The Sacramento Valley Section of the American Planning Association awarded the Tahoe Basin Area Plan its Award of Excellence in Comprehensive Planning: Small Jurisdiction. 

The American Planning Association California Awards Program encourages quality in planning and increases public awareness of the planning profession by recognizing outstanding achievement. The Tahoe Basin Area Plan was nominated for the award by Ascent Environmental, the consulting firm that prepared the environmental impact statement for the plan. The plan was developed in cooperation with the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency.

“This area plan represents a broad consensus for restoring the environment and revitalizing communities on Lake Tahoe’s North Shore,” said Lucia Maloney, senior planner at the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency. “We are extremely proud of the work by Placer County and dozens of community stakeholders that went into creating this plan, and are excited to see it implemented.”

“This plan was recognized because it provides a roadmap for community revitalization and environmental restoration. It includes innovative strategies to reduce traffic and restore sensitive lands that were based on extensive community input and rigorous technical analyses.” Adam Lewandowski, Senior Project Manager at Ascent Environmental.

The plan, which took five years to complete and included more than 100 public meetings, replaces all other planning documents for the county’s portion of North Lake Tahoe. It seeks to improve the fragile ecosystem of Lake Tahoe by encouraging environmentally-beneficial redevelopment in town centers, away from outlying and environmentally-sensitive areas. The plan was unanimously approved by both the county board of supervisors last December and the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency in January.   

“On top of the other accolades the plan has received, this award really speaks to the importance of community involvement,” said David Boesch, Placer County executive officer. “It’s a strong plan because it represents the future for North Lake Tahoe that our community wants to see.”

This award follows recognition last month of Crystal Jacobsen, a principal planner for Placer County, who was given the public servant of the year award at the 63rd North Lake Tahoe Chamber Awards for her work on the plan. 

The final environmental impact report for the Tahoe Basin Area Plan and Tahoe City Lodge Project also was recently recognized with an outstanding environmental document award by the Association of Environmental Professionals.