Placer County Board of Supervisors have approved Tahoe Basin Area Plan Phase 2 Housing Amendments to support new housing in the Lake Tahoe Basin. Photo courtesy of Placer County

KINGS BEACH, CA (MPG) - The Placer County Board of Supervisors this week unanimously approved the Tahoe Basin Area Plan Phase 2 Housing Amendments to support the development of new achievable housing in the Lake Tahoe Basin.

With this approval, the county adopted an addendum to the previously certified Tahoe Basin Area Plan’s environmental impact report in compliance with California Environmental Quality Act requirements. Staff noted that the proposed Phase 2 Housing Amendments would not result in any new or substantially more severe environmental impact than those previously identified in the Environmental Impact Report (EIR).

This approval repeals and replaces the Tahoe Basin Area Plan, amending Chapters 2 and 3 of the plan’s Implementing Regulations to refine code sections that promote achievable housing.

These amendments apply only to 100 percent deed-restricted housing projects within the town centers in Kings Beach and Tahoe City and other areas already zoned to allow multifamily housing. The amendments are intended to provide greater flexibility related to height, density and parking throughout the Tahoe Basin Area Plan area. Each deed-restricted property would be identified with one of the following three designations: affordable, moderate or achievable (local workers) housing.  

“These amendments are focused on making multifamily housing more financially feasible,” said Placer’s Principal Planner Emily Setzer. “The Tahoe Regional Planning Agency worked with consultants from Cascadia Partners to identify variables that could bring down the cost of a housing project and they landed on coverage, height, density and parking.”

Changes for 100 percent deed-restricted housing projects in the town centers include increasing maximum building height to 65 feet (up from 56 feet) with step-back design requirements for any height over 56 feet, removing density maximums, removing parking minimums (projects must still meet demand) and removing coverage limits if a regional stormwater system treats runoff.

For deed-restricted projects outside the town centers in areas where multifamily housing is already permitted, changes include: allowing more flexible roof pitch requirements to accommodate a third story, removing density maximums, increasing coverage to 70 percent if a regional stormwater system treats runoff and limiting parking to no more than 0.75 spaces per unit.

Tahoe Regional Planning Agency’s Regional Plan and Code of Ordinances were approved by its governing board on Dec. 13, 2023, with further amendments approved on June 26, 2024. The amendments were subsequently litigated before the parties settled in July 2024.

As the Tahoe Basin Area Plan is a joint document, the Tahoe Basin Area Plan Phase 2 Housing Amendments must be approved by both Tahoe Regional Planning Agency's Governing Board and the Placer County Board of Supervisors. Tahoe Regional Planning Agency’s Governing Board adopted the Tahoe Basin Area Plan amendments March 26.

The Tahoe Basin Area Plan was amended in 2020 for housing and accessory dwelling unit (ADU) updates and again in 2023 for housing and economic sustainability updates.

Over the past five years, diverse stakeholders and community groups shared feedback on these amendments through the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency’s Tahoe Living Working Group. The working group is composed of representatives from local jurisdictions, non-profits, builders and community members. They identified three phases of recommended amendments:

The first phase involved aligning Tahoe-Basin accessory dwelling unit allowances with state requirements. This phase was approved by the Board of Supervisors Dec. 15, 2020, and by Tahoe Regional Planning Agency’s Governing Board Feb. 24, 2021

During the second phase, Tahoe Regional Planning Agency hired a consultant, Cascadia Partners, to conduct a study in 2020 to outline what development standards could be changed to make projects financially feasible without public subsidies. The changes target height, density, parking and coverage for deed-restricted housing, mixed-use development and accessory dwelling units

For the third phase, called ‘Cultivating Communities’, the working group began meeting in Dec. 2024 to discuss a refined system to govern development rights and create future housing amendments to Tahoe Regional Planning Agency code and regional planning.

The third phase is expected to return to Tahoe Regional Planning Agency’s board next summer.

Learn more about the Tahoe Basin Area Plan here: https://www.placer.ca.gov/3342/Tahoe-Basin-Area-Plan.