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Opinion: League’s mission should involve using facts


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By Patrick Enright

The city of South Lake Tahoe understands the League to Save Lake Tahoe has filed suit against the city for adopting a General Plan update as required by state law. The League’s actions once again demonstrate their willingness to mislead the public and now the courts in a way that redirects the public’s very limited resources defending legal complaints rather than spending resources on improving the infrastructure that is in fact contributing to lake clarity degradation.

The League is well aware and fully informed that the City’s General Plan does not contain provisions to build six-story buildings over 100 acres, yet they have knowingly released several statements to the contrary and those misleading statements remain on their website. The League is fully informed that the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency has never required a municipality to submit their General Plan for formal approval, yet argues in their complaint to the contrary. In their lawsuit, the League included unsubstantiated statements that the city’s General Plan update will harm lake clarity without evidence to support such claims.

Patrick Enright

Patrick Enright

The League is fully aware and has heard directly from the South Lake Tahoe City Council of the city’s intent to modify its General Plan in the event there is a conflict with the TRPA’s updated Regional Plan, which is expected to be completed in December 2012. In the meantime, where the General Plan is inconsistent with the TRPA’s Regional Plan, the Regional Plan will prevail. The city could have simply removed sections where there was inconsistency, but that would have resulted in incomplete General Plan, which is not consistent with state law.

More important, the city’s General Plan is the public’s plan. It was developed over several years with input from many community members who spent countless hours pouring over neighborhood maps, visioning their future and deciding what their community should look like and how it could best meet environmental goals.

We need solutions. We need collaboration. We need to improve the built environment because it is destroying the natural environment. We need to improve Highway 50, local streets and infrastructure because that is where the majority of the solution lies. The city’s General Plan update provides the road map to implementing solutions, but it is just a plan, it is not an actual project even if one argues it meets the definition of a TRPA project. The General Plan update by itself does not approve a single project. Every project will still be required to follow the ordinary course for approval and obtain the required permits. Not a single project can be built without appropriate regional and local approvals.

While the League’s modus operandi is to file lawsuits, which gains them publicity and donations, their lawsuits do not help improve water quality or lake clarity. They would be more effective at preserving Lake Tahoe if they dedicated funds to do just that, improve, redevelop, remodel and restore the lake and there are plenty of opportunities for the League to do so. The League could put its resources to improving the roads, which have been estimated at a cost of several million dollars per mile to achieve the premium environmental thresholds. The total cost to restore the City’s roadways is estimated at $300 million (the city is accepting donations). The League could fund and dedicate several miles of roadway “on behalf of the League.” The League could contribute to erosion control projects to control and runoff, most projects cost many millions. One or two dedicated by the League would make a difference in lake clarity far more than one or two more lawsuits do. The city offered to meet with the League and its entire board of directors to resolve issues and discuss ideas to work together on these and other solutions, but the League declined. The mayor and mayor pro tem offered repeatedly to meet with the League’s representatives, but the League declined multiple offers to meet.

The TRPA Compact was written to provide local communities the opportunity to decide for themselves under their form of government what their community should look like. The Compact provides that, “Whenever possible without diminishing the effectiveness of the Regional Plan, the ordinances, rules, regulations and policies shall be confined to matters which are general and regional in application, leaving to the jurisdiction of the respective States, counties and cities the enactment of specific and local ordinances, and rules, regulations and policies which conform to the regional plan.” (Article VI). In its lawsuit before the federal courts, the League will need to prove how the city’s General Plan diminishes the effectiveness of the Regional Plan. The League will need to prove how the General Plan by itself harms the lake. The League will need to prove how TRPA’s Compact and regional approach is undermined by the city’s local approach to land use regulations.

We, who live here at the lake work very hard to protect water quality and lake clarity. We need to improve the built environment, fix Highway 50 and restore the natural environment now. We need partners, not combatants. We need a cohesive and clear vision, not murky accusations. We need solutions, not roadblocks. We ask the League to Save Lake Tahoe to help the community save the lake and save our community by working with us and other agencies rather than against us.

Patrick Enright is city attorney for South Lake Tahoe.

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Comments

Comments (14)
  1. 30yrlocal says - Posted: June 21, 2011

    Thank you for your very informed opinion piece. I have been “googling” the League the last few days and find their uniformed articles in papers from coast to coast, painting a picture that they are the only ones who are responsible for the clarity of the lake and the environment controls in place.

