Housing Project Breaks Ground
TRUCKEE
The Frishman Hollow II project, located adjacent to Frishman I, on the corner of Rue Ivy and Highway 89 (near Alder Creek Middle School), will provide 68 income-restricted rental homes for the workforce of Truckee. The building recently broke ground, and the units will be a mix of studios, one-bedroom, two-bedroom, and three-bedroom apartments scattered between four buildings — two 30-unit, three-story buildings on Rue Ivy, off of Truckee Way, and two fourplex buildings located at the north side of the site, near the Prosser Dam Road roundabout. Additionally, 136 parking spots will be included.
Construction will continue this summer with hopes of opening in the spring of 2021. The income qualifications for the units will be capped at 80% of the area median income, which for a family of two in Truckee is $55,050. Currently, there are 380 affordable housing units in the town with wait-lists up to two years to get in.
~ Town of Truckee press release
The Great Hen Rescue
TRUCKEE
A thousand chickens flew into the Truckee Tahoe Airport on a recent Saturday night as part of a rescue by Animal Place, located in Grass Valley, the oldest and largest sanctuary for farmed animals in California. A farm in Iowa was set to kill over 100,000 birds with carbon monoxide gas, a practice called “depopulating” that’s used by struggling farms who have nowhere to send their animals amidst infected workers and slaughterhouse closures, all brought about by the current pandemic.
“It was incredibly moving to be on the Truckee Airport runway and watch the aeroplanes land with their precious cargo,” wrote Alida Labia, who volunteers with Animal Place in an email to Moonshine. “Doors opened and crates of wide-eyed exhausted hens were unloaded onto the transport vehicles, feeling fresh air for the first time in their lives, and home-bound to the sanctuary. These birds have never seen the outside of their [feces]-encrusted barren wire cages.”
The hens are now set to begin their rehabilitation process. Those with medical conditions will be looked after and stay at Animal Place; the others will be adopted out to loving homes.
~ AH, BL
Housing Program for Tahoe Employees, Full-Time Residents
SOUTH LAKE
The Saint Joseph Community Land Trust announced a new program to help preserve existing housing as permanently affordable homes for Tahoe Basin employees and full-time residents. The Tahoe Affordable Home Ownership Enabling (TAHOE) Program has been created to provide assistance to income-qualified households searching for a home in the Tahoe Basin; enable Saint Joseph CLT to purchase available homes to be made available to income qualified Tahoe Basin employees or full-time residents; and provide assistance to existing homeowners that are at risk of losing their homes due to a financial crisis.
In each case, the homes would be owned by the household being helped subject to a 99-year ground lease from Saint Joseph CLT, ensuring that the homes will remain permanently affordable and used as primary residences.
Saint Joseph CLT will initially fund the TAHOE Program with a $100,000 deposit into the newly created TAHOE Program fund at the El Dorado Community Foundation. Additional funds for the TAHOE Program will be sought through grants and donations from foundations, institutions and individuals.
~ Saint Joseph CLT press release
Tahoe Food Hub is Newest Forever Farms Member
GRASS VALLEY
In an ongoing effort to support and protect local agriculture and preserve a resilient community, BriarPatch Food Co-op recently announced the donation of $20,000 to collaborative campaign Forever Farms. The first acquisition endeavor of Forever Farms includes a public fundraising appeal for the purchase of the farmland leased by Mountain Bounty Farm. Before the launch, the Forever Farms partners had raised over 60% of the funding required to secure the property, with an additional $250,000 needed by July 1.
In December 2020, Mountain Bounty Farm’s 37-acre farmland lease situated on Birchville Road on the San Juan Ridge will expire with no option for a long-term agreement as the landowner intends to sell the property.
The Tahoe Food Hub has pledged to give $500 every month for one year as the newest member of the Forever Farms partnership, and will give an additional $25 for every donation over $100 made by Tahoe Food Hub supporters to the protection of critical farmland in Nevada County.
~ Bear Yuba Land Trust press release
Summer 2020 Construction Plans
TAHOE CITY
A number of construction work items are expected to be completed during the 2020 construction season, including a new curb, gutter, and sidewalk along State Route 89 from Fairway Drive to just south of the Tahoe City “wye” intersection; reconstructing the bike path along the east side of SR 89 from Fairway Drive to the bike path near the new, western roundabout; and reconstructing the bike path that runs parallel to the new SR 89 roadway segment.
