TAHOE CITY

The community is invited to learn more about the proposed Sierra Nevada Olympic Winter Museum and Community Cultural Center project with Placer County staff during a virtual community meeting Wednesday, Oct. 7, starting at 6 p.m.

To join the virtual meeting via Zoom, visit  placer-ca-gov.zoom.us/j/91333472516?pwd=aAji5uDcusMsBxhMzeGPYVem4Cga8V.1 

The proposed SNOW Museum project, located at 101 Olympic Valley Rd., would bring an approximately 20,000-square-foot museum and community cultural center to Olympic Valley Park. The project is envisioned to celebrate the legacy of the 1960 Winter Olympics and the history of winter sports in the Sierra Nevada. Moonshine Ink reported on the project in its September edition.

The proposed development would be located within Olympic Valley Park, an approximately 26.8-acre year-round community park consisting of two parcels owned and operated by Placer County. The project represents an opportunity to add a cultural and educational destination within the existing park while maintaining the park’s broader role as a community gathering place.  

The 1960 Winter Olympics, held in what is now Olympic Valley, helped establish the region as an internationally recognized winter sports destination. More than six decades later, the proposed center would provide an opportunity to preserve that legacy, share the history of winter sports in the Sierra Nevada, and create a new community gathering space for Olympic Valley.

Olympic Valley Park is subject to a deed restriction associated with Placer County’s 1999 purchase of the park parcels from the U.S. Forest Service. The restriction limits future uses of the property for private development of a commercial, residential, or industrial nature. Through continued discussions, the Forest Service has indicated that the proposed project does not appear to violate the property’s deed restriction, thereby allowing the county to proceed with project discussions.

County staff will also be available to answer questions and discuss the proposed project at the Discover and Discuss Community meeting Oct. 15 in Kings Beach. Learn more about that at  placer.ca.gov/calendar.aspx?EID=56509 

The project has been recommended for approval to the board of supervisors by the county planning commission. The board is anticipated to consider the project’s requested land-use entitlements at the Oct. 20 meeting.

Find more information about the proposed project here: placer.ca.gov/7884/SNOW-Sports-Museum-and-Community-Cultura.

~ Placer County press release