TRPA Shoreline Plan Adoption & Long Awaited Changes to Development Rights

October TRPA meetings brought us the adoption of two major initiatives: The Shoreline Plan for Lake Tahoe and changes to development rights.

The Shoreline Plan

Many parties came together to develop the Shoreline Plan with the intention of protecting and preserving the environment, scenery and recreation experiences at Lake Tahoe. The plan does so by limiting the size of new shoreline structures and by implementing and enforcing new and existing policies related to boating.

The masterminds included TRPA, Lake Tahoe Marina Association, Tahoe Lakefront Owners’ Association, League to Save Lake Tahoe, Lahontan Regional Water Quality Control Board, Nevada Division of State Lands, and California State Lands Commission.

New construction of piers, buoys, and public boat ramps will be affected by the Shoreline Plan to ensure the scenery of Lake Tahoe remains as unobstructed as is possible. It also provides a framework for marina’s to be able to upgrade their facilities with the incorporation of environmental mediation into their projects.

Boating policies will include further enforcement against illegal buoys, increased patrolling and enforcement of the 600 ft No Wake Zone, and provisions that protect against noise impacts from boating.

Development Rights

There have been some long awaited updates to the TRPA’s development rights system that have been adopted that I find particularly exciting. Development rights are the land-use rights required for building residential units, tourist accommodation units, and commercial floor spaces.  The changes adopted allow conversions between the different types of development rights. Zoning still applies however if a residential unit is in an area that allows different types of zoning than it should be a lot more streamlined to be able to change the use from residential to commercial, for example.

Other changes affect what TRPA is referring to as “residential bonus units”, aka In-Law apartments. Formally a second unit with a full kitchen was not allowed under single-family zoning and often buyers and sellers had to jump through hoops when a property with a second unit was transferred. Now the TRPA has made them legal if they are used for “affordable, moderate, and achievable housing”. The goal is to ease the housing crisis for full-time residents in the Tahoe area. Their definition of who these units can be rented to covers low-income to what they refer to as “the missing middle”. They define the latter as those who make above the median income but can not afford the median home-price. This hopefully will open up more housing units for this income range of residents by creating more inventory of rentable units, units that cannot be used at short-term rentals.

All of these changes are positive and I hope we will see some positive results with all of them!

Full TRPA Article on Development Rights Changes and Shoreline Plan