for display with article titled Forest Service Announces Opening Dates for Lake Tahoe Recreation Sites

Spring is a time of transition in the mountains. Snow is melting and the USDA Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit is preparing to open national forest recreation sites in the Lake Tahoe Basin for the summer season.