Hang-up over South Tahoe redevelopment being ironed out

By Kathryn Reed

It looks like a lawsuit regarding redevelopment in South Lake Tahoe has been averted.

A flurry of meetings, conversations and correspondence have been going on and exchanged this week between South Lake Tahoe and El Dorado County officials.

The issue is regarding the expansive redevelopment area the City Council approved earlier this year. The county has taken issue with the city’s definition of blight and the large swath of land involved.

Lake Tahoe Airport is a major issue for city and county officials. Photo/Kathryn Reed

The county still has 10 days to make a final decision about suing. The next regular board meeting is Aug. 10, though a special meeting could be called before the Aug. 16 filing deadline.

“I think we’ll come to common ground,” El Dorado County Supervisor Norma Santiago told Lake Tahoe News. “There are some issues we may have to agree to disagree on.”

A sticking point has been the inclusion of Lake Tahoe Airport in the redevelopment area. All of the details have not been worked out or voted on by the City Council, but it looks like the area may be condensed so at least that entire parcel is not in the redevelopment area.

Mayor Kathay Lovell said, “There is dialog when before there wasn’t any.” She also described the negotiations as “fragile”.

Staff and electeds from the city and county met at the airport on Monday. Both bodies discussed redevelopment in closed session at their respective meetings Tuesday. The county then sent a letter, which has not been shared with the media, to the city on Tuesday.

“We are very encouraged by their communication,” Lovell said of the letter. “We’ll be meeting again.”

The city and South Tahoe Public Utility District have resolved their differences about the redevelopment area and other issues that subsequently arose. Lovell and district board Chairman Dale Rise signed an agreement on Aug. 4.