Currently, no traffic delays, lane closures, or impacts to vehicular traffic are anticipated for construction work needed to be completed during summer 2020. Most of the work will take place off the roadway and/or along the shoulders.
Construction of the new roundabout at the Tahoe City “wye” and replacement of Fanny Bridge, along with work to be done on SR 89 between Fanny Bridge and the new transit center entrance, is scheduled to start spring 2022 and may take three seasons to complete.
~ Tahoe Transportation District press release
Shuttle Service Suspended for the Season
STATELINE
Tahoe Transportation District announced June 3 that the East Shore Express, its popular summer seasonal transit service from Incline Village to Sand Harbor, will not operate in 2020. TTD plans to resume the East Shore Express service in summer 2021. The suspension of this service for the 2020 season is an effort to promote public health and safety and assist in the prevention of visitation surges during the COVID-19 crisis.
~ TTD press release
Governor Funding 2020 Firefighting Efforts
SACRAMENTO
After three years of historic wildfires, there is the expectation that California will have 60% more fires in the 2020 fire season. Gov. Gavin Newsom recognizes both the risks and challenges, and has earmarked $85.7 million for CAL FIRE to improve surge capacity and “mitigate the ferocity of these fires.” The funds will be used for the hiring of 600 critical personnel.
~ Marketplace Communications press release
2 Million Pounds of Farm-Fresh Food Distributed Statewide
NEVADA
Thanks to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s recent $3 billion purchase and distribution of agricultural products under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, Nevada regional food banks, including Food Bank of Northern Nevada, recently began distributing food from the USDA Farmers to Families Food Box program. The food bank plans to distribute 345,000 pounds of produce throughout its service area, which includes more than 145 partner agencies in a 90,000-square-mile area across northern Nevada.
~ FBNN press release
Final Placer County Conservation Program Released
AUBURN
In a major step forward for the proposed Placer County Conservation Program, its final Environmental Impact Statement/Environmental Impact Report is now publicly available until June 22. If approved, the PCCP will coordinate and streamline local, state and federal permitting processes required as a condition of development, and create a large, interconnected reserve system to more effectively protect covered fish and wildlife species.
The final documents and other information are available on the Placer County website at placer.ca.gov/3362/placer-county-conservation-program.
~ Placer County press release
New Lodge for Tahoe Cross-Country Ski Area Up for Review
TAHOE CITY
The draft Environmental Impact Report for the Schilling Lodge Reconstruction Project at Tahoe Cross-Country ski area is available for public review. In 2015, the Schilling Lodge, a longtime summer home on the West Shore, was gifted to the Tahoe Cross-Country Ski Education Association to replace the 50-year-old former golf clubhouse that houses Tahoe XC. Over the past five years, the education association and the Tahoe City Public Utility District, which owns the land where the lodge is situated, have developed a proposal to reconstruct the historic structure on public land adjacent to North Tahoe High School. It would be used as the winter home of Tahoe XC and a trailhead for summer use.
The draft EIR describes impacts on the physical environment and potential mitigation measures of the proposal and its major alternative. The Tahoe XC Board of Directors are urging the public to provide input on the project. The TCPUD, as lead agency for CEQA compliance, is charged with producing the draft EIR and receiving public comment during the 45-day comment period. The document can be found at tcpud.org/capital-improvement-projects/tahoe-cross-country-lodge-replacement-and-expansion, along with instructions for public comment.
~ Tim Hauserman
Library Offers Summer Learning Online
NEVADA CITY
The Nevada County Community Library programming team has put together a dynamic online summer learning program. According to Jill Davidson, youth services librarian, the much-loved summer learning program has adapted to the ever-changing situation, and adult and youth services have put together take-away crafts and indoor and outdoor activities for patrons of all ages.
This year’s theme, Imagine Your Story, is about stories, fables, myths and legends, and even COVID-19 experiences. The program is open to individuals of all ages and runs from June 12 to July 31. Patrons who participate in the summer learning program will be able to register through the library website at mynevadacounty.com/2987/Summer-Learning-2020.
~ Nevada County Community Library press release
