Glenshire Drive to Get New Pavement and Bike Lanes
TRUCKEE
Half of Glenshire Drive will be repaved and widened this summer, and the other half will be repaved and widened next year, adding much-anticipated bike lanes and drainage improvements to the street that connects the Glenshire neighborhood to town.
This summer’s roadwork is expected to begin in late June or early July, and will result in one-way traffic and up to 10-minute road closures during the day, said Dan Wilkins, Town of Truckee engineer. The road will be closed at night from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. during construction, and traffic will be re-routed onto Interstate 80.
Contractors will be rebuilding the section of road between Highlands Avenue and Berkshire Drive (Olympic Heights to Glenshire) this summer. The $3.3 million project is partially funded by a state grant.
Truckee Donner Land Trust Starts Royal Gorge Planning Process
DONNER SUMMIT
The Truckee Donner Land Trust is beginning a public outreach process to help guide future management of the nearly 3,000-acre property on Donner Summit. Community meetings and focus groups will take place in July and August. There are several methods to provide input: community meetings, focus groups, property tours, online surveys, and one-on-one meetings. This information will be used to build consensus for the master plan for the long-term future of the property. The sizable property has enormous biological, historical, and recreational resources and encircles a large subdivision. To learn more about the public outreach process, to provide input, and to sign up for Royal Gorge property tours, visit royalgorgeoutreach.org.
Legacy Trail Extension Goes to Bid
TRUCKEE
The extension of the Legacy Trail to Glenshire is expected to begin late this summer and be completed by next fall.
The paved trail will run on the south side of the Truckee River, and is a long-planned pedestrian and bike connection between Glenshire and the rest of town.
The project will be completed with the help of $2.9 million in state funding. The total cost of the project is estimated to be $4.5 million.
Roller Coaster Appealed by Condo Association
NORTHSTAR
Northstar’s plans for an alpine coaster, the Forest Flyer, was approved by the Placer County Planning Commission on May 23 and subsequently appealed by the Aspen Grove Owners Association. The board of supervisors will hear the appeal sometime after June.
The Forest Flyer includes 1,500 feet of uphill track and a half-mile of downhill track. The planning director has determined the flyer to be similar to a ski lift since riders are pulled uphill then descend by gravity. The entire ride would take approximately seven to nine minutes.
The flyer was first proposed in 2010 by Northstar’s former owners, Booth Creek, and was met with widespread opposition from homeowners due to its starting location at the village. Vail Resorts, the ski area’s new owners, changed the coaster’s location to mid-mountain, which is only accessible by gondola. The new location has the support of the Northstar Property Owners Association and The Northstar Mountain Association.
Aspen Grove is appealing the project on the grounds that it is segmented from Northstar’s master plan and because of traffic concerns. Aspen Grove and Northstar are currently in litigation over issues from an infiltration pond. In February, a judge ruled in the condo association’s favor; Northstar has appealed.
If the board of supervisors denies the appeal, Northstar is scheduled to begin construction this summer. The ski area has estimated it will need to cut down 75 trees over 2.5 acres, which is fewer than 1 percent of the trees on the 400-acre parcel.
Grocery Outlet Planned
TRUCKEE
The Town of Truckee has received an application for the construction of a new Grocery Outlet store at the corner of Palisades Drive and Brockway Road on a parcel of land in between the 7-Eleven convenience store and the area known as Hilltop.
The grocery store application was filed in May. An application is the first step in the Town of Truckee review process that will include a public hearing and full review process.
Inspired by the Core Improvement Project, Kings Beach Cleaning Up
KINGS BEACH
With the Kings Beach Commercial Core Improvement Project’s construction of sidewalks, bike lanes, and more parking in the center of town, as well as construction of other projects like the Community House, Kings Beach is undergoing a community-wide revitalization.
“The Core is inspiring everything,” said Theresa May Duggan, a longtime community organizer in Kings Beach. “Things are happening. King Beach is moving right along.”
Some efforts have been going on for many years, like the annual Tahoe Bay to Bay Clean Up Day, where more than 100 volunteers in Kings Beach, Tahoe Vista, Carnelian Bay, and Crystal Bay picked up trash on June 1. Clean Up Day is put on by the North Tahoe Business Association, which partnered for the first time this year with the Tahoe Expedition Academy. Last year, over 5,000 pounds of garbage was collected, and organizers had hoped to exceed that amount this year.
Other participating community groups included the Boys and Girls Club of North Lake Tahoe’s Green Team, which educates youth about waste management and Leave No Trace principles. The group recycles and composts year-round, which saves about 3,000 pounds of waste from going into landfills.
There are also some new endeavors to beautify Kings Beach. The North Tahoe Family Resource Center will host a Community Art Mural Project from June 24 to 30 to complete the mural located on the Kings Beach Community Garden on Rainbow and Secline streets. The original artist, Cruz Ortiz Zamarron, will help direct the project. All community members are invited to participate, and there will be a mural activity for kids younger than 4 years old. Last day to sign up for a time slot is June 14.
The NTFRC is already talking about other ways to smarten up Kings Beach, like neighborhood art projects and adopt-a-block programs to keep streets clean.
“These are all to go along with the Commercial Core project,” said Analiz Servin, NTFRC program manager. “It’s for the whole area, not just the front. By doing projects built into the grid, people will take more pride in their community.”
Info: Community Art Mural Project, Yamileth Gutierrez, (530) 546-0952 ~ Melissa Siig/Moonshine Ink
Proposed Tahoe Area Biomass Plant Takes Another Step Forward
PLACER COUNTY
Placer County’s proposed Cabin Creek Biomass Facility project, which will use forest waste to produce renewably sourced electricity, cleared another hurdle last month. The Board of Supervisors unanimously denied the third-party appeal of the Dec. 6, 2012 Planning Commission certification of the project’s final environmental impact report and approval of the project’s conditional use permit.
However, discussions between the county and the Arizona-based Center for Biological Diversity, which filed the appeal, resulted in seven new proposed conditions of approval. These conditions address the source of the biomass and include additional review and enforcement provisions. The board incorporated all seven of these new conditions into the project’s Conditional Use Permit.
“I think you helped us take what was already a good project and make it better,” said Supervisor Jennifer Montgomery. Info: Gerry Haas, Planning Services Division, (530) 745-3000
Kings Beach the Focus of Community Plan Updating Efforts
KINGS BEACH
As part of Placer County’s efforts to update its community/general plans in the Tahoe Basin, the county will conduct a vision charrette this summer for the community of Kings Beach. The goal is to create a vision for the future of the Kings Beach commercial core and recreation areas as it evolves over the next 20-plus years.
The process will review the work done to date and provide an opportunity to generate new ideas. This work will help to inform Placer County’s Tahoe Basin Community Plan Update.
Scheduled public workshops and sessions where community members will be able to meet and discuss their ideas with the project team and see the vision plan transform from written thoughts to illustrative graphics and images include:
Kings Beach Pre-Charrette Workshop: June 19 from 5 to 6:30 p.m., North Tahoe Event Center, 8318 North Lake Tahoe Blvd., Kings Beach
Kings Beach 3-Day Vision Charrette: July 16-18, North Tahoe Event Center
Public Sessions: July 16: 12 to 1:30 p.m. and 5 to 6:30 p.m.; July 18: 5 to 6 p.m.
Info: Crystal Jacobsen, Placer County Planning Services Division, cjacobse@placer.ca.gov, (530) 745-3000, placer.ca.gov/Home/Departments/CommunityDevelopment/Planning/TahoeBasinCPUpdate.aspx
