In an ongoing effort to improve the visitor experience in North Lake Tahoe, Placer County continues to invest transient occupancy tax collected in the region into transit and other visitor-serving projects. The majority of the funding goes to transit, trails and other transportation projects. The county collects a 10 percent tax on the cost of overnight accommodations that last less than 30 days. Two percent of that amount is dedicated to projects in the eastern end of the county.

The Placer County Board of Supervisors today received a presentation detailing the funds, projects and community collaborations that have led to completion of infrastructure and transportation projects.

The region’s tourism master plan has identified top tier priorities such as Class I bike paths and trail systems, pedestrian infrastructure and expansion of transportation services. County priority areas addressed by these projects include environmental stewardship, transportation, recreation and parks, visitor services, tourism and economic development.

"We’re able to leverage our own TOT dollars through other partnerships to address community needs," said Erin Casey, Placer County senior management analyst at Lake Tahoe. "We’re supporting projects that expand transit services, construct new trails and provide additional visitor-serving facilities to support the tourism economy in North Lake Tahoe. These projects also meet environmental stewardship and economic development goals."

Since the additional 2 percent funding was approved by county voters in 1996, the county has invested $32 million on projects. That funding has been used to leverage more than $235 million in local, state and federal matching funds. Since the TOT increase, more than 100 projects have been funded.

Some of the county and community partner projects that have used TOT dollars include:

• Homewood bike trail;
• Martis Valley trail;
• Kings Beach Commercial Core Improvement Project;
• Fanny Bridge replacement;
• TART bus shelters, rebranding, bus purchases and the Tahoe City Transit Center;
• Dollar Creek trail;
• Tahoe City mobility plan;
• Squaw Valley bike trail;
• Lakeside multipurpose Trail; and
• Truckee River access trail.

Each year, the board allocates TOT funds to the North Lake Tahoe Resort Association for infrastructure and transportation projects in the Tahoe Tourism and Promotions Budget. Today, the board also approved an $2.2 million increase in the association’s capital improvements budget. That budget augmentation is due to a significant increase in TOT revenues from last year’s busy ski season.