After 25 years, the Tahoe Regional Plan, a land use plan for the Lake Tahoe region encompassing both Nevada and California prepared by the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency, has been updated and approved by a 12-1-1 vote, though not without controversy.
Adam Jensen explains the challenges of getting an agency accountable to two states to agree to a land use plan for the environmentally sensitive Lake Tahoe, the largest alpine lake and second deepest in North America.
"Supporters have billed the Regional Plan Update (RPU) as a catalyst to improving Lake Tahoe's environment and its struggling economy, while critics contend the plan will harm the environment by loosening stringent rules surrounding land use at the lake."
The Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA) has a storied history. It was the first bi-state regional environmental planning agency in the country. Not only did two states have to agree to it, so did the U.S. Congress in 1969. It was the topic of a major Supreme Court ruling in 2002 on building moratoria and 'takings'.
"The RPU leaves many of the 1987 policies in place, while giving greater control to local jurisdictions by exempting some planning from direct TRPA review through an “Area Plan” process.
The RPU also hopes to encourage 'environmental redevelopment' by providing incentives to property owners to move development from sensitive or outlying areas into more populated areas designated as town centers."
Environmentalists unhappy and considering litigation.
"The Tahoe Area Sierra Club has been one of the most vocal opponents of the plan as proposed, calling the RPU a “greatly weakened new regional plan,” in a (Dec. 12) statement." They fear the new plan "will lead to detrimental increases in height, density and coverage around the lake."
It is not know if the update will "face a lengthy court challenge as many decisions have in the past." The inclusion of a statement by an Earthjustice attorney in the Sierra Club document may have been an indication of an upcoming legal battle.
Keeping the plan out of the courts may be a requirement to keeping Nevada in the compact. Nevada passed a bill requiring an update of the regional plan for it to remain a member but added a caveat about litigation.
FULL STORY: Passage of regional plan "leap forward" for Lake Tahoe
Department of Interior Plans to Open 1 Million Acres in California to Fracking
The Bakersfield Office of the Bureau of Land Management released an environmental study that is the basis for undoing a 2013 de facto moratorium on fracking on federal lands in California. The Supplemental EIS triggers a 45-day public comment period.
Judge Halts Sales of New Coal Mining Leases on Federal Lands
Once again, the president's efforts to undo his predecessor's environmental legacy were thwarted by a court ruling. In this case, the Interior Department's failure to conduct an environmental review of a Trump executive order ran afoul of NEPA.
EPA Rejects Southern California Plan to Reduce Fine Particulate Pollution
The South Coast Air Quality Management District is in the news again, this time for going too easy on the region's big polluters—just what staff had warned would happen before the board fired its well-respected executive director.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
The state-sanctioned urbicide of Austin
People don’t kill cities. Freeways do.
US to reduce Colorado River water deliveries to Mexico
A new Colorado Treaty amendment reduces Mexico’s Colorado River water allocation by 250,000 acre feet.
Mamdani overhauls NYC's Vision Zero plan with 100 new policy goals
The overhaul aims to reduce traffic deaths and make streets safer for pedestrians, cyclists and drivers through lower speed limits, new safety infrastructure and more.
Amtrak not solely to blame for New Jersey commuter rail's unreliability, report finds
A new study from the Garden State Initiative found that NJ Transit’s budget grew 20% across a 4 year period, but reliability declined significantly over the same period.
EPA erases limits on planet-warming pollution from power plants
Under Monday’s plan, power plants would still have some limits on how much mercury, arsenic and other contaminants they can emit.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
Eagle County Government
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
Nashville Planning Department
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello
Journal of the American Planning Association