By Kathryn Reed

The League to Save Lake Tahoe has agreed not to appeal the January federal court decision that was in favor of the city of South Lake Tahoe in regards to the lawsuit the League had filed to stop implementation of the city’s General Plan.

Carl Young told Lake Tahoe News that through collaboration, cooperation and negotiations with the city that objectives the conservation groups seeks will be obtained.

“It’s the first time I understand that we have ever successfully defeated the League to Save Lake Tahoe in a lawsuit,” City Attorney Patrick Enright told Lake Tahoe News. “We are going to fight back and we are not just going to roll over. We will defend the city.”

The city is so ecstatic that Mayor Claire Fortier wrote an entire column about how wonderful this is.

“What ties up the rebuilding is the opinion of those who support the League’s 3-decade-old myth that Tahoe is on the verge of becoming overbuilt. It’s the League’s fear-mongering and knowingly false hyperbole that helps the League raise money for costly lawsuits that ultimately destroy projects offering extensive environmental good,” Fortier wrote. “Litigation at Lake Tahoe has become a costly, extremist and antagonistic way of blocking the improvements that would actually stall and reverse lake clarity degradation. Even the most environmentally sound and economically feasible ideas or plans are challenged, sued and ultimately delayed for years, making the costs for such projects prohibitive and the benefits unobtainable.”

In the settlement agreement that was announced Feb. 13, both sides will pay their own legal costs. It was handled in-house by the city, with Assistant City Attorney Nira Feeley being the lead litigator, so no external costs were incurred by South Lake Tahoe. The city’s attorneys office put in about 120 hours on this case.