The following is an open letter to members of the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency Governing Board:

Ladies and gentlemen, I am a homeowner in Crystal Bay and I have been following the proposed Boulder Bay development project at Crystal Bay and TRPA involvement.  I went to your website to learn more about your organization and responsibilities.  I’ve copied pertinent information from your site below.

I find it very difficult to reconcile your support for this speculative venture of highly concentrated people, traffic, lodging and commercial activity — with the stated mission, values and goals of TRPA.  In fact, it is very hard to believe your organization with ultimate responsibility for Lake Tahoe’s environment has taken a supporting position for any enterprise associated with “time sharing.” This is probably the most impersonal and detached form of ownership in existence. To anticipate that anyone involved —developers or eventual owners — will take a genuine interest in the environment and act on behalf of the lake is ridiculous.  That’s why we have you guys.

From my own experience, I know sometimes we lose sight of our original objectives in the details, conflicts, evolving policy and pressures of administering a complex program, with many competing interests. But, I am certain you are trying to do the right thing. Otherwise, you would never have been selected to participate in such an important task. So, I ask that before your next meeting on this subject, that each of you take a few minutes and review and reflect on the information below and, the trust that has been placed with you.  Then, please ask yourself:

“Am I fulfilling my responsibility as a member of the TRPA Governing Board in supporting the Boulder Bay project?”

If so, please proceed.  If not, please listen and act according to your conscience.

Thank you very much.

Mike Fillmore
Lieutenant Colonel, United States Army, Retired
Crystal Bay

 

The following excerpts are from the TRPA web site:

It is the responsibility of the Governing Board to use that data along with public input to make decisions and create regulations that protect the health and quality of Lake Tahoe.

The Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA) is charged with protecting this national treasure for the benefit of current and future generations. Our vision is to have a lake and environment that is clean, healthy and sustainable for the community and future generations.

TRPA Core Values

Environmental Protection: Serving as stewards of Lake Tahoe and attaining environmental thresholds while sustaining the ecological, social and economic well being of the Tahoe Region.

Public Service and Professionalism: Serving the public with the highest professional standards of openness, integrity, honesty, fairness, consistency and equity.

Teamwork and Collaboration: Building a relationship of trust and cooperation with the community and stakeholders while promoting teamwork within the Agency.

Communication: Communicating proactively both internally and to the public and target audiences to foster public education and understanding of our mission.

Management: Using the best available science to cooperatively lead a strategic effort to save Lake Tahoe with a focus on results.

The TRPA staff works diligently to gather the most current scientific data and other related information about issues facing Lake Tahoe. Each month, that information is presented to the TRPA Governing Board at its regularly scheduled public meeting. It is the responsibility of the Governing Board to use that data along with public input to make decisions and create regulations that protect the health and quality of Lake Tahoe.

EIP projects are designed to achieve and maintain environmental thresholds that protect Tahoe’s unique and valued resources. These thresholds cover areas such as the public health and safety of residents and visitors as well as the scenic, recreational, educational, scientific, and natural values of the Lake Tahoe Basin.

 

On June 27th and 28th ISAEF, AAUW, Tahoe Children’s Foundation and Project MANA will join forces to sponsor one fundraiser to benefit our four agencies. Golf Fore Education will kick off on June 27th with an 8:30 am shotgun at the Mountain Course. We will follow with a barbeque, cocktail party and live music (open to the community) that evening at Diamond Peak lodge, as well as a live and silent auction, from 5 – 10 pm. On June 28th we will start the day at 1:30 pm on the Championship Golf Course with a scramble tournament. Following an afternoon of great golfing we will celebrate with an awards reception at the Chateau.

We want to express our deepest appreciation to the Incline Village / Crystal Bay community for all the support our agencies have received in the past. Your belief in our work makes it possible for us to provide your children with the best educational opportunities available. Even though our missions may be different, as individual agencies we have identified and agreed upon a common goal. We are dedicated and passionate about our role in promoting education in our community.

We believe that a successful collaboration can yield better results than working alone. By combining our forces we will use fewer resources. Instead of asking our supporters to come to four golf tournaments this year we are asking you to attend one. Instead of tying up our golf course for four days we will maximize its full potential for two days to benefit four agencies and their missions.  

This is a new way of doing business for us. We no longer want to put a strain on the community by competing for resources to accomplish our separate missions. Working together will help us avoid duplication and increase our efficiency in developing sustainable outcomes. It also increases our accountability to ourselves, our supporters, and our community. Help us make this social experiment successful and join us for an exciting day of golf, great food, excellent wine, and an all-around good time.  For more information please contact Project MANA at 775-298-0008, or visit our web site at www.GolfForeEducation.com.

In the same spirit of collaboration we are accepting items for our silent auction.  If you have an item you would like to donate please call Project MANA.

