Heavenly makes pitch for summer expansion
The four-line zipline being built near Tamarack Lodge will open in summer 2015. Photo Copyright 2014 Carolyn E. Wright
By Kathryn Reed
STATELINE – Snow isn’t the only thing Heavenly wants to be known for. The South Shore resort is making substantial efforts to be a playground in the summer, too.
The Tahoe Regional Planning Agency Governing Board on Sept. 24 got a taste for what Heavenly Mountain Resort wants to become.
“Guests want more than a sightseeing experience,” Heavenly COO Pete Sonntag said.
When the gondola opened in 2000 it was about getting skiers at the state line bed base onto the mountain without driving. A viewing deck near the top was about being a scenic lookout. Gradually the resort has added non-winter activities, with this summer being the inauguration of three ropes courses and the resurrection of a zipline. But the resort is just beginning.
Ziplines, canopy tours, sky cycles, alpine coaster, and a mountain bike park are part of the resort’s plans that are being studied in environmental documents.
The TRPA board heard a presentation Wednesday about the multi-million dollar on mountain transformation.
The mountain bike park will be on the Nevada side, outside the Lake Tahoe Basin – therefore outside TRPA’s jurisdiction. It will not be as difficult as Northstar’s park. It will have a connector route to the Tahoe Rim Trail and access via Van Sickle Bi-State Park.
A Governing Board member questioned how Heavenly would be able to manage capacity if people are in the park who have not paid. Andrew Strain, government affairs chief for the resort, said that is part of the monitoring that is being worked out.
A member of the public wondered if air quality issues had been addressed when it comes to taking people on guided mountain tours via vehicles. The roads to be used for this are ones that already exist.
Most of the development will be in three primary hubs that already are considered disturbed land because of the ski resort. The alpine coaster will be a modern day version of an alpine slide. It uses gravity to whisk people through the trees on an elevated course. The sky cycle has people pedaling 20 or 30 feet off the ground in the forest. It is proposed to go near the top of the gondola. A replica of a fire lookout will be constructed and used as a way to teach people about fire.
Education is a component Heavenly wants to weave into many of its summer activities.
“It’s a different market for us than winter. For some it’s the first time they’ve set foot on a national forest,” Strain told the board. “We are partnering with the Nature Conservancy. They will drive the education experience.”
Ryan Galles, principal of Sierra House Elementary, said he could see how this will benefit his students. The school, which has an emphasis on fitness, already partners with Heavenly in the winter. He hopes to have similar opportunities when snow isn’t on the ground.
“Learning happens inside and outside the classroom,” Galles said.
Strain said careful planning has been done to ensure the structures that are built don’t impede the experience of skiers and snowboarders. Resort officials realize they are still primarily a winter destination. Most of the structures will be in the ground year-round even if they aren’t used.
“We will not be operating the ropes courses or ziplines this winter,” Sally Gunter, resort spokeswoman, told Lake Tahoe News.
That could change in future winters.
The mountain at complete build-out could handle 17,000 skiers a day. Today Heavenly sees about 10,000 a day at peak periods. This compares to summer where about 108,000 visit the resort all season. Projections are for that number to grow to 160,000 with the added amenities.
Most of the 13 people who spoke at the meeting had favorable things to say and recommended the board approve the project. (A vote will come after the final EIR/EIS are released. Comments on the draft are being taken until Oct 27.)
Besides the construction dollars that could start to flow to the region next summer if the project is approved, it means an economic stimulus in other ways. What the current summer operations – one zipline and three ropes courses – have meant is 120 full-time jobs that didn’t previously exist.
“We were able to take our best winter employees and offer them year-round employment,” Sonntag said.
Besides transitioning from a gaming-dominant economy to recreation, another emphasis of the powers that be has been on providing more than seasonal employment.
If the project is approved in the spring, construction would begin in phases in summer 2015. Some features would open in summer 2016, others the following year.
It would be ice if Vail would pay city taxes to South Lake Tahoe
When the expansion of Heavenly was negotiated years ago, part of the agreement was that there would not be mountain bikes on the mountain. Have the current negotiators researched this?
Hikerchick, currently mountain bikes can access Heavenly through Van Sickle to the Tahoe Rim Trail. The expansion they are discussing (see article) is on the Nevada side and not officially in the Basin so they are not restricted.
