By SHERRY GUZZI
As an architect working with local agencies for 35 years, I am outraged that the huge Martis Valley West development proposal on the ridge above North Lake Tahoe is even being considered in the Tahoe Basin. Adding new luxury homes in what is currently remote, undeveloped forest is exactly the opposite of the supposed main goal of the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency’s new regional plan — to concentrate all development within existing urban areas. Despite what East West Partners claim, the amount of development in the Basin will not remain the same. Trading tourist accommodation units (TAUs) means one old motel room of a few hundred square feet can equal one new luxury residence many times that size, plus all the new roads and utilities required. More hotel rooms would actually be moved out of local communities, precisely where community plans say more are needed, and where infrastructure already exists.
Sierra Pacific Industries is proposing to trade only 670 acres currently zoned for development for 760 acres across Hwy 267 to be re-zoned, which includes 112-plus acres in the Tahoe Basin. The rest of their 6,376 acres already cannot be developed. But all the 6,376 acres, or a conservation easement, will have to be purchased by the public (i.e., land trusts or conservation organizations). They are not giving anything away. And they will get premium lake-view lots worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
Besides obvious scenic degradation, negative impacts include noise, water and air pollution, night-sky light pollution, and traffic congestion. This quiet natural area, now enjoyed by visitors and residents for hiking, biking, skiing, and wildlife viewing, will be disrupted.
All these impacts will be annoying to local residents and detrimental to local communities, but they will be devastating for local wildlife. The proposed development would not only destroy thousands of trees and degrade watersheds, it would also completely block vital wildlife corridors both over and along the ridge. To survive, animals need to be able to move with food resources, which change seasonally and annually. Just noise from construction, proposed to go on for 25 years, will disturb, displace, and ultimately kill wildlife. Our bear, deer, coyote, osprey, hawks, eagles, and a huge variety of small birds and mammals need this vital habitat, which no mitigation can ever replace.
Martis Valley West plans to make huge profits at the expense of Lake Tahoe, local communities, visitors, and our wildlife. Check the facts at savetahoeforests.com.
~ Sherry Guzzi is an architect and co-founder of the Sierra Wildlife Coalition and resides in Tahoe City.
