Tahoe planners approve Stateline luxury project

A luxury development across from the new events center at Stateline was recently approved by Lake Tahoe planners.

The Tahoe Regional Planning Agency voted a 9-5 on Dec. 14 a mixed-use residential and commercial project called Latitude 39, from developers PCS Stateline LLC, that will be built on the site of at the former Wells Fargo bank.

The project includes the construction of seven stories, two levels of which will be underground, 40 residential condominiums, rooftop access, two levels of parking, entry-level amenities and a public commercial restaurant and bar space and will replace a large parking lot and the former bank located at 110 Lake Parkway.

The project’s total predicted vehicle miles traveled came in just two miles lower than the threshold in the Tahoe Regional Plan.

“We’ve made great progress, but we still have many challenges in front of us, and I think this project really illustrates some

of them,” said TRPA Executive Director Julie Regan. “As you

will hear in the presentation … it’s time for TRPA to really take a hard look at our land use policies … and looking forward at the next 50 years, how can we adjust our land use policies to incentivize the type of projects act we want to see.”

Plenty of positives about the project were mentioned, including that it falls in line perfectly with the Tahoe Regional Plan by promoting infill redevelopment in a town center, that will promote walkable

and bikeable area and microtransit.

“It’s also an example of how a project can meet TRPA standards, but not necessarily advance all of the goals of the Regional Plan such as affordable housing,” said Regan.

There was many concerns raised by governing board members regarding the traffic study, which did not specifically require staff to determine the miles traveled by those who will be commuting to work in the area and those visiting short term rentals that could potentially be in the residential units.

There will be no employee housing or affordable housing designated for this project, as it was not required by the TRPA or Douglas County.

It was pointed out by the developer’s representative Lew Feldman that due to lack of financial incentive from either Douglas County or an affordable housing project itself, there were no plans for that type of housing in the development.

There will be an employee shuttle provided, along with a donation of $10,000 a year in perpetuity for microtransit from the developers in order to help mitigate miles traveled for traffic. Developers also worked with TRPA to mitigate the number of trips and environmental impacts.

It was agreed upon that there are some holes in the requirements from the TRPA, and the Latitude 39 development should not be penalized for following the rules given to them.

“I think [the proposal] is a pleasant combination of a lot of important and useful mitigations,” said Carson City Representative Shelly Aldean. “I think they should be applauded for that.”

While some board members disagreed and thought the project needed to be brought back to TRPA staff for more analysis, the board ultimately voted to approve the project with the understanding that more workshops need to be done on the threshold analysis formulas regarding vehicle trips.

To watch the entire meeting, visit www.trpa.gov/governing-board-documents-december-14-2022-hybrid-meeting.