I am a resident and homeowner in Incline Village and have lived on the North Shore for more than ten years.

I am writing to express my support of the Boulder Bay project in Crystal Bay. I have followed this project since it’s inception and attended the public meetings held by Boulder Bay.

I applaud the owners and all the professionals involved in the proposed redevelopment of the Tahoe Biltmore (aka Boulder Bay.) I support well-planned, environmentally responsible redevelopment that will create additional business for our region and near by Incline Village. 

The Boulder Bay will be the second project ( the first being the SNC Environmental Center) to adhere to the very strict environmental stands of LEED certification. This means our little Incline Village and the North Shore will be one of the first regions in the world to have two LEED projects within such close proximity. 

Furthermore, The Boulder Bay project will reduce the “gabling area” in the new facility and increased the green belt (park area.) I ask --what other “casino owner” has had the foresight to reduce access to gambling and substitute healthy pursuits?

I live in Incline Village because I like the beauty of the region. I support a business that will bring more tourists to the region and increase local business taxes and options for us all. In general, I find this a community of intelligent people, but scaremongers who use words and phrases like traffic, congestion “urban sprawl” and “meth lab” are ill-informed and not part of the thinking and visionary residents who long for progress and responsible redevelopment.

In one meeting a resident of Crystal Bay voiced his opposition to the addition of a park as part of the Boulder Bay redevelopment. When asked what he objected to he sited the noise of children playing! What a grumpy, mean-spirited comment! Typical of a “NIMBY” (Not In My Back Yard) mentality.

I applaud the owners of the Tahoe Biltmore and the Boulder Bay Resort, the Wittenberg family. They had the foresight and vision to conceive of a project where a family could take an afternoon stroll on a weekend and a center where a visitor is encouraged and provided transport systems other than the private gas guzzling car.

The Wittenberg’s have decades of investment into green business business, long before it was fashionable to be green.  They are intelligent, caring, community focused folks. Let’s support this kind of community enhancement with intelligent questions and suggestions. Let’s get on board with solving our problems of preserving our region while understanding that we are dependant on tourism for the health of region.

Lynn Berardo
Full time resident Incline Village

This is in response to Joy Dahlgren's Feb. 18 letter, "Boulder Bay should scale back project scope."   Having researched the facts via the TRPA and the Boulder Bay design team, let me address the statements made - one at a time - then some feelings:

1.    Boulder Bay is planning to incorporate only native plants and is adding over 5 acres of open space while bringing natural resource value to the property.

2.    Boulder Bay is committing to both an annual funding commitment to public transportation to expand services as well as providing resort overlay services to increase visitor connectivity outside of rental cars.  The Biltmore also makes annual funding commitments to public transportation today.

3.       Joy's letter to the editor stated that "2% of person-miles traveled on the ground in the U.S. are via transit."  Let's talk about Lake Tahoe: According to TRPA the non auto travel breaks out as follows (see attached PDF   page11frommobility2030.pdf ):

• To recreation sites: 13% summer/16% winter

• To commercial areas: 27% summer/29% winter

• To work: 12%

4.    Heated road surfaces dramatically improve safety and water quality.  They eliminate the need for sanding of the roads which is the primary cause of TSS loading of the lake from our roadways.  The Water Quality/Storm water management  program implemented by Boulder Bay will be the most comprehensive and advanced at the Lake and will incorporate a host of TMDL (total daily max load) strategies including, pervious pavers, green roofs, a dustless sweeper program, storm water catchment systems and bio retention systems to naturally treat storm water (with native species I might add).

5.       Boulder Bay is not developing any virgin land and will, in fact, restore over 4 acres including 2.5 acres of SEZ (Stream Environment Zones) back to its original condition and will build over 3 acres of public parks with Lake views and public parking.

I've been coming to North Lake Tahoe for more than 30 years & now I've lived here full time (24 x 7 x 365) next door to the Hyatt Regency for 7 years.  The Hyatt, with 422 hotel guest rooms & 60 timeshare units, has never caused any congestion even at the intersection of Lakeshore & Country Club.  I've never once waited at a stop sign there behind another car - in fact, the lack of congestion has always allowed a "California stop" at that intersection (although I always come to a complete stop).   Boulder Bay's proposed "Scope" is 25% smaller than the Hyatt with a far smaller casino.

Finally, with regard to what the TRPA's priorities should be, Boulder Bay is only building on previously disturbed sites within tourist core areas.  It will also be a showcase to the world on ‘how to build in environmentally sensitive areas.'  All these features combined with the ‘Health & Wellness' theme of Boulder Bay, make it perfect for Lake Tahoe, our residents & our local economy.  I can only hope that by example, Boulder Bay serves to lead future development both to the East & West on Tahoe's North Shore!

John P. Mascarich
Incline Village