The CTC board on May 12 is expected to complete the approval process to buy the Alta Mira building in South Lake.  Photos/Kathryn Reed

By Kathryn Reed

Three commercial properties in South Lake Tahoe are about to be owned by the state.

On May 9 the California Tahoe Conservancy board agreed to buy the South Y Lodge on Emerald Bay Road for $320,000 and the property on Highway 50 that houses the Smoke Shop and Tahoe Psychic for $325,000. On Monday there is a special board meeting to finalize the $2.5 million acquisition of the Alta Mira building.

The board started Friday’s meeting by touring the three locations.

CTC board members learn about the South Y Lodge property.

The goal for all three is to tear down the existing structures and improve the land, while also giving the public access.

The first two properties share the same drainage, meaning the runoff ends up in the same filtration area before reaching Upper Truckee River. Water from the Emerald Bay property flows across the highway, then through a system going north on Highway 50.

The South Y Lodge rents rooms by the month; there are currently three tenants. Relocation for them will be part of the deal. The nine tourist accommodation units will be banked, as will the one residential unit and 14,400 square feet of hard coverage.

It’s possible the structure would come down in September.

Immediately to the north is another parcel the CTC owns. And next to it is the Barton Ranch, whose future remains unknown. Next to that is the Raley’s center at the Y.

On the current vacant CTC property is where the city has talked about creating a greenway and bike trails that would be part of the Tahoe Valley Area Plan. This area is also part of the city’s Tahoe Valley erosion control project.

These two structures sit in a stream zone.

This same trail system and greenway would cross the highway and tie in with the existing dilapidated trail network behind McDonald’s. Those all would ideally be upgraded, but is not part of the transactions that took place this week.

The two buildings on the less than one-half acre parcel fronting Highway 50 are in a stream zone. Puddles and mud from the previous night’s storm sat in the back area, proving drainage is inadequate.

The psychic owners must have been clairvoyant when they signed a three-year lease with the current owner the day before the Conservancy began negotiations. This means either the tenants will stay or the state buys out the lease. Those particulars still need to be worked out. As for the Smoke Shop, the owner is on a month-to-month lease.

Demolition at this site could be staggered, with the Smoke Shop likely not to be razed until next summer.

CTC will work with the city on water quality improvements in the area.

These two pieces of property have the same owner. Negotiations only started in the last few months and have progressed rapidly. This is in contrast to the Alta Mira building acquisition, which has been in the works for more than five years.

The Alta Mira site needs attention to be deemed safe for the public.

That purchase price is much higher because it is nearly 1 acre on the lake. It comes with 150 feet of Highway 50 frontage and 190 feet of beach.

“The purpose is primarily to enhance the public lake access,” Bruce Eisner with the CTC told the board. Visual and physical improvements are part of the plans.

To begin with, the physical upgrade will be to remove the building to open the view corridor to the lake. The six commercial and two residential tenants will be given money to relocate.

The Conservancy will need to improve fencing for safety reasons. The current stairs may not have met any sort of code when they were put in. The concrete slabs are narrow, steep and uneven.

From the beach looking up it is obvious slope stabilization is required as roots of several trees are exposed.

“We don’t know the future uses of the property other than lake access,” Eisner said.

This stretch will tie into the Lakeview Commons project to the south that the Conservancy funded at a cost of $65 million.

The city will play a role in what the future of this land mass looks like.