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Rendering of the proposed garage provided by WRNS Studio, the project's architect |
CommentsFace-off Over Proposed Tahoe City Parking Garage
Controversial project divides Community
Published: January 17, 2008by Amy Harter
Location of the proposed garage between the Marina Mall, O'Neal Broker and Wolfdale's restaurant, and next to the Boatworks Mall parking lot.
photo by Amy Harter
Click on images for slideshow
After an 11-year planning process, Tahoe City may be on the verge of getting a new parking garage, if the Tahoe City Marina, parking proponents and the Placer County Redevelopment Agency have their way. Construction could begin as early as this summer.
The $14 million, three-story proposed parking structure, slated for a site between O’Neal Broker and the Marina Mall and next to the Boatworks Mall parking lot, will provide 137 parking spaces—a net increase of about 80 spaces over the existing surface lot. The project, however, still faces several hurdles that could delay construction, perhaps indefinitely. The Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA) is scheduled to make the final decision in March on whether the garage will be built, but the agency has already rescheduled its hearing on the issue twice as the project has become increasingly controversial with several community groups voicing opposition. The project also must survive a grand jury complaint and possible investigation into allegations that public funds are being misspent on a project that will reap little public benefit.
“There are political and neighborhood controversies surrounding the project,” said Dennis Oliver, spokesperson for the TRPA. “It’s got to be worked out more before it goes to the Governing Board. A lot of talking has to happen before it comes up for approval.”
Need for Parking
Just about everyone agrees that Tahoe City needs more parking. Some believe parking, and almost any kind of parking, is essential for Tahoe City’s economic vitality. Many businesses in this unincorporated district of Placer County have struggled for mere survival.
Tahoe City business owners say they desperately need additional parking during the high season, when tourists flock to the lake to recreate in snow-flecked mountains and sun-soaked beaches and local businesses earn the bulk of their annual paychecks. The area’s economic woes can be linked to shorter winters in recent years, high rents, a lack of affordable housing for service sector and retail workers, the growth of neighboring Truckee and finally, a lack of easy parking for tourists during those peak seasons.
“We are parking starved here,” said Peter Paine, owner of the Tahoe City bar, Pete n’ Peters, and the building it’s housed in. Paine especially supports the construction of covered parking to prevent the need to snow plow, but he said any new parking would be an improvement.
“The parking we have is inadequate … and it actually chokes off a lot of business we could have had,” Paine said.
Parking studies over the last decade and a half have documented the need for more parking in Tahoe City. In addition, a survey in 2000 found that 75 percent of business owners and 58 percent of property owners cited increased parking as “very important” to Tahoe City.
“Parking has been identified as one of the top priorities to address, both for economic development and redevelopment,” said Jim LoBue, deputy director of the Redevelopment Agency, the project’s sponsor.
The parking deficit causes other issues, including the problem of illegally parked cars. During the summer, the Cobblestone parking lot often fills with cars whose owners are across the street at Commons Beach enjoying the lake, said Maria Baruh, owner of La Panache in Tahoe City.
Paine said he has the same problem with his small parking lot, which is reserved for people patronizing his bar and Wanda’s Flowers as well as employees of the Tahoe World.
“We have ‘No Parking’ signs out there, but you might as well have a curtain covering the signs,” said Paine, of people who ignore the signs and illegally park in his lot.
Likewise, across town at the site of the proposed parking structure, spaces in the current marina parking lot are frequently filled by patrons of the Boatworks Mall, according to Jim Phelan, manager of the Tahoe City Marina, which will benefit from the proposed garage. Phelan declined to be interviewed for this story, but forwarded a letter to Moonshine Ink expressing his opinions. The proposed garage will continue to accommodate overflow from the Boatworks Mall, handle the increased demands from the marina expansion and provide parking for the proposed water taxi. “All of the lakeside highway businesses on that end of town,” said Phelan in his written statement, “will benefit from having parking on that side of the highway.”
Placer County Supervisor Bruce Kranz, whose district includes Tahoe City and who previously voted in favor of the project, agreed that the area desperately needs more parking to support the local economy. He is, however, concerned about recent community opposition to the project and may reconsider his support.
Marina Expansion
The proposed parking garage, however, will not merely provide more public parking. It is a key component of the marina’s expansion plan, which received the necessary environmental approvals to move forward from the county and TRPA in 2005.
