TRPA Housing Code Amendments Approved
In a disheartening 14-1 vote, the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency’s (TRPA) Governing Board approved the Phase 2 Housing Amendments last week. Despite the disappointing outcome, community members showed up in full force, with 60 people giving verbal comments at the meeting (mostly opposed), thousands of pages of public comments submitted to the TRPA ahead of time (again, mostly opposed), and more than 400 submissions of MAP’s open letter on the amendments. Tahoe Truckee, you fought the good fight, and we are so thankful to be part of a community that cares.
These amendments provide market incentives intended to spur the construction of deed-restricted affordable, moderate, and achievable housing in Tahoe Town Centers, adjacent transition zones, and multi-family zones by providing more height, density, site coverage, and reduced parking requirements. MAP’s primary concerns are that these intense land uses have the capacity to negatively impact public safety, natural resources, and community character. This scale of development, especially outside of Town Centers, was not contemplated in the environmental analysis completed for the 2012 Regional Plan Update. Unfortunately, these amendments rely on outdated data from 2012, as if Tahoe has somehow existed in a time capsule.
Additionally, no alternatives to addressing the housing crisis were considered. The TRPA is painting these amendments as innovative solutions, but nothing is innovative about providing significantly more parcel density, height, and coverage. It’s basic economics that if you build something bigger, taller, with more units and less parking, you’ll be able to make more money off the product or unit type in this case.
MAP and other community members advocated for updated environmental analysis and truly innovative alternatives, but that is not what came to pass. MAP staff also met with roughly half of the Governing Board members before the hearing to discuss concerns and alternatives. We learned during these meetings that the open letter many of you submitted certainly got their attention. The outcome wasn’t as we’d hoped, but several positive modifications were made before adoption.
What changed, and what ultimately got approved? The Governing Board made four changes during the hearing. First, they removed Transition Zones from the amendments, punting consideration of Transition Zones to Phase 3. Second, they made a stronger commitment to auditing deed restrictions, promising to audit 50% of the projects rather than 10%. Third, there is a set number of units overall that these amendments apply to. The Governing Board has dedicated a higher amount of these units (75%) to affordable and moderate housing and a smaller amount to achievable housing (25%). Finally, instead of allowing for more site coverage in multi-family zones in exchange for implementing stormwater best management practices, the project must now be located in an area served by a publicly managed stormwater treatment facility in order to qualify for more site coverage.
So, where do we go from here? Local jurisdictions now have 60 days to “opt-out” of the amendments or choose to comply with them. Should Placer County or any other jurisdiction in the basin decide to opt-out, they will have 1 year to develop a market-based alternative. Contact your local representative and urge them to opt out of the amendments and develop innovative strategies to address housing needs. Also, get ready because there’s even more on the horizon. Development of the Phase 3 Housing Amendments is set to begin in January 2024. Stay tuned for more information about that process and how you can get involved.
What are the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency Housing Code Amendments?
The TRPA is proposing dramatic changes to its regulations to make it more attractive for developers to build workforce and affordable housing. This shocking proposal would have drastic impacts on the Tahoe Basin. Learn more about the Phase 2 Housing Code Amendments on the TRPA website and by reviewing our resources page.
Proposal Summary:
Amendments would apply to deed-restricted affordable, moderate, or achievable housing projects in Town Centers, Transition Zones, and Multi-family Zones near transit.
See the TRPA Housing map to view parcels in the basin
Provide additional height, density, and coverage
Establish a parking requirement of 0 in Town Centers and 0.75 in adjacent “Transition Zones” and multi-family zones
*TRPA Deed Restriction Categories
What does it mean for housing to be affordable, moderate, or achievable?
The Achievable Housing definition was adopted in June of 2023. To qualify, a household must meet one or more of the following criteria:
Have a household income not in excess of 120% AMI
One occupant works at least 30 hours/week within the Tahoe region
Is a retired person who has lived in a deed-restricted unit in the Tahoe Basin for more than seven years
MAP’s Concerns
Massing
In Town Centers, there would be no maximum coverage. This means that a building could cover an entire lot.
Community Character: With its small town, mountain vibes, and natural beauty, Tahoe is extraordinary and special. Massive buildings towering over trees degrade this sense of place.
Density
The amendments propose no maximum density for deed-restricted affordable, moderate, or achievable housing so developers can pack as many units into a building as possible. This concentrates more people in a smaller geographic area.
Wildfire Evacuation: More density equals more congestion, which is a huge concern in the event of an emergency. With the recent Lahaina tragedy and Caldor Fire, this community knows how serious fire risks are and how critical it is to fully understand how any proposed code amendments would exacerbate those risks. A full environmental review under the California Environmental Quality Act must be completed.
Parking
The proposal would establish a parking requirement of 0 spaces per unit in Town Centers and 0.75 spaces per unit in adjacent multi-family zones.
According to the TRPA, 4% of the population in the Basin does not have cars, but what about the other 96%? The fact is that most people do have vehicles, and transit in the Tahoe Basin is not good enough at this point. Removing parking requirements and punting the problem to local jurisdictions will create more problems than it solves.
Height
The proposal would increase allowable building heights in Town Centers from 56’ to 65’, raising concerns about:
Safety: Buildings this tall cast large shadows on adjacent roadways and structures. In the wintertime, this shading does not allow for snow to thaw, creating dangerous and icy driving conditions.
Viewshed Impacts: Views of the Lake and mountains are of utmost importance. Tall buildings impact the experience of locals and visitors alike.
Zoning for Town Centers | Transition Zones | Multi-Family Residential Zones
The TRPA Phase 2 Housing Code Amendments are proposing changes to zoning specifically for deed-restricted housing (affordable, moderate, achievable) to Town Centers, Transition Zones, and Multi-Family Residential Zones. Below is one snapshot illustrating Tahoe City. To see all the zoning areas in the basin, review the TRPA Housing map.
Environmental Review
The Initial Environmental Checklist (IEC) was released in October, a preliminary review of the potential environmental impacts. This is used to determine what level of further analysis may be required under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). In this case, the IEC essentially relies on the environmental analysis conducted in 2012 for the TRPA’s Regional Plan update and concludes that the amendments would not result in any significant impacts. It includes no analysis of the changed conditions or recognition that the community is not the same today as it was over a decade ago. The IEC punts further review down the road to individual projects.
The TRPA’s Phase 2 Housing Amendments were approved by the Governing Board on December 13, 2023. Individual counties now have 60 days to “opt-out” of the amendments, if they wish to identify other mechanisms to bring forth affordable, moderate and achievable housing. The process to develop the TRPA’s Phase 3 Amendments is set to begin in early 2024. This process will last roughly three years and will address housing, growth management, climate and more. To weigh in on those amendments, be sure to attend the Tahoe Living Working Group meetings.
Next Steps:
Email your county’s TRPA representative and tell them to “opt out” of the TRPA’s Housing Amendments.
Placer County Representative: Supervisory Cindy Gustafson at cindygustafson@placer.ca.gov
Carson City Representative: Shelly Aldean at shellyaldean@gmail.com
Douglas County Representative: Commissioner Wesley Rice at wrice@douglasnv.us
El Dorado County Representative: Supervisor Brooke Laine at BOSFive@edcgov.us
Washoe County Representative: Commissioner Alexis Hill at AHill@washoecounty.us
To participate in the TRPA’s Phase 3 Amendments process, attend the Tahoe Living Working Group meetings. Stay tuned for meeting information as it becomes available.