IT’S OFFICIAL: The Village at Palisades proposed development faces another lawsuit. League to Save Lake Tahoe and Sierra Watch have filed a legal challenge based on unaddressed environmental impacts.The League to Save Lake Tahoe and Sierra Watch filed a joint lawsuit on Dec. 5 challenging Placer County’s approval of the Village at Palisades Tahoe Specific Plan, a development that both organizations claim worsens traffic congestion, increases air pollution, erodes roadways, and degrades water quality in the Lake Tahoe Basin.
“As a solutions-based organization, litigation is an option of last resort. To protect Lake Tahoe, we were left with no choice in this case,” said Dr. Darcie Goodman Collins, League to Save Lake Tahoe CEO. “We have met repeatedly with development representatives and county officials to urge them to consider alternatives that would mitigate the environmental impacts of this project. But they were not interested. We are not opposed to the modernization and expansion of Palisades Tahoe, but we must take a stand to keep Tahoe blue.”
The proposed development, which was unanimously approved by the Placer County Board of Supervisors on Nov. 19, calls for nearly 300,000 square feet of commercial space, almost 1,500 bedrooms in up to 850 units, and over 2,000 additional parking spaces. Palisades Tahoe’s own environmental reports indicate that the project would create 3,300 new daily car trips on the busiest days, with 1,353 of those trips flowing into the Tahoe Basin, contributing significant pollution to Tahoe’s air and water.
Sierra Watch launched the grassroots effort to stop Alterra’s project more than 10 years ago. It filed a lawsuit against the county in 2017 for approving the project, which it won on appeal. The court ruled that more environmental analysis was needed on impacts to the lake, especially traffic and water quality. Palisades Tahoe resubmitted the project in 2023. The new lawsuit argues that the resubmitted project did not adequately address these impacts.
The league had proposed a smaller project with lesser impacts, or a phased construction plan with checkpoints along the way so adjustments could be made that ensure minimal impacts to Tahoe. Those requests were rejected by Alterra.
“We have worked for more than a decade to find a compromise here, but Alterra was unwilling to embrace project alternatives that would achieve their goals without impacting Tahoe,” said Goodman Collins. “We are committed to an open dialogue with Alterra and county officials to design a project that will provide workforce housing and uplift the Tahoe community without jeopardizing the precious natural resources that are treasured by all who live, work, and visit here.”
Goodman Collins is also concerned that approval of the project could set a dangerous precedent for projects outside the Basin.
~ League to Save Lake Tahoe press release and MS
