Tahoe Businesses Opposing Current Squaw Valley Development
View Update: Updated Coalition Letter of 70 Businesses, Delivered to Placer County, November 14, 2016
MORE THAN 40 LOCAL BUSINESSES AND REGIONAL ORGANIZATIONS IN OPPOSITION TO PROPOSED TAHOE DEVELOPMENT
Auburn, Calif. – Sierra conservationists delivered a letter to Placer County officials today expressing growing opposition to KSL’s Squaw Valley development proposals.
In a letter to the Placer County Board of Supervisors, more than 40 local businesses and non-profits urge the County “to reject KSL’s proposed development and, instead, encourage landowners and the community to work together to create a blueprint that makes sense for Squaw, Tahoe, and beyond.”
Placer County has land-use decision making authority over much of North Lake Tahoe and Squaw Valley, where KSL Capital Partners is seeking development entitlements for its proposed Village at Squaw Valley Specific Plan.
New development would include a series of ten-story tall high rises; 300,000 square feet of commercial development; and an indoor water park with water slides, fake rivers, and indoor sky diving.
New buildings would include more than 1,500 bedrooms. Proponents estimate that construction would take 25 years to complete.
Schweitzer with Sierra Watch Staff Attorney Isaac Silverman moments after delivering the letter to the Placer County Board of Supervisors
“There’s a shared understanding throughout the region that KSL’s proposed development is a threat to basic Tahoe values,” says Sierra Watch Field Representative Chase Schweitzer, who delivered the letter to the Placer County Board of Supervisors at its meeting today. “And there’s a growing commitment to working together to ensure a better outcome.”
Local businesses ranging from snowboard shops to elegant restaurants joined conservation organizations like Sierra Watch and Friends of Squaw Valley in signing the letter.
Sandy Tibbles, for example, owns Scraps Dog Bakery in Tahoe City and expresses concern about the thousands of new daily car trips new development would add to Tahoe traffic.
“Congestion and traffic issues from construction alone would affect all of us,” says Tibble. “These roadways, especially Highway 89, are like arteries and veins to this region, there is only one way in and out.”
The support of local businesses indicates the strength of a growing movement to turn back the proposed development. More than a thousand individuals have signed the Sierra Watch petition to Keep Squaw True. Hundreds of people have already contacted Placer County with their concerns.
“As our letter clearly states,” says Schweitzer of Sierra Watch, “Everyone who signed does not oppose all development. But the question before us is: do we want this development? Our answer is no.”
See text of letter below and attached. For more information about Sierra Watch and its campaign to Keep Squaw True, contact Chase Schweitzer at cschweitzer@sierrawatch.org or (530) 448-1506.
Coalition Letter Delivered to the Placer County Board of Supervisors, Dec. 8th, 2015
Updated Coalition Letter Delivered to Placer County, Jan. 26th, 2016
Updated Coalition Letter Delivered to the Placer County, August 11, 2016
Updated Coalition Letter Delivered to Placer County, November 14, 2016
About Sierra Watch
Sierra Watch works to protect great places in the Sierra Nevada. Founded in 2001, the Nevada City based non-profit has built a remarkable track record in land preservation in Tahoe’s Martis Valley, on Donner Summit, and for other treasured Sierra landscapes.
