KINGS BEACH, CALIF-- The Placer County Department of Public Works today released a public draft environmental document for the Kings Beach Commercial Core Improvement Project. The release opens a 60-day public comment period.

The 1,800-page document is unusual in that it offers four alternatives for improving a 1.1-mile stretch of Highway 28 that runs through the center of the North Lake Tahoecommunity. Two of the alternatives offer variations of a three-lane concept, both using roundabouts; the third is a four-lane treatment of the roadway using stoplights. The fourth option is a no-build alternative. Project parking improvements and water quality improvements will also extend onto the adjacent streets.

To help build community consensus towards a preferred project alternative to recommend to the Board of Supervisors, Tahoe Regional Planning Agency, and Caltrans, Placer County is working with the Sierra Business Council in holding a series of public workshops. The workshops will be held:

• April 25, 2007 at the North Tahoe Conference Center, 8318 North Lake Boulevard, Kings Beach, CA  96143, from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m.
• May 1, 2007 at the North Tahoe Conference Center, 8318 North Lake Boulevard, Kings Beach, CA  96143, from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m.
• May 2, 2007 at the Kings Beach Elementary School, 8125 Steelhead Road, Kings Beach, CA  96143, from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m. This meeting will be conducted in Spanish.
• May 15, 2007 at the North Tahoe Conference Center, 8318 North Lake Boulevard, Kings Beach, CA  96143, from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m.
• May 29, 2007 at the North Tahoe Conference Center, 8318 North Lake Boulevard, Kings Beach, CA  96143, from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m.

"Placer County is looking forward to working with the community on this major project," said Ken Grehm, Director of Placer County's Public Works Department, the agency that is managing the work. "The Kings Beachcommunity has a unique opportunity to recommend the look and feel of this vital commercial core."

When the comment period ends, the Department of Public Works will incorporate public comment into a final environmental document, which will then be presented to the Placer County Board of Supervisors. Should the Board approve the project as presented by County staff, the document would then be sent to the other agencies involved in the process for their approval: the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency, the California Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration.

The environmental document will be available for public review at the following locations on the NorthShore:

Kings Beach Library, 301 Secline Drive, Kings Beach, CA  96143(530) 546-2021

• Tahoe City Library, 740 North Lake Boulevard, Tahoe City, CA  96145(530) 583-3382
• Public Works - Tahoe Design Division, 10825 Pioneer Trail, Suite 105, Truckee, CA  96161 (530) 581-6238
• Community Development Resource Agency - Engineering and Surveying Department, 565 West Lake Boulevard, Tahoe City, CA  96145(530) 581-6227
• North Tahoe Conference Center , 8318 North Lake Boulevard, Kings Beach, CA  96143(530) 546-7249
• North TahoeBusiness Association, 8645 North Lake Boulevard, Kings Beach, CA  96143(530) 546-9000
• North Tahoe Public Utility District, 875 National Avenue, Tahoe Vista, CA  96148(530) 546-4212

In addition, the entire document will be available on the Department of Public Works website shortly after it is released to the public. That link is:

http://www.placer.ca.gov/Works/Projects/KingsBeach.aspx