Meyers residents rally to fight for their beliefs

By Jessie Marchesseau

MEYERS – Flyers stating: “There is a new plan for Meyers, and it’s not good” and “A multi-acre, multi-level resort with almost 500 parking spaces: Have you heard of the ‘Catalyst Project’?” helped bring out a throng of citizens Thursday night.

Concerned Meyers residents organized the Feb. 6 community meeting to discuss the implications of provisions in the new Meyers Area Plan. Area plans something that came about because of the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency’s year-old Regional Plan.

The meeting at Lake Valley Fire Department in Meyers was a full house. There was standing room only, with people sitting on tables around the perimeter of the room and a crowd where some of the latecomers got stuck near the door.

Maps detail development opportunities in Meyers and the basin. Photo/Jessie Marchesseau

Jennifer Quashnick, a Meyers resident and main presenter for the evening, said the idea for the meeting came about after the Catalyst Project was released about a month ago. People kept approaching her and asking questions about the project and the plan. It seemed residents really didn’t know what was going on, so she and a handful of others organized the meeting as a way let people know what changes could be coming to Meyers.

Quashnick is a consultant for area environmental groups and was involved with in the TRPA’s planning for the Regional Plan update.

“Frankly, I think people maybe got a little duped,” she said of how Meyers was treated in the RPU.

Quashnick discussed the RPU’s rezoning of Meyers into a high-density town center, something she and most of the listeners seemed to disagree with. However, the main focus of the Feb. 6 presentation was on how the building height and density changes in the new Meyers Area Plan will affect development. Maximum building heights rise from 26 to 45 feet in some areas and maximum density will increase from 10 to 40 units per acre in others.

The Catalyst Project, originally billed as one of the hot topics of the night, was barely mentioned.

El Dorado County Supervisor Norma Santiago piped in in defense of the new area plan calling it even more restrictive than the current plan. She also invited everyone to submit any edits or language they would like changed through the county website and encouraged residents to attend the next Meyers Community Advisory Committee (MCAC) meeting.

Quashnick said she was happy to hear Santiago put that invitation out there, as the MCAC has not been that open to public comment on the plan.

Several other members of the MCAC took the opportunity to tout how hard they had worked on the plan and what a great community Meyers is.

Kenny Curtzwiler held up a plastic bin crammed full of folders and documents as evidence of how hard it is to build a commercial property in Meyers.

Despite the efforts Quashnick made to keep the meeting on track, interjections spurred discussions and sometimes arguments among attendees. By the end, it almost became a Myers pep rally of sorts with people standing up just to tell everyone how much they love living in Meyers and how important it is to get involved in the planning process to ensure the preservation of their community.

Several attendees expressed interest in a follow-up workshop to go over the new area plan in greater detail. The public is invited to bring their input to the next MCAC meeting on Feb. 26.