Supervisors Deny Proposed North Tahoe Interim Land Use Ordinance

Published on January 24, 2014

At a well-attended public meeting in Kings Beach on Tuesday, the Placer County Board of Supervisors voted 5-0 to deny a staff recommendation to adopt an interim ordinance temporarily prohibiting certain land uses in North Lake Tahoe. The proposed ordinance would have prohibited specific land uses in the North Stateline area and the town center areas of Tahoe City and Kings Beach.

Discussion focused on a anticipated sale of the Crown Motel in Kings Beach to the Tahoe Expeditionary Academy, which has plans to renovate the property and expand the number of students who attend the private school. The Academy currently is housed in another area of Kings Beach.

After taking public testimony for several hours, the Board voted not to adopt the proposed ordinance. Instead, staff was asked to return with a status report on the Tahoe Basin Community Plan Update efforts, which include four specific areas of Placer County’s portion on Lake Tahoe:

• Greater Tahoe City Plan Area, which includes the Tahoe City town center;
• North Tahoe East Plan Area. Which includes the Kings Beach town center and the North Stateline areas;
• North Tahoe West Plan Area; and
• West Shore Plan Area.

Supervisor Jennifer Montgomery, whose 5th District includes all of Eastern Placer County, including 40 percent of the Lake Tahoe Basin, thanked the large turnout of engaged community members and expressed her desire to unite the community and move forward.

“We really need to move forward from here and focus on ways to bring the community back together,” said Montgomery. “We all love Kings Beach. We all wouldn’t be here if we didn’t. We need to expand our economic footprint in Eastern Placer County beyond traditional seasonal tourist based uses. The proposed expansion of the Academy project will help in this effort.”