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• Friday, February 10, 2012

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ADE and the Center for Economic Development at Chico State completed the background economic data used to develop the Prosperity Plan. The full presentation is available online at tahoechamber.org. Courtesy image

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The Lake Tahoe Basin Prosperity Plan Has Proponents

Can it attract the capital needed for implementation?

“Go big, or go home” is a popular catchphrase around the Tahoe Basin, but not one we usually associate with regional plans or economic development strategies. There may be an exception when it comes to the Lake Tahoe Basin Prosperity Plan, which has been in the works since last fall and was discussed at well-attended meetings in South Lake Tahoe and Kings Beach on July 15. A $70,000 grant from the federal Economic Development Administration, which was then matched by another $50,000 from local governments and agencies, kicked the effort into high gear this past fall.

The Prosperity Plan, if and when implemented successfully, hopes to provide the framework to create a more resilient economy that enhances environmental quality, improves standard of living, grows local businesses and entrepreneurs, and provides opportunity for all. The project, which has attracted regional collaboration on an unprecedented scale, identified high rates of unemployment, workforce skills gaps, environmental challenges, an aging built environment, and an inadequate infrastructure as some of the biggest challenges the Basin faces. On the plus side, analysis by Applied Development Economics, the Sacramento-based firm working on the plan, shows that the region is of statewide and national significance economically, generating an estimated $4.7 billion in private sector economy. The three major sectors, or clusters, identified by ADE making up the economic engine are health and wellness, tourism and visitor services, and green business and environmental innovation. Stimulating and enhancing the performance of the clusters by implementing a cohesive action strategy is the key to turning things around and creating a sustainable Basin.

Pat Davison, executive director of the Contractor’s Association of Truckee Tahoe, attended the Kings Beach meeting and plans to stay involved. “The level of detail in the study was impressive, with layer upon layer of statistical analysis,” Davison said.

“The challenge is going to be taking it to the next level. Finding money and attracting capital will be hard.”

Since nearly half of CATT’s members work in the Basin, Davison thinks it’s important that her board discusses the plan, assesses its goals, and keeps members involved. She sees CATT being very relevant in the green business and environmental innovation cluster, but she feels the plan “deserves to be looked at by all kinds of groups, especially now when there’s lots of momentum.”

Good planning and momentum are certainly sorely needed when it comes to confronting some of the jarring statistics ADE brought to light in the recent presentations:
• Unemployment is at 17.3 percent in South Lake Tahoe.
• Approximately 50 percent of residents in South Lake Tahoe meet low and moderate income standards.
• From 2005 to 2009, the number of students receiving free and subsidized school lunches increased from 38 to 44 percent Basin-wide.
• During that same time, more than 1,000 students left the area.

To say that LTBPP steering committee member Steve Teshara is enthused about the project is an understatement. “There is more positive energy around this than any planning process I’ve seen in my 30 years in the planning business,” he said.

Teshara has been on board since day one, first on behalf of the North Lake Tahoe Resort Association and now as principal of his newly created private consultancy, Sustainability Community Advocates. “The cluster concept was new for me. I learned about it through this process. The synergistic relationship across the clusters is something that could work.” Teshara was also impressed by the number and diversity of organizations and people who have come together for both the planning process and the recent meetings. “We’re seeing new players who have not been involved before,” he said. He thinks it’s critical now to capture the energy and keep moving forward. “It’s time to get on our ponies and ride as fast as we can,” Teshara said, chuckling.

Next steps for the LTBPP will be to revise the draft recommendations and get more input from the various agencies and partners involved. After a set of action strategies for each cluster is solidified, “the implementation of the plan will be taken over by community members and possibly a new organization evolving from the steering committee,” according to ADE Principal Trish Kelly. In preparation for a fall launch, the plan will be unveiled to a select group of state officials and private sector reps on Aug. 16 in a closed briefing and then presented to the TRPA governing board at their Sept. 25 meeting.

Securing funding, and lots of it, will be crucial to maintaining the momentum and evolving the planning process into an actionable plan.

A new dedicated website, prosperityplan.org, will be up soon. In the meantime, documents and other info can be found at tahoechamber.org/prosperityplan.aspx.