Yacht Harbor, LLC, owner of the Tahoe City Marina, wants to build 80 new boat slips, which would raise its stock of moorings to 240 slips total. Phelan would not say how much the slips will be rented for or provide an estimate for the cost of the marina expansion. But in his written statement, he said the cost of the expansion “has gone up twice as much as originally budgeted because of the time and other requirements placed on the project.”
According to the marina’s website, slip rentals currently range from $3,990 to $10,900 during the summer and $2,400 to $3,600 during the winter, although the harbor is largely empty during winter months. With 80 new slips, this could bring in an average increase of about $600,000 annually for summer rentals.
The expansion plan also calls for building a public terminal for a proposed water taxi to jettison tourists to and from South Lake Tahoe that could begin operation in 2012. The Tahoe City site was one of two North Lake Tahoe sites seriously considered by TRPA consultants, the other being in Kings Beach. Tahoe City was deemed more ideal because of amenities and accessibility, among other factors.
The marina expansion, however, can only gain final approval if the developer provides an adequate number of parking spots to handle the increased traffic caused by the additional slips.
A Win-Win Solution?
In 2000, Yacht Harbor, LLC, contacted the Redevelopment Agency and proposed the two entities join forces to provide more public parking and pave the way for the marina expansion. Toward this end, the marina agreed to donate the land slated for the parking garage, while the Redevelopment Agency agreed to finance the parking structure. The land was donated in 2006, at no cost, but will revert back to the marina if the project fails to launch.
“This was an opportunity that presented itself,” LoBue said. “We identified the need for creating more public parking and for supporting significant commercial improvements in the area, which this parking structure would do by helping the expansion of the marina.”
Phelan concurred. “We went into this project,” said Phelan in his written statement, “not as a developer but as a long time resident in a position to try to help solve several issues that would help the Tahoe City community remain vibrant and healthy.”
If the parking project goes forward, it will be funded entirely by the Redevelopment Agency through a combination of bond money and property tax income. Maintenance of the structure will also be the agency’s responsibility, which LoBue said will either be managed by the county’s public works program or contracted out to a private company.
But the use of a potential $14 million in redevelopment money for the parking structure and marina expansion has the ire of many in Tahoe City, Tahoe Vista and Kings Beach. A number of people believe that this public money is being used to bankroll a project with few public benefits.
This position is supported by the League to Save Lake Tahoe, which sent a letter to the county in 2001 opposing the proposed parking garage. In the letter, the organization asks whether “… public money is being illegally used to directly support a private expansion project rather than serve the public interests.” Program Coordinator Carl Young said the organization remains opposed to the project and continues to question the use of public funds for what seems to be a private venture.
“Some are saying that the marina is being subsidized,” said Placer Supervisor Kranz, a voting member of the TRPA’s Governing Board. “Is the marina being subsidized more than it should? Are we letting the marina off the hook? … That’s something I’d ask staff to look into.”
Dave McClure, vice president of the North Tahoe Citizen Action Alliance (NTCAA), and Ron Grassi, a retired attorney and Tahoe City resident, filed a complaint with the Placer County Grand Jury in June. It alleges that millions of dollars in redevelopment funds are being used for a project that some believe will primarily benefit a private entity – the Tahoe City Marina. Grassi said the grand jury is investigating the complaint, but phone calls and emails to the grand jury foreman were not returned.
“The Redevelopment Agency says all of the spaces are public parking. But the practical reality is that when the marina is expanding and using those spaces, there aren’t going to be spaces left over for the public,” McClure said. “This money is primarily being used to enable the expansion of a business.”
LoBue, however, maintains that all of the spaces will be open to the public as free parking. He also said the structure will benefit more than just the marina, helping to boost the local economy by providing more parking for shoppers of local businesses.
“It will have direct and indirect benefits. Obviously the marina itself and all the shops and restaurants nearby will get the most benefit,” LoBue said. “But it will help the entire surrounding area.”
Max Neiman, associate director of research for the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC), a non-partisan think tank with offices in San Francisco and Sacramento, said it doesn’t strike him as an unusual redevelopment project. He noted, however, that he is not familiar with the project’s intimate details.
“It seems like a conventional kind of activity,” Neiman said. “Ultimately, if it’s used by people in the area, it will attract more people… they will have a place to park. It could very well be a win-win for everyone, or it might not be the wisest thing for a community. But that’s what politics is supposed to sort out.”
Economic Development or Blight in Need of Redevelopment?
