TRPA hires regional plan chief

A former Tahoe Regional Planning Agency adviser who was behind Douglas County's recent 20-year plan update is now on board to finish the agency's revitalization plan for Lake Tahoe, which is already two years overdue.

Harmon Zuckerman, a former Douglas County principal planner and TRPA Advisory Planning Commission member, will lead the Regional Plan Update, the agency announced Monday, with a goal of completing it within 18 months.

"From an organizational point of view, it was essential that you need to put one person in charge of it because we have to get this done," said agency spokesman Dennis Oliver. "This plan is the blueprint for Tahoe's future and we need to get it finished."

After Neil Crescenti, former assistant planning and evaluation branch chief, recently resigned his position, TRPA decided to hire someone to direct the regional plan, Oliver said. Financial details of the hire were not immediately available.

Zuckerman brings more than 14 years of professional planning experience to the new position, according to an agency press release.

"The updated Regional Plan will play a crucial role in securing the future environmental health of the Lake and the viability of Tahoe's communities," Zuckerman said in a statement. "I am pleased to be a part of such an important undertaking."

According to the agency, the Regional Plan Update is a 20-year blueprint for revitalization of existing communities and continued environmental improvement for the Lake Tahoe Basin.

Once scheduled for possible approval in 2007, the agency now estimates the plan won't head to the TRPA's Governing Board for a vote until at least 2011, Oliver said Tuesday. Zuckerman will be the public liaison for the update, working with stakeholders, agencies and the public. He will also host monthly workshops with the agency's Governing Board to discuss the plan.

TRPA Executive Director Joanne Marchetta touted Zuckerman's track record of innovation and his familiarity with Tahoe's challenges.

"All of us who have a stake in Lake Tahoe have put a great deal of work into this Regional Plan Update. With the talent and hard work of Harmon and the rest of the TRPA staff, we will now deliver on our promises," Marchetta said.

- Tribune staff writer Adam Jensen contributed to this report.