LAKE TAHOE (KOLO) – The League to Save Lake Tahoe has filed a lawsuit to stop a development project at Palisades Tahoe.
The suit would challenge Placer County’s approval of the project, which the group says would worsen traffic conditions, increase air pollution, erode roadways, and degrade water quality in the Lake Tahoe Basin.
“As a solutions-based organization, litigation is an option of last resort. To protect Lake Tahoe, we were left with no choice in this case,” said Dr. Darcie Goodman Collins, Chief Executive Officer of the League to Save Lake Tahoe. “We have met repeatedly with development representatives and County officials to urge them to consider alternatives that would mitigate the environmental impacts of this project. But they were not interested. We are not opposed to the modernization and expansion of Palisades Tahoe, but we must take a stand to Keep Tahoe Blue.”
The project calls for nearly 300,000 square feet of commercial space, nearly 1,500 bedrooms in up to 850 units, and more than 2,000 additional parking spaces.
The League joins conservation group Sierra Watch in the lawsuit. They say the increased traffic that comes with the development would run counter to federally mandated goals to reduce car dependency in the Lake Tahoe Basin.
The League is instead proposing a smaller project with fewer impacts, or a phased construction plan with checkpoints to allow for adjustments that ensure a minimal impact to Lake Tahoe. Those requests were rejected by Denver-based private equity firm Alterra, who back the proposed development.
“To make it to work on time, I have to leave an hour early to get from Homewood, crawl through traffic by Palisades on Highway 89, and into Truckee. And on the commute home, the delay can be two hours or more,” said Tara Larson, healthcare worker and full-time resident of Tahoe’s West Shore. “The traffic is already bad and getting worse. If Palisades is allowed to develop and add even more cars on that road it won’t just prevent locals from getting back and forth from Truckee for daily needs, it’ll put ambulances and first responders in gridlock too.”
“We have worked for more than a decade to find a compromise here, but Alterra was unwilling to embrace project alternatives that would achieve their goals without impacting Tahoe,” said the League’s Goodman Collins. “We are committed to an open dialogue with Alterra and County officials to design a project that will provide workforce housing and uplift the Tahoe community without jeopardizing the precious natural resources that are treasured by all who live, work and visit here.”
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