Redevelopment agencies were established in the 1940s to fight urban blight following World War II. Initially, redevelopment focused on revitalizing communities downtrodden by substandard housing. After several decades, the focus evolved to include downtown renewal projects to support economic revitalization. Ever since, there has been tension over whether to use redevelopment funds for housing in blighted communities or to rejuvenate downtown centers to attract private enterprise and development. Furthermore, according to a PPIC report on redevelopment agencies, there has been debate over whether economic development is a legitimate purpose for redevelopment agencies. Some argue that redevelopment funds are needed only when a community is unable to attract private development without government assistance.
Phelan said in his written statement that there is some truth to the perception that the marina expansion would not go forward without the Redevelopment Agency funded parking structure, but noted that there are alternatives. These include funding and building a private garage on the site that would be usable only by marina members. The downside, according to Phelan, is that “there would be no public parking benefit…the waterborne transit project (could) be jeopardized…and the expansion…may be unnecessarily delayed.”
Additionally, for redevelopment funds to be allocated to an area, it must suffer from both economic and physical blight, as defined by California law. In recent years, the interpretation of blight has become contentious and vague.
“The definition of blight … that is a very controversial thing,” Neiman said. “The state has tried to tighten that up to try to prevent excessive use of redevelopment funds for inappropriate uses.”
California law says a blighted area must constitute a “serious physical and economic burden” on the community, which cannot be corrected through private enterprise or government action alone. Physical blight may include unsafe, deteriorated buildings and underutilized lots, while economic blight may consist of numerous business vacancies, an excess of bars and liquor stores, or a high crime rate. The PPIC points out, however, that a redevelopment project may occur in a seemingly non-blighted area within an overall project area that has been defined as blighted.
Pinecone Curtain
The controversy surrounding the definition of blight has caught on locally, with some residents questioning if Tahoe City deserves this designation.
“Not many people would agree that Tahoe City … is blighted,” Grassi said. “In fact, it’s one of the nicest areas we have on the lake.”
McClure and Jerry Wotel, president of the NTCAA, concur with this argument, citing Placer County statistics from 1991 to 2006 showing Tahoe City’s retail sector produced more sales tax revenue than any other community in the county’s North Tahoe area. With Tahoe City seemingly on the upswing, according to the sales tax figures, they argue that the area isn’t blighted, which could bring Tahoe City’s redevelopment funding under scrutiny.
“The reason given for the $14 million investment is to cure economic blight in Tahoe City, but Tahoe City has the best economy in the whole North Shore,” Wotel said.
Despite such economic data, many question whether Tahoe City is indeed experiencing an economic surge. Business owners cite multiple commercial vacancies evident throughout town and continue to complain of high rents that threaten their very existence in a seasonal, tourism-based economy.
Nonetheless, McClure contends that the funding would be better spent on nearby Kings Beach and Tahoe Vista, which are located on the other side of the “pinecone curtain,” an imaginary divide characterized by socio-economic differences between Kings Beach and Tahoe City.
“When most of the money is being spent on a parking lot for the Tahoe City Marina,” said McClure, “I find that to be a serious injustice.”
LoBue, however, strongly disputes this assertion, saying the Redevelopment Agency is spending most of its time, effort and activity on Kings Beach. LoBue said the agency has earmarked $10 million for improvements along Highway 28 in Kings Beach and there are four community enhancement projects moving forward in the area, while none are in the works in Tahoe City.
In 1996, the Redevelopment Agency deemed Tahoe City both economically and physically blighted when it adopted the North Lake Tahoe Redevelopment Plan. The plan created a project area consisting of Tahoe City, Kings Beach, Tahoe Vista and a part of Highway 89 toward Alpine Meadows. The Redevelopment Agency has 30 years to complete all of its redevelopment projects in the area, which gives the agency through 2026 to complete its work in North Lake Tahoe.
Along those lines, LoBue said you can’t stop working on a redevelopment project just because the area looks better.
“Redevelopment is a long-term program,” LoBue said. “Even if you are successful and have some positive impacts on the community, it doesn’t mean you stop your redevelopment program.”
Carefully Crafted or Flawed Design?
Each level of the garage will have a separate entrance. To exit the garage, a driver will have to pull into the last spot in the lot, designated as a turnaround spot, make a three-point turn, and then drive back out. None of the three levels will be connected so on crowded days, drivers may have to pull into each level separately while looking for a place to park.
Steven Brown, program coordinator for the Redevelopment Agency, said the garage was designed this way to reduce the structure’s overall footprint and limit any impact on neighboring establishments.
Jeff Warner, architect and partner with WRNS Studio, which designed the parking garage, added that the design provides the greatest number of spaces given the location’s size constraints.
“We shrunk the structure. We really compressed it so it would have as little of an impact on the landscape as possible,” he said.
