Bowing to threats that Nevada would pull out of a regional planning compact, California lawmakers agreed to increase development around Lake Tahoe last week. Environmentalists who are challenging the plan see the agreement as a capitulation.
Last week's agreement by the California Assembly to amend a regional plan for the area came after Nevada threatened to withdraw from the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency for the seventh time - a step that would result in more local land use control. "A revised plan will allow higher density and taller structures — the sort of glitzy development that California sought to curtail when it entered into a joint planning compact with Nevada four decades ago and created the Tahoe planning agency," writes Julie Cart.
"Critics of the plan have warned that it will lead to pell-mell development and a Reno-ization of the picturesque lake," she notes. "Public officials on both sides of the lake say that is an exaggeration."
"But everyone agrees that Lake Tahoe's foreshore will take on a new look: denser and taller development squeezed into town centers and fewer of the region's dowdy but affordable mom-and-pop '60-s era motels."
FULL STORY: In Lake Tahoe development struggle, California blinks, Nevada wins
1987 Tahoe Regional Plan Updated But Environmentalists Displeased
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.
Lake Tahoe Leans on Microtransit to Address Traffic
On-demand transit is helping make transportation around the resort area more convenient, but the region still lacks connectivity via a fixed-route bus system.
Federal Court Dismisses Huntington Beach Housing Lawsuit
A federal judge on November 13 dismissed a lawsuit the Orange County city filed against the state and the Southern California Association of Governments in March in an attempt to exempt itself from state housing laws.
Maui's Vacation Rental Debate Turns Ugly
Verbal attacks, misinformation campaigns and fistfights plague a high-stakes debate to convert thousands of vacation rentals into long-term housing.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
San Francisco Suspends Traffic Calming Amidst Record Deaths
Citing “a challenging fiscal landscape,” the city will cease the program on the heels of 42 traffic deaths, including 24 pedestrians.
Adaptive Reuse Will Create Housing in a Suburban Texas Strip Mall
A developer is reimagining a strip mall property as a mixed-use complex with housing and retail.
Study: Anti-Homelessness Laws Don’t Work
Research shows that punitive measures that criminalized unhoused people don’t help reduce homelessness.
In U.S., Urban Gondolas Face Uphill Battle
Cities in Latin America and Europe have embraced aerial transitways — AKA gondolas — as sustainable, convenient urban transport, especially in tricky geographies. American cities have yet to catch up.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Heyer Gruel & Associates PA
JM Goldson LLC
Custer County Colorado
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
Jefferson Parish Government
Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Claremont