Developer sets record straight about Homewood
Publisher’s note: The Sacramento Bee article was reprinted in Lake Tahoe News on July 7, 2010.
Dear Publisher,
On July 4th, the Sac Bee published an opinion piece written by Mr. Tom Rosenberg entitled “Mega‐resort could harm Tahoe”. The viewpoint was unfortunately filled with factual error. Please note that on April 6, 2010, JMA Ventures [owner of Homewood Mountain Resort] met at length with Mr. Rosenberg at Homewood as Mr. Rosenberg had made it clear that he wanted to get his facts straight.
The article states that Tahoe’s West Shore consists of single-family homes and extends from about 15 miles south of Tahoe city to Rubicon Bay. The article fails to mention that the West Shore is also home to a number of commercial businesses, hotels, restaurants, marinas, two ski resorts [Granlibakken & Homewood Mountain Resort] and other resort properties, grocers, a museum, a post office, a community center, etc. all served from a major state highway. Also worth noting is that the majority of single family homes on the West Shore are second, vacation homes.
Mr. Rosenberg’s column references a 700-acre planned development at Chambers Landing on the West Shore in the 1960s by the Perini Corporation and attempts to draw a direct parallel between the Perini plan and the Homewood ski area master plan. A critical, key difference that Mr. Rosenberg neglected to note was that the Perini development was planned on raw, previously undeveloped land.
The Homewood plan is primarily a redevelopment of the two existing base areas, which are currently covered with asphalt parking and existing ski related facilities.
Mr. Rosenberg labels the Homewood ski lodge a “high rise”. The Homewood master plan includes a total of six mixed use buildings at the existing north base area and three residential buildings at the south base. Four of the six north base buildings are two stories in height while the other two, which include the lodge/hotel and day skier facility, are four stories tall. The two-story structures are located along the state highway whereas the four story buildings are set back over 250 feet from the highway. The south base buildings are all two and three story in height. The day lodge at the mid‐mountain is predominantly a single story structure.
The article incorrectly states that there will be 405 condos and transient accommodations. In fact, the Homewood master plan includes 241 residential units plus a 75-room hotel to be built in phases over time. In addition, the master plan provides for 13 workforce housing apartments. The article cites a “commercial center”, leading one to believe that some kind of mall or shopping center is planned. The proposed Homewood plan includes 15,000 square feet of retail space designed for three or four neighborhood oriented retail shops including a grocer, an ice cream parlor, and a hardware store.
The article goes on to state that the “developer proposes a clubhouse for condo owners and hotel guests and a 14,000 square foot restaurant on mountain” leading the reader to believe that there will be a private club plus a 14,000 square foot restaurant. In fact, the master plan proposal includes one public day-use lodge with public restroom facilities at a mid‐mountain location. Existing mid‐mountain shacks and structures will be replaced by the new public day lodge. The proposed facility also includes a public, community swimming pool for use during the summer months.
The article erroneously states that in the future, families will “ski down to an asphalt base, with a proposed lodge far above existing height limits, and 28 acres of condominiums”. The proposed master plan removes the existing base area asphalt parking lots and relocates the majority of parking underground. The existing asphalt parking areas will be replaced by a landscaped pedestrian village with a winter ice skating pond and overnight accommodations. The proposed north base project area consists of 16.4 acres of mixed uses including pedestrian walkways, landscaping, lodging, workforce housing, and the neighborhood retail shops. The south base proposal includes 6.6 acres of land restoration, residential, and the removal of all asphalt parking.
The article also states that the “project threatens water runoff from the Mount Ellis watershed”. The Homewood watershed consists of three streams, none of which intersect the proposed north base area or mid‐mountain. Only one of the three streams is located within the redevelopment area at the south base. This stream, known as “Homewood” or “Ellis” creek, will have its stream bank restored at the south base as a part of an ongoing land restoration project, which to‐date has included over 240,000 square feet of restoration since 2006. Beyond the restoration work completed to‐date, the proposed master plan includes an additional 250,000‐500,000 square feet of restoration work on mountain and at the base areas; a fact notably missing from the article. Also missing was mention of the $650K matching grant from the California State Department of Water Resources to Homewood in 2009 to study and implement land restoration methodology designed to help further minimize sediment runoff into the Lake Tahoe watershed.
Mr. Rosenberg claims that the proposed Homewood redevelopment “contradicts sound planning and accepted policy that mandates environmental protection”.
Tell that to the U.S. Green Building Council, a leader in the promotion of sustainable building and planning, who officially notified Homewood that the proposed master plan submittal is on course for a Gold Level certification in the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) for Neighborhood Development program; a program with emphasis on sound planning principles, environmental protection, and transit/pedestrian oriented master planning.
