Urbanizing Lake Tahoe

"Lake Tahoe regulators have agreed to expand parts of urbanized areas where denser development is allowed in an effort to ease an affordable housing shortage. The action taken Wednesday by the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency's governing board is deemed critical if affordable housing projects are to be feasible amid skyrocketing land values around the lake . . . An initial plan was attacked by environmental critics, who feared it would allow urban development to encroach on protected forests and ultimately harm Lake Tahoe. Tahoe is losing its famed clarity at an average rate of more than a foot per year due to algae growth associated with development and other human-related causes."