Placer County released its ‘Revised Draft Environmental Impact Report’ for the project in November. They’ll combine that with the old, outdated assessment they approved back in 2016 and claim it adequately assesses how the Palisades Tahoe project would impact critical issues in the region, ranging from construction noise to water quality.
But it won’t. The County and the developers are pursuing the same approach the courts found invalid before – dismissing public concern and dismissing real assessment of important issues.
It’s up to us to put the public back in public planning and ensure that irresponsible development doesn’t destroy everything we love about Olympic Valley and Lake Tahoe.
Do you love reading Partially Revised Environmental Impact Reports? Click here for the 469 page pdf.
Sign our petition to keep Tahoe Truckee True HERE, but please also send Placer County an email (or a letter) about why this development is an irresponsible use of the valley that is the birthplace of North American skiing. Click the “Send your comments to Placer County” tab for more information.
Not sure what to write? Just tell them who you are and matters to you. Here are some suggested talking points – and questions to ask:
- Traffic: The project would add more than 3,000 new daily car trips to the Tahoe Truckee Region.
- How would all that new traffic impact our ability to get around?
- Fire Safety: Increased fire danger combined with limited infrastructure pose a real threat to public safety. Planning documents acknowledge the disastrous impossibility of trying to leave Olympic Valley in the event of wildfire, estimating it would take more than 11 hours to travel just 3 miles. Residents and visitors would be encouraged, instead, to gather at a nearby golf course.
- What have we learned from the Caldor, Dixie, and other fires about fire behavior and public safety?
- Would a strategy to shelter-in-place on a golf course protect lives?
- Water Supplies: Proposed development would consume 78,263,299 gallons of water annually, yet environmental review is relying on an outdated Water Supply Assessment from 2015.
- Haven’t we learned new information about drought and climate change?
- Would the new development lead to the de-watering of Washeshu (formerly Squaw) Creek?
- Is there a risk that current residents could lose access to water?
- Workforce Housing: The project would provide employee housing for only a small percentage of its employees – many warehoused in four-to-a-room, dormitory-style housing.
- What would be the net impact of adding new workers – but not enough housing?
- Tahoe Clarity: For decades, we’ve worked to protect the clarity of Lake Tahoe by trying to limit car travel in the Tahoe Basin. Alterra’s Palisades Tahoe project would add 1,353 new cars to North Tahoe every day.
- Wouldn’t that jeopardize the multi-generational commitment to Keep Tahoe Blue?
- Sense of Place: The Tahoe Sierra and Olympic Valley enjoy a treasured and unique sense of place.
- Wouldn’t attractions like an indoor waterpark be inconsistent with the regions outdoor values?
- Process: Palisades Tahoe and its parent company are, so far, unwilling to engage in meaningful community planning.
- Instead of another ten years of conflict, can the County convene some sort of collaborative process?
- Can the County bring people together to come up with a plan we can all be proud of?
Now is the time to stand up for Tahoe – and write a comment letter. The deadline is January 30, 2023.
The County might try to limit what they think you can and cannot comment on. And the developers might choose to ignore you. To dismiss your concerns. To pretend what you value – mountain streams, outdoor recreation, healthy communities, public safety – does not merit consideration.
Don’t let them get away with it.
You don’t need to be an expert in hydrology or traffic statistics or fire safety. You just need to care enough about this place to join us protecting its future from reckless development.
Email your comments to cdraecs@placer.ca.gov or mail them to
Placer County Community Development Resource Agency
Environmental Coordination Services
3091 County Center Drive, Suite 190
Auburn, CA 95603
by 5pm PST January 30, 2023. You can write about anything related to the project.
Sierra Watch has learned from experience: the more people get involved, the more likely we can turn back reckless development and secure a better outcome for our mountains.
This is where you come in.
We need to keep growing this grassroots movement. But the time for this comment period is short – just till January 30. You can help defend our mountain values by talking with your family, friends, acquaintances, and coworkers and share with them this great opportunity to get involved.
Maybe you know a proud local who needs a Tahoe Truckee True bumper sticker. Or someone who aspires to come here and ski KT22 and could share our posts on Instagram. Maybe your mom wants to send a letter.
After all, it’s working. This movement began with a few people gathered in someone’s living room ten years ago. Now we number more than 20,000 and we’re getting stronger every day.
Meantime, there’s still no indoor waterpark in Tahoe. Let’s keep it that way.
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