While it is fully expected and in fact healthy for there to be a divergence of viewpoint about the proposed Homewood master plan, it is highly unfortunate that some, such as Mr. Rosenberg and certain members of the Friends of the West Shore, are resorting to misinformation and distortion of fact to further their agenda.
David Tirman, executive vice president JMA Ventures
Please don’t “Ruin” West Shore, like South Shore,it’s still they way it was attended!
By “ruin” the west shore do you mean let it continue to lose businesses and families? Do you consider Homewood ruining the West Shore now? Every business has to upgrade and when a resort as old as Homewood doesn’t keep up with demand for services, up grade their facilities and diversify with the seasons, what are they to do? The new owners have been showing a true effort over the years to do it right and there are many folks on the West Shore and elsewhere who are welcoming this potential change to our community as a long term opportunity and a benefit to our life here. Yes there will be more people around at times. Maybe they will rent all those overbuilt, energy poor, house museums that were built over the last 10 years. Where was the outcry as that happened? Or is that kind of development OK. I’m confused.
Before I say anything, I will say this; I am for RESPONSIBLE redevelopment and modernization of exisiting facilites in any region. I am not and will NEVER be in favor of irresponsible development and overbuilding like the developments that have taken over areas like the mountain towns of Colorado.
It is amazing how people who don’t live locally year round in any region can have such strong opinions and slanted perceptions of what an area needs and doesn’t need. It makes me wonder where people who are against the HMR redevelopment project have been getting their facts and figures. and who exactly is Tom Rosenberg and what gives him the credentials to be given the opportunity to write such biased and less than factual personal opinions that are being written as whole truths? His article is so slanted, off base and misreprentative of so many facts and figures, it is almost laughable. Shame on you Sacramento Bee for publishing such trash.
I have watched several projects in Tahoe and Truckee go up that are not nearly as well thought out as the proposed redevelopment of Homewood Mountain Resort. People need to understand that change is an inevitable part of life. Todays 21st century tourist demands of recreation and leisure have evolved over the last several decades. JMA’s well thought out and tasteful redevelopment is designed to meet those demands while preserving an old Tahoe feel and operating a sustainable business. The redevelopment of Homewood’s North and South lodge is an appropriate makeover for the antiquated and decrepit facilities which exist now. The modern vacationer demands more than what Homewood has to offer. That makes Homewood Mountain Resort a non-viable business. What eventually happens to businesses that aren’t viable? That is correct, they shut down. For those that are against the project, I would like to know what there proposals are for making Homewood a viable business? The last time I checked Homewood is on private land. Private land that could potentially turn into a hillside of condos, timeshares and single family homes without a ski resort. Is that what people who are against the project really want? I can’t imagine it is what they want and it is a viable alternative.
Any group that calls themselves “The friends of…” should always be looked at with a skeptical eye. Who voted them in as friends? How was it decided that their interests are those of the residents of Homewood in this example? If you look at the makeup of the group, how many of them live year year round? I don’t have the answer, but I feel comfortable in saying that it is very few, because if any of them actually lived here in the winter and shoulder seasons, the would know how unsustainable the business environment is on the West Shore. Just ask any business owner on the West Shore, they will tell you the facts. The bulk of the Friends of the West Shore are part timers who spend a few weeks a year in Tahoe and just because their family has been coming here for generations, they feel entitled to impress their opinions and to set policy for the entire West Shore by proclaiming themselves “Friends of the West Shore” Anyone who is part of a group like that is clearly hiding something. Usually their own self serving interests. I have met many of the Friends of the West Shore and listened attentively to their opinions. Never have I come across a group of closed like minded individuals that want Homewood to somehow exist in a bubble where time can stand still and stay the same while the rest of the world is in a constant state of change, evolving to meet the demands of modern society. Think about it, where in the world does time stand still? Please look past the skewed facts and rhetoric from the likes of people like Tom Rosenberg and the Friends of the West Shore and make your own conclusions based on facts, not heresay. Go and see what the proposed redevelopment will look like at the Homewood Mountain Resort Preview Center located next to the launch ramp at Obexer’s Boat Company and formulate your own opinions from there. If you think the project is bad for Homewood and the sustainability of Homewood as a whole after putting a few moments of your time to see the scope of the project for yourself, that is okay, because at least you have made an informed decision based on facts, not an ill informed decision based on half truths and flat out misinformation put out by Tom Rosenberg and the Friends of the West Shore. Thank you for your time.