Ever since Royal Gorge was purchased in October 2005, with the new owners following it up with the purchase of Ice Lakes Lodge in January 2006, Donner Summit has been abuzz with interest in what Royal Gorge and the surrounding area will look like in the future. The new owners are Todd Foster of Foster Enterprises in Redwood City and Kirk Syme of Woodstock Development in Burlingame. The first changes that are likely to occur are to the day-to-day operations of the ski area starting this winter, and then later – the part that has the community talking – the resort has plans to develop at least a portion of their 3,000 acres near Serene Lakes.
Many nordic enthusiasts have felt that the prior management of Royal Gorge put out a great nordic ski product, but didn’t always have a reputation as being inviting to the local skier. ‘We are listening to what the community is saying in an effort to build community trust,’ said Royal Gorge’s new general manager Neil Erasmus. So far this means a combined Sugar Bowl-Royal Gorge season pass, and ticket and season pass discounts for Donner Summit residents. In addition, Erasmus said top quality grooming will remain the number one focus at Royal Gorge.
Recently, Royal Gorge put Rainbow Lodge on the market for sale. Project Director Mike Livak says the lodge is being sold ‘so that we can focus on operations at the ski area and Ice Lakes Lodge, as well as on future development plans.’ While Rainbow Lodge is a charming and popular historic building, it is located about 10 miles from the main Royal Gorge trailhead at Summit Station. Ice Lakes Lodge, on the other hand, has the recently improved Reindeer Trail, providing access to the rest of the trail system, just across the street from the lodge. Ice Lakes Lodge guests this winter will be able to purchase a ticket at the lodge, walk across the street, and ski.
Peter Mayfield, recreational planning and development consultant for Royal Gorge, says Royal Gorge’s new management is also working on an effort to develop a variety of programs to ‘celebrate the landscape of Donner Summit.’ In the winter this will include teaching a natural history curriculum to the ski instructors and staff, so they can pass that information on to Royal Gorge customers. In the summer, it means a guided interpretative hiking program, with a special focus on the history of the area, especially the Emigrant Trail, which travels right through Donner Summit.
Don Wexler, is president of the Donner Summit Area Association, a nonprofit regional organization, whose ‘members desire to maintain the unique natural beauty and special character of the area for the public benefit, and to assure that the area remains a special place to live, work, and visit,’ according to the organization’s website (www. donnersummitareaassociation.org/). The organization motto is ’one voice from Cisco Grove to the Rainbow Bridge.’ ‘We would like to help Royal Gorge find ways to find more revenue year-round from activities like guiding,’ Wexler said. There is not a lot of hard data, but the general consensus is that activities like hiking, mountain biking and nordic skiing increase the value of nearby properties. Whether Royal Gorge’s development plans can revolve around these activities and still make money is an open question.
People on Donner Summit and throughout the region are concerned about real estate development at Royal Gorge. At this point the plans are still being prepared and it will probably be a number of months before they start to take shape. The initial three steps of the process are either completed or currently underway. The first step was a major effort to gather input to see what the public thinks about Royal Gorge and what kind of development should occur in the area. A detailed Public Input Report has been issued and can be read at royalgorgefuture.com. Public comments covered a number of different topics, but in regards to future development suggestions ran the gamut from ‘I have strong concerns about…preserving the rugged, friendly, and unpretentious quality of the community’ to ‘I want facilities in our area. I would like to see it become more of a year-round recreational environment. I would love to see golf. I would like to see a gym facility with a pool.’ Livak says that people have told them to improve the ski area, protect wetlands, provide access to Sugar Bowl and deal with traffic, water and sewer issues. Royal Gorge’s goal according to Livak is to gather input up front and then use it to put together a development plan that will have public support.
The second part of the process is an environmental assessment that is being conducted by Royal Gorge to determine which areas of the property would be suitable for development. The third step ties into the second and was just announced this month. The Sierra Business Council (SBC) has brought environmental organizations and Royal Gorge landowners together in an attempt to come to a consensus as to the baseline environmental conditions for the project area, known as a peer review. Parties include Royal Gorge, the Mountain Area Preservation Foundation and The Sierra Club. Steve Frisch, from the Sierra Business Council says, ‘This process has the potential to head off legal disputes later on. Once people can come to an agreement on ‘the science’ then the focus can shift to whether proposed development plans respect the environmental conditions the land presents.’ The parties to the agreement have selected The Conservation Biology Institute to serve as the independent third party reviewer of Royal Gorge’s baseline environmental assessment. John Eaton from the Mountain Area Preservation Foundation says, ‘we are optimistic about the process at Royal Gorge so far. If everyone goes into the process optimistically it can work. The usual game plan is for a developer to say this is going to be the plan. Take it or leave it. Royal Gorge so far seems to want to get the problems out of the way up front.’
Dan Wexler agrees that Royal Gorge is doing a good job of obtaining input up front and that he is optimistic in how the process will work out. ‘We want to have a positive, constructive dialog with Royal Gorge.’ He points out, however, that there are some serious limiting factors for anyone trying to develop on Donner Summit, especially water and sewer, which are currently both at or near capacity. While the Donner Summit PUD is planning on expanding the system, their plans, according to Livak, do not include development at Royal Gorge. Another concern could be traffic. With only one road into and out of Serene Lakes, if a large development is proposed a second road out of the neighborhood may be necessary.
The next step would be for Royal Gorge to present a plan for development based on public input, the environmental limitations of the site, and of course what makes sense economically to Royal Gorge. The plan will probably arrive after the first of the year according to Mike Livak, which may precede the conclusion of the SBC process. The plan is currently being prepared to submit to Placer County, which will be the lead agency in the process. ‘Our original intent was to complete the peer review before submitting a plan, but that process is taking longer than anticipated. In the event the process identifies new information, we have told Placer County we can go back and amend the plan’ Livak says.
As the process continues keep your eye on future issues of Moonshine Ink for the details.
Summit Summit
On December 16 the Donner Summit Area Association and Serene Lakes Property Association are conducting a ‘Summit Summit’ at the Donner Trail School. The goal is to have all organizations in the Donner Summit area reach consensus regarding the future of long-term development planning in the area. The public is invited to the meeting, which will run from 2 to 6 p.m.
For information contact Dan Wexler at 530-426-3225 or wex@flarg.com.
~ Tim Hauserman has lived in the Tahoe area since…well, a long time ago. He wrote the guidebook to The Tahoe Rim Trail and his second book, ‘Monsters in the Woods: Backpacking with Children,’ will be published by University of Nevada Press in the spring of 2007.