Rick
Heavenly should pay to play in the city of SLT like everybody else does.
Thanks for the clarification Rick. I believe the agreement had to do with mountain bike activity involving tram rides to the top to downhill the mountain.
In other words, a commercial endeavor.
The game Vail played before, and I’m sure they’re playing now (and they’re far from the only developers to do it) is to ask for more than what you really want.
TRPA can then reject some of it. The TRPA then looks like they’re standing up to developers by not giving them a blank check, and Vail looks like they’re making some sacrifices.
Note their govt. affairs chief used to work for the TRPA, so he knows how to play the game.
Buck, Heavenly is not located in the city they are in the county and pay taxes accordingly.
Slapshot, the gondola is in the city and flies over SLT.
Every dollar that is state sales tax taxable in the city of SLT, city of SLT gets .5 cents. So the question might be, how much $s does the city get by cooperating in letting a concession operate public land for the public to enjoy. Don’t forget TOT tax. I will not be surprised to find some rooms TOT tax surpasses what some actually pay per night to enjoy the area.
Perry, .5 cents is .50 cents per $100.00 lift ticket. If you sell 5000 lift ticket’s a day for 100 days that’s $250,000.00. Its better than nothing.
Perry R Obray, Please check to see if TOT is paid by timeshare holders who don’t own their share in the Heavenly Village but use their ownership elsewhere to pay for the basic charges.
City Code 28A-13 Tax imposed – Payment of tax by transient. and 28A-14 Exemptions from applicability of tax. do not exempt them but if you own a Marriott timeshare anywhere else and transfer your time to Timberlodge or Grand Residence you don’t pay TOT.
That should change as they have no ownership in that parcel number so they are therefore a transient. It’s like paying a hotel bill with credit from somewhere else. Still no ownership.
Think how much TOT would be collected that isn’t today.
Perry, Vail does not pay any TOT and they only pay sales tax on non lift ticket items. Unforunately this was given away when the gondola rights were negociated, though i would love to see this contract(as if anyone but a lawyer could understand what it means)!
Agreed Buck but the city forgoes those potential funds by agreement. Also heavenly generates millions in Transient Occupany Taxes and sales that goes into the city general fund.
Slapshot, after looking at TOT numbers I haven’t found anywhere that shows Vail has paid any TOT taxes.
You could charge the timeshare folks a parcel tax like the gov. does for other things. Every owner has a parcel #.
Slap, 40% of tot goes to pay redevelopment debt not the general fund. Debt that was incurred for the purchased of the gondola site for example. No primary return for that purchase.
Reloman Heavenly generates visitors every year with the marketing dollars they spend which intern generates miliions in sales and TOT which goes to the city general fund.
TOT. Transient Occupancy Tax.
Vail owns no lodging properties here on the South Shore, hence no collection of TOT.
And Lou Pierini, don’t we have the McCarthy’s (Stardust, Americana) to thank for keeping timeshare parcels from being taxed the same as other parcels?
Bigger picture I think there is an important nuance. In the winter Heavenly generates the visitor (or at least some portion) the visitor pays the tax, the lodging property is mandated by the city to collect the tax on behalf of the city and foreword it to the city.
Bigger your spot on. A $10.00 tax per year per parcel would generate $1,000,000.00 plus a year from timrshare people, 10.00 bucks a year, go figure. Follow the money. They can skip out on tot but not this, so they will fight it with all they have, and they did.
Slap. I’ll say it again 40% of the tot goes to pay off redevelopment debt. So they walk away from any debt from redevelopment that benefits them.
So how can the city begin collecting TOT from properties who are avoiding it??????
Isn’t there a sunset date in any agreement made or one where the agreement is up for renewal?
tahoeadvocate, It’s my understanding that there is a person working for the city whose sole job is to collect TOT.
I don’t know of this departments staffing or how they go about this. I can’t verify this so it could even be not true and maybe just a made up story. I’m just tellin’ ya what I heard. OLS
OLS, what I know is that if you own a share of a Marriott timeshare somewhere else in the country and you chose to stay at the Timberlodge, you do not pay TOT even though you are not an owner at that APN.
Somewhere a deal was made so at least the redevelopment timeshares didn’t have to collect TOT from non-owners at their property if they were owners somewhere else.
Any time this question has been asked of a city council member the question is ignored and not answered.