Final Hearing on Squaw Proposal, Nov. 15th!
It’s time to stand up for Tahoe and Keep Squaw True!
The Placer County Board of Supervisors will hold their public hearing on proposed development in Squaw Valley on Tuesday, November 15. This is the decision we have all been waiting for, so if you care about the future of North Lake Tahoe, Truckee, and Squaw, it’s time to get involved!
What: Placer County Board of Supervisors’ Public Hearing
on proposed Squaw Valley development
When: Tuesday, November 15, 2016
—- 9 a.m.
Where: North Tahoe Event Center
8318 N. Lake Blvd.
Kings Beach, California
To reserve your t-shirt and RSVP, contact Chase Schweitzer, our intrepid Field Representative at cschweitzer@sierrawatch.org or (530) 448-1506, as well as RSVP on the Facebook Event: https://www.facebook.com/events/1798335487081982/
If you cannot attend but would like to get further involved, please contact him as well.
Pictured: Keep Squaw True supporters at the Placer County Planning Commission in August
The reason for having a public hearing is simple: so decision makers can hear from the public.
That means this is our chance to put on our purple Keep Squaw True t-shirts and let the Board know that KSL’s proposed development threatens everything we love about our mountains; Tahoe deserves better; and they should vote to DENY the project. Read Dr. Robb Gaffney’s letter explaining why you need to get further involved: http://
Background
The “Village at Squaw Village Specific Plan” proposes to remake Squaw Valley with development of scale and type never before seen in the Tahoe Truckee Region.
Pictured: September issue of Moonshine Ink
The billion-dollar, twenty five year development plan would include:
¤ 1,493 new bedrooms spread among a series of highrise condo hotels (many of which would still be nearly 100’ tall) adjacent to the existing village;
Pictured: Great Wolf Lodge, Potential Partner in Squaw Valley Waterpark
And what would all that development mean to Squaw Valley and North Lake Tahoe?
¤ Traffic: The project would add 8,410 new daily car trips on North Tahoe’s most gridlocked days.
¤ Tahoe: Many of those cars – 1,353/day – would head into the Tahoe Basin, crowding North Tahoe roads and contributing directly to the loss of the lake’s famous clarity.
¤ Water: Proposed development would consume 78,263,299 gallons of water annually; the local water agency is already looking to import water from Martis Valley due to limited supply.
¤ Fire Safety: Planning documents acknowledge the disastrous impossibility of trying to leave Squaw Valley in the event of wildfire, estimating it would take 10.7 hours to evacuate at full capacity.
¤ Workforce Housing: The project would make Tahoe’s affordable housing crisis worse by providing employee housing for only a small percentage of its employees (many warehoused in four-to-a-room, dormitory-style housing).
¤ Mountain Character: The proposed development is a clear threat to mountain views, dark night skies, and the valley’s essentially alpine character – calling for six acres of nearly 100-foot tall buildings.
The Movement
So far, as part of the campaign to Keep Squaw True:
Pictured: Keep Squaw True’s Robb Gaffney
The Public Hearing
The hearing on November 15 represents the last stop in Placer County’s public planning process. In other words, if you want to get involved, now’s the time.
We’ll be working to turn people out to the hearing and organize clear, strategic presentations to the Supes.
If you think you can join us, please contact Sierra Watch Field Reprsentative Chase Schweitzer via email at cschweitzer@sierrawatch.org or at (530) 448-1506.
If you want to get involved prior to the meeting, we’ve got plenty of work to do – please ask Chase what you can do to Keep Squaw True!
