A conceptual look at the proposed Tahoe City Lodge.

Courtesy Kila Tahoe |

More online To find out more about the Tahoe City Lodge and the Tahoe Basin Area Plan, you can visit the county’s website at bit.ly/2ebzhLS. You can visit tahoecitylodge.com for more from Kila Tahoe on the lodge project.

TAHOE CITY, Calif. — Two days after last week’s closely watched Placer County Board of Supervisors hearing regarding the Village at Squaw Valley redevelopment, the county planning commission voted unanimously Nov. 17 to recommend approval of the Tahoe Basin Area Plan and the Tahoe City Lodge.

THE LODGE

The 118-room Tahoe City Lodge project, proposed by Kila Tahoe, would redevelop the 1.4-acre commercial property located on North Lake Boulevard next to the Tahoe City Golf Course and across from the Tahoe Marina Lodge.

A four-story “condo hotel” would replace the crumbling two-story, red, white and blue shopping complex, the site of the old Henrikson Building.

According the commission’s Nov. 17 agenda, the condo hotel would consist of 118 units, with 78 being sold to private individuals and the remaining 40 units would be retained by the lodge. The project also includes a rooftop bar, a restaurant and redevelopment of the Tahoe City Golf Course Clubhouse.

The lodge is calculated to require 19-21 employees, according to county documents. Efforts to encourage the use of bicycles and public transit include free transit passes as well as onsite bike racks and showers for employees.

THE PLAN

The Tahoe Basin Area Plan, which was jointly approved, covers 72 miles of Placer County land within the Lake Tahoe Basin. The area covers the west shore of Lake Tahoe from the Placer-El Dorado county line and reaches around the lake’s perimeter, covering Tahoe City and Kings Beach, and finally ending at the Nevada state line on the north shore.

Notable changes to the plan’s initial draft, which came in response to formal comments, include an amendment to allow secondary units to be built on land parcels smaller than one acre. County staff said during the hearing that the purpose of this change was to help alleviate the housing shortage.

The secondary units would not require residential housing allocations—another effort to make them easier for homeowners to build. In other words, a set number of allocations are available each year for those who want to build, and the reason they’re limited is ensure that development is paced within the basin.

Second units were included in this requirement, but under they the new plan they can instead receive allocations from Tahoe Regional Planning Agency’s bonus unit pool — which, unlike residential allocations, do not carry a fee.

WHAT’S NEXT?

Because the plan covers land within the basin, it requires the approval of Placer County’s Board of Supervisors as well as the TRPA.

The Placer County Board of Supervisors is scheduled to hear the joint proposal for the Tahoe Basin Area Plan and Tahoe City Lodge during its Dec. 6 meeting, and the TRPA Governing Board is expected to hear the proposal during its Jan. 25 and 26 meeting.