WRNS Studio designed the overall look and feel of the proposed garage, Warner said. But the conceptual design, which included dividing the garage into three levels with separate entrances, was drafted by another firm.
In addition, adding to concerns about the ease of use, the Placer County Planning Commission voted in October to make the parking spots smaller, reducing the size from 9-feet to 8.5-feet wide.
Neighborly Objections
While many businesses support more parking, not all local businesses support this particular parking structure. Some even say it will hurt, not help, their business.
Douglas Dale, owner of Wolfdale’s restaurant, has been fighting the project for about two years. His restaurant, which has been located on North Lake Boulevard for more than 20 years, borders the project site.
“It will seriously jeopardize the ambiance of my restaurant, not only during construction, but long-term,” Dale said. “Headlights will be going through the restaurant.”
LoBue said the Redevelopment Agency has made changes to mitigate negative impacts on neighboring businesses. These include lowering the third floor to “one-foot higher than Wolfdale’s existing patio fence” and creating a stair-step design to minimize impact on views.
But Dale said his concerns have not been adequately addressed. “It will jeopardize our view, air quality and could provide noise problems. We are not excited about it,” he said.
Deborah Lane, owner of The Bookshelf located in the Boatworks Mall next to the project site, also is concerned about the project’s impact on her business.
“I don’t think they need a parking structure there,” Lane said. “It seems like an awful lot of money and it’s a huge inconvenience since they have to build it in the summer. Those are the months we have to make money.”
LoBue said the agency is planning to allocate $350,000 for a construction impact program to help businesses survive while the parking lot is built. The program will include the posting of “Open for Business” signs on Highway 28 and marketing efforts to inform patrons that businesses near the construction site are still open. It will also include off-site parking and maps directing customers to the businesses, as well as a shuttle service taking patrons to the marina area.
Even boat owners are at odds over the proposed structure. Once the marina expansion is complete, the demand for parking nearby will be high especially during the summer months. The marina will need about 80 spaces to meet the parking demands of the expanded marina. If the proposed water taxi comes to fruition, the demand on parking in the area will further increase.
This potential demand has prompted concern from the marina’s current slip owners, who are worried that their parking rights will be infringed upon. The interests of the 139 slip owners are represented by the Tahoe Boat Company Owner’s Association.
John Baker, general manager of the association, said they primarily object to the possible infringement of their “non-exclusive right to park” on the land where the parking garage is proposed. This means that while parking behind the Marina Mall isn’t exclusively set aside for marina slip owners, they have certain legal rights to those parking spots. Baker said an infringement of their rights could include posting signs on Highway 28 to direct motorists to the new parking lot, which is something the Redevelopment Agency plans to do.
“If more people park there, then there will be fewer parking spaces for marina residents,” Baker said. “If the county puts up signs and fills those spaces with people going to Porter’s, then we will have fewer spaces available to our members now than we had in prior years.”
In his letter, however, Phelan points out that the benefits of building the parking structure outweigh the objections: “…the expanded marina not only provides additional economic value to the Tahoe City community but it also provides public access to the lake that currently does not exist at the present private marina….”
After 11 Years, Is the End in Sight?
In March, the TRPA’s Governing Board is scheduled to consider the parking garage and marina expansion. The board will need to weigh the need for parking and community redevelopment against concerns about the structure’s design, who will get to use the parking and accusations of inappropriately using redevelopment funds to subsidize a marina when nearby communities seem more in need.
But first, it must sort out the possibility of a conflict of interest by one board member, Steve Merrill, who owns a boat slip in the marina. This could prevent him from casting a vote on the issue.
“We are aware of the fact that there is a perceived conflict and that there may be a legal conflict of interest,” Oliver said. “Our legal counsel is looking into that and making a determination as to whether [Steve Merrill] ought to recuse himself from this matter.”
In order to be approved, the project must receive support from five of the seven members from the Governing Board’s California side, though there is currently one vacancy to be filled by appointment from Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Parking Garage Specs
• A three-level parking garage with 137 spaces
• Top level will be shut down in the winter and garage will be closed at night
• A stair-step design to minimize impacts on views and neighboring businesses
• Pedestrian access from the third floor to Highway 28
• An ADA compliant elevator connecting the three levels
• An electric snowmelt machine to clear walkways and exposed parking areas
• Highway signs directing motorists and pedestrians to the parking garage
• Project site is between Wolfdale’s restaurant, O’Neal Broker and the Marina Mall, and adjacent to the Boatworks Mall parking lot
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