    I truly hope this article opens the doors to the League and bring them to the table to work out a partnership/team. Perhaps writing a letter to each board member (since they don’t live here) and informing them of your offer would be a different angle. They aren’t going to get this picture from their current director.

  2. Roni says - Posted: June 21, 2011

    Thank you for your well informed piece. As the City struggles with budget constraints, these lawsuits brought by the league do nothing to contribute to our quality of life. Your suggestions are spot on!!

  3. Jack says - Posted: June 21, 2011

    The League to Save Lake Tahoe is an important counterbalance to the development pressure up here, but I wish they would pick their battles rather than just opposing EVERYTHING they come across.

  4. dryclean says - Posted: June 21, 2011

    Well done Patrick. Would you not consider filing a counter-suit to recoup city legal expenses for staff and outside consultants? Seems this might be the on ly way to dissuade the League from these lawsuits.

  5. westshoreskier says - Posted: June 21, 2011

    The League makes their money by scaring people around the country. They’re not interested on real solutions, because that would hurt their paychecks.

  6. Comical Bear says - Posted: June 21, 2011

    The League’s Rochelle Nason has pretty much defined their Mission Statement: sue everybody that doesn’t agree with her, stall any projects that could potentially help our local economy then drive back to Berkeley where she lives and wait for the checks to keep coming in for their organization.

  7. Tahoehuskies says - Posted: June 21, 2011

    Here’s what the League’s Mission Statement is (copied off the keeptahoeblue website):

    The League to Save Lake Tahoe is dedicated to protecting, restoring, and advocating for the ecosystem health and scenic beauty of the Lake Tahoe Basin. The organization focuses on water quality and its clarity for the preservation of a pristine Lake for future generations.

    Here’s a link to actual legal complaint filed by the League. Read it for yourself before formulating opinions so readers can make a unbiased opinion based on the facts/statements presented in the League’s complaint. http://www.keeptahoeblue.org/download/document/298

  8. dumbfounded says - Posted: June 21, 2011

    Not to be too extreme, but I would like to see the tobacco industry’s mission statement. Something like: “bringing healthy products to Americans to increase their enjoyment of life”. Mission statements don’t mean a lot.

    I believe a closer version of the League’s name would be: The League to Save Lake Tahoe for a few rich people.

  9. the conservation robot says - Posted: June 21, 2011

    First comment calls out the League for spreading misinformation.
    And is then follows with their own disinformation, and more people follow suit.
    Calling people out for misinformation is a dangerous game, because you have to call out everyone.

  10. mike mulligan says - Posted: June 21, 2011

    What the League and the TRPA don’t seem to realize is that they are more than partially responsible for the blight and distressted economic conditions that we are experiancing here right now.
    I hope California follows Nevad’s lead and pulls out of the TRPA compact. Over regulaton provided by these organizations is actually contribution to the declining clairity of the lake because nothing gets done in this strangle-hold of red tape. And in the meantime, Edgewood is still using chemical fertilizers. Hmmm…

  11. clear water says - Posted: June 21, 2011

    The worst Enemy is Ourselves, lack of input to the right people.
    Save Tahoe or other’s looking out for the common people are trying to open your closed minds that one agency is responsible for all this town BLACK EYE’S. Nonsense,we let these retreads council members jump in bed with any flea carrying money donor.IT SHOWS, BIG TIME, WITH SO MANY AGENDAS.

    Get Real…Most the problems we have ,with more on the drawing boards are letting consultants feeding us full S–t data that looks good for a pay check and the people on the city council are so uneducated on so many, many, things besides painting fences at the hole,CLOSING PUPPY SHOPS,Over Blown Ski Run , The Shiny diamond MODEL City of THRASHED NEIGHBORHOODS BILL BOARD spend a dollar to save a dime fast deal approach.

    You want change, get out there hold some signs that says recall the council and Mean it.
    No One wants to sit down reason with bunch bought bananas with other things they need to get to besides a boring council meeting at a broken down Airport we call City hall.

  12. Bob says - Posted: June 21, 2011

    I hope the TRPA and League keep their antics up around the basin. It will be only a matter of time before they’re run out of town. Times have changed Rochelle.

  13. Parker says - Posted: June 21, 2011

    As someone else put it, The League is NOT interesting in real solutions!! It’s certainly fair enough to disagree with something the City has put forth!! But rather than trying to negotiate or work out a solution, The League just reflexively files a lawsuit! This means no solutions, no progress, but just delays and more business for attorneys!!

    One real good thing about The League, though! They are consistent!!