In the News

Your Chance Is Here to Help Plan Tahoe’s Future
date posted: December 22 2005

Lake Tahoe Report #99
Jan. 3, 2005
By John Cobourn and Heather Segale


Key environmental management agencies at Lake Tahoe have joined forces to embark on Pathway 2007, a coordinated process to update four of Tahoe’s important land-use plans. Between now and 2007, they are asking the public to help answer many important questions, such as:
• How much additional development will take place at Lake Tahoe by 2027? What kind of growth is on the horizon?
• What will be the state of lake clarity, forest health, water quality and recreation by that time?
• How will regional planning help reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfire in the Lake Tahoe area?
• How will Lake Tahoe agencies revise their long-range plans to create a vision for Tahoe’s future?

Specifically, plans that need updating include the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency’s 20-year Regional Plan, California’s and Nevada’s Water Quality Management Plans, and the Forest Service’s Land Management Plan. The goal is to have the plans updated by 2007. These agencies are sharing resources to align their environmental goals and develop consistent and complementary plans that will improve the health of the Lake Tahoe ecosystem.

A public participation process has been developed to ensure that interested citizens from inside and outside the Tahoe Basin will be included. Agency leaders want stakeholders to participate throughout the Pathway 2007 journey. They have engaged consultants from the Center for Collaborative Policy, a program of California State University Sacramento, to assist with the creation of a collaborative planning process. The goal is to ensure communication, dialogue, and shared problem-solving among the agency partners and the public every step of the way.

This month, the Public Participation Team is presenting Public Visioning Workshops at five locations. You are invited to attend any of these meetings to express your ideas. The Public Visioning Workshops will be held:
• 9:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m., Jan. 8, at The Chateau, 955 Fairway Blvd., Incline Village
• 6:30 – 9:30 p.m., Jan. 12, at Embassy Suites, 4130 Lake Tahoe Blvd., South Lake Tahoe
• 10 a.m. –¬ 1 p.m., Jan. 15, at Olympic Collection, 11301 Olympic Blvd., West Los Angeles
• 6:30 – 9:30 p.m., Jan. 24, UNLV, 4505 Maryland Parkway, Las Vegas
• 10 a.m. – 1 p.m., Jan. 29, Commonwealth Club, 595 Market St., 2nd Floor, San Francisco

If you cannot make it to one of the meetings, you can e-mail your ideas to amoniot@trpa.org by Jan. 30, or mail them to Pathway 2007 Vision, c/o TRPA, PO Box 5310, Stateline, NV 89449. Additional meetings in different locations will occur throughout the year.

The regional plans that are due to be updated by 2007 will affect most aspects of life in Lake Tahoe over the next 20 years. Visit the Pathway 2007 Web site at www.pathway2007.org to sign up or learn more about this groundbreaking community planning effort. Collaboration among agencies, nonprofits, the business community and citizens takes work. It will require commitment, participation and a willingness to develop and implement solutions. However, if the path is followed, our community will be well-served by plans that represent the collective visions of the public and the resource agencies. These plans will serve as our guides for environmental restoration efforts for Lake Tahoe for the next 20 years.