South Tahoe exchanges 50 TAUs for neighborhood park

By Kathryn Reed

South Lake Tahoe city councilmembers were more concerned about dogs than tourist accommodation units when they approved the transfer Tuesday of 50 units to Stateline.

The five had a lively discussion about whether a dog park should be part of a larger park on Bonanza Avenue where the former C&M Lodge sits. Little was said about Edgewood Companies using the 50 TAUs it has development rights to from that property for the planned Edgewood Lodge on its golf course about 6 miles away in Nevada.

Brandon Hill, project manager of Edgewood Lodge, listens June 7 to council deliberations. Photo/Kathryn Reed

Hotel rooms are a commodity because the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency has said so. This is the bi-state regulatory agency’s way of limiting the number of hotel rooms in the Lake Tahoe Basin.

The council approved the transfer 5-0.

The dog park was ultimately eliminated from the plans. But having it dog friendly is a must, according to the council.

Before Edgewood has access to the TAUs it must build the park (it has said it can do it before winter) or put up a bond that would ensure it is built. The city has a history of not securing such performance bonds – just look at the hole in the ground near Stateline that was supposed be a convention center, two hotels, retail and open space. Now it’s bankrupt. (And hearings just keep getting moved forward with no resolution, with a July date now on the calendar for the parties to come to a resolution.)

A consultant was brought in to help decipher the city’s best use of the TAUs. (Documents are available on the city’s website under the June 7 agenda.) Transferring the TAUs and having Edgewood get rid of the structures on the property and build a park was the best option, according to the report that cost nearly $16,000. (The city and Edgewood split that expense.)

The city will own the park, with an anticipated annual maintenance expense of $7,000.