Tahoans asked to help shape policy throughout basin
By Kathryn Reed
What policies would you change to make Lake Tahoe function better?
Define what local contribution means, promote stewardship, overhaul infrastructure, improve transit, who is responsible for operation and maintenance costs, encouraging public-private partnerships, mandatory mediation before litigation, alignment within and between organizations, and balance environmental and economic goals.
Those were some of the overriding themes at the South Shore meetings on Wednesday. While all are not policy statements per se, when they reach Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s hands next week they will be written as such.
Renovating the old Mikasa building is an example of the private sector improving South Lake Tahoe. Photo/LTN
Steve Teshara, with Sustainable Community Advocates, is tasked with culling together a manageable document to present to lawmakers.
Four workshops are being conducted in the basin at the request of Feinstein, D-Calif. Public sentiment, unlike years past, will be a central them to this year’s environment summit. Feinstein is hosting the public event at Homewood Mountain Resort on Aug. 16 from 9-11:30am.
Two public vetting sessions were Aug. 3 in South Lake Tahoe, with two more today. The first is from 10am-noon at Granlibakken Resort in Tahoe City and then from 3-5pm at the North Tahoe Events Center in Kings Beach.
Five suggested topics were presented to the approximately 30 people (combined for the South Shore meetings), which included:
• Water clarity
• Infrastructure turnover
• Complete streets and transit
• Sustainable prosperity and stewardship
• Opportunities to expand regional match investment for the environmental improvement program.
Forest fuels was not broached until the Wednesday evening session when Lake Tahoe News brought up the issue. An unfunded mandate, like Lahontan Regional Water Quality Control Board’s total maximum daily load, was another issue LTN triggered discussion about.
While Doug Smith with Lahontan tried to convince the room the TMDL is not an unfunded mandate, it fell on deaf ears. Same with his contention the regional board does not answer to the state water board.
Consensus was met on the need for greater public-private partnerships as well as looking at the region as a whole and not just project-by-project. Some of the thinking is to better leverage dollars and resources, as well as to possibly have combined projects meet TRPA thresholds.
Several people brought up how agencies don’t have the same philosophy throughout the organization. While this is not something the politicos can change, it is something they can advocate for. After all, 85 percent of the land in the Lake Tahoe Basin is owned by public agencies.
It’s getting the left hand to know what the right hand is doing.
The same goes for having each agency be on the same page.
“We need consistency,” El Dorado County Supervisor Norma Santiago said.
With the basin being such a litigious environment, it was suggested mediation be required before a lawsuit could be filed. While some suggested the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency rewrite the Compact to make that happen, it was noted resolutions are on the books that could bring some changes without the need for an act of Congress.
Ty Polastri with the Lake Tahoe Bicycle Coalition said money is out there, but people are hesitant in the current “I’ll sue you if you do that” atmosphere to write a check.
All heads appeared to nod in agreement.
Gary Midkiff, who once worked for TRPA and now has a private consulting firm, said it costs too much money and takes too long to bring a project forward in Lake Tahoe.
While the public has been asked before to weigh-in on such matters with no obvious outcome, this is new to have a U.S. senator go to the residents of Lake Tahoe.
Teshara said he believes Tahoe is at a tipping point – on the edge to right the ship that has been listing for so long.
Anyone wanting to submit policy suggestions may do so until Aug. 8 by emailing them to steveteshara@gmail.com.
1.) Keep the forest service out of stream zones / rivers. 2.) Focus on the urban pipes going to the lake using low impact development techniques. Simple.. Lake saved…. Good condition roads + good maintenance + storm volume reduction = good water quality.
Years ago there was an organization known as the Tahoe Basin Association of Governments (TBAG). It was comprised of representatives from the various government agencies in the Basin to collectively address various issues that affect all jurisdictions.
Environmental issues, the need to address economic sustainability, including the need to diversify from the “casino/ski industry is all” thinking, affordable housing, etc., all require a thoughtful, regional approach.
TBAG was not a separate, additional agency. It was a coalition of the various agencies within the Basin and did not create the need for additional employees, buildings, and other expenses.
I believe it may be a good time for TBAG or something like it to be resurrected, so agencies can come together to address issues in a meaningful way, allowing agencies to work together for common goals, rather than singular agendas developed in a vacuum by the many jurisdictions within the area.
First of all, thanks to Kae for ‘stirring up’ these discussions as she mentions; she also mentions others that brought ideas to the fore, but, as it was so much on the top of my mind as we began, a certain local & vexing issue was also brought up under the chosen category “infrastructure turnover”.
Just in the last few days, we have had Mr. Crawford’s welcome exit to the RDA, and then on Tuesday evening the agended City Council Redevelopment Agency work session.
As the meeting reported on here was asked for by Senator Feinstein, but there may be Summit attendance by our two Governors’, it was also suggested that a policy question be formulated of Governor Brown:
If RDA’s are to be gone, what is to replace them as a mechanism for our own planned ongoing redevelopment efforts, which include current and those that may be planned for our future.
This is an important policy question. . .
We have a serious dilemma with a 4-year process of the Aspens affordable housing project – it will be jeopardized & disappear if the State’s intentions are met, and of course the TRPA directions call for ” walkable, livable community” directions for the future, so how are they to be handled from now on ?
Is Mr. Brown “shooting us in the foot” by creating a hole for those who absolutely need to rebuild – or, as another theme that came up put it: “we cannot ‘cut’ ourselves to prosperity”.
As to Passion4Tahoe’s comment about yet another group (TBAG or not), it is increasingly apparent that we don’t need another group, but we do need to lower the walls of the existing agency silos – the folks within are not just residents that are employed by this agency or that – they are employed citizens that can bring to bear change on community levels – if enhanced “listening skills” are in place. . .they are, after all, paid with public money.
To the commenter above –the major contribution to the total maximum daily load in Lake Tahoe is overwhelmingly the roads and urban areas. The fact that so much of the land in the Lake Tahoe Basin is under the management of the Forest Service and other public agencies is protecting the watershed surrounding the Lake.
Even Forest Service roads have a miniscule contribution and we are working to eliminate that small amount by installing best management practices, with funding support from the Southern Nevada Public Land Management Act.
The Forest Service follows extensive steps to protect water quality on all its fuels reduction projects and for fuels and forest health thinning in steam environment zones (SEZs), we follow extra precautions. Our SEZs are overgrown, due to fire suppression among other reasons. Careful thinning can help reduce the risk of rapid wildfire through the SEZ (which happened in Angora). It also helps proper stream vegetation and its associated habitat reestablish.
Furthermore, though projects such as Blackwood Creek and Upper Truckee River restoration, we are actively working to eliminate some significant sources of sediment to Lake Tahoe, and reverse damage from past activities, such as grazing, mining and logging.
If what you say is true then why muck up streamzones in the first place… I disagree with your opinion …. Do you have water quality data to back that claim? Where? Somehow you call grading 100 acres with no bmps a water quality project, yet meanwhile I need to install filter fence, bmps and establish 100 cover of all exposed soil on my measly residential house being constructed to get back a deposit. Maybe u should go look at your projects before stating that claim. Sierra colina will have 100x less impact than your supposed restoration projects. Does your bmp manual even have BMPs? We have a issue with varying standards here..
Yes, we do have data, and it’s all available on our public website at http://www.fs.usda.gov/ltbmu. Go to the link on the left for publications, and all our monitoring reports and BMP evaluations are there.
To much disturbance in streamzones. Takes to long to recover.. Wasn’t impressed with the report. Stop disrupting the streams. Need water quality data to support these claims that projects are a success.