Kings Beach pier replacement moving forward

A new pier at Kings Beach would be designed to be used during high and low water years. Photo/Kathryn Reed

By Kathryn Reed

KINGS BEACH — One person doesn’t want a dog use area, another longs for the days of his youth when there was better fish habitat and the beach went up to the road.

Those were the only two public comments during the June 27 Tahoe Regional Planning Agency meeting regarding the Kings Beach General Plan amendment and pier relocation presentation. The bi-state agency later this fall will vote on the pier, while State Parks has oversite on the General Plan.

The pier rebuild is expected to be the first project after the General Plan is approved. The environmental documents are being studied simultaneously. The California Tahoe Conservancy has a role in all of this as well because of land ownership.

The pier falls under TRPA’s recreation threshold as well as scenic and fish resources.

“The focus is access to the water and off water to the town center,” Tiffany Good, TRPA planner, told the board on Wednesday.

Even though the regulatory agency is also going through the shorezone plan now, staff assured the board the Kings Beach plan has been designed to fit today’s standards and the preferred action plan for the new shorezone document.

Three locations were studied for where to put the pier, with the east end being the preferred. In total it will be 488-feet long. Of that, 213 feet will be fixed, with an 80-foot-transition, and then 215 feet of floating pier. Some of it overlaps, which is why the numbers don’t add up.

Most of it will be 12-feet-wide, with 36 feet being the widest.

Rails will be put on the fixed portion. The pier will be single pilings.

During high water 18 boats could be tied up to the floating section. At no time will there be overnight mooring.

Overall, State Parks wants to make this hub of Kings Beach more user friendly. Parking will be changed to flow better. According to State Parks, 20 percent of the park is dedicated to parking. That will be reduced by 11 percent. Drop-off areas within the parking area will be added.

The motorized boat ramp will be removed, the basketball court will be relocated, a non-motorized storage area will be added, more picnic facilities are coming.

June 29 is the last day to comment on the pier and General Plan environmental documents. State Parks Commission is expected to vote on the General Plan amendment in October, with TRPA taking action later in the fall.