Tahoe-area housing plan halted
RENO, Nev. – A judge has sided with conservationists trying to block construction of thousands of homes north of Lake Tahoe, saying a local development plan “builds in opportunities to create environmental mischief” and violates California law.
The judge ordered Placer County to suspend all activities under the 2003 Martis Valley Community Plan and set aside the environmental reviews used to approve plans for construction of at least 6,000 homes in the valley southeast of Truckee, Calif.
“Of particular concern is the impact which the project will have upon traffic and air quality impacts within the Tahoe Basin,” California Superior Court Judge James Garbolino wrote in a ruling Thursday in Auburn, Calif. “One must not lose sight of the fragile nature of the area under discussion.”
It is “a critically important area for wildlife, habitat and water resources,” Garbolino wrote in his opinion.
Several environmental groups filed a lawsuit in January 2004 to overturn the community plan, arguing it failed to adequately analyze potential impacts on wildlife habitat, water resources, sewer capabilities, traffic congestion and air quality.
“This is a sweeping legal victory for anyone committed to a better future for the Tahoe-Truckee region,” Tom Mooers, executive director of Sierra Watch, one of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit, said Friday.
The town of Truckee, League to Save Lake Tahoe, Sierra Club, National Audubon Society, Sierra Nevada Alliance and Defenders of Wildlife are among others who have argued against the plan.
They say the area can handle only about 3,000 new homes; the Martis Valley blueprint would allow for up to 19,000.
The county and developers maintain zoning ordinances and other restrictions effectively limit construction to about 8,600 new homes, and that the environmental reviews adequately represent the potential impacts of development of that size.
But Garbolino said the zoning ordinances can be changed over time and that the potential impacts should be analyzed based on maximum development allowed under the community plan.