Kings Beach, CA…The Placer County Board of Supervisors received presentations on numerous Tahoe area issues at its regularly scheduled meeting on Monday and Tuesday April 23-24, 2012 in Kings Beach. Issues the Board heard included an update on the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency’s (TRPA) Regional Plan Update, the Placer County Community Plan Update for the Tahoe Basin and the Kings Beach Commercial Core Improvement Project.

Regional Plan Update: Placer County staff has been closely monitoring the TRPA Plan Update. A draft of the update, which is expected to be released to the public this week, will guide development in the Tahoe Basin for the next 20 years. County staff presented an update to the Supervisors of the work done to date by county staff.

The Supervisors learned that the Placer County Community Development/Resource Agency and the County Executive Office have been actively following TRPA’s progress on the Plan Update and regularly providing feedback as part of the Regional Plan Update Committee meetings.

At its April 25 and 256, 2012 meetings, the TRPA Governing Board will conduct a public hearing on the release of the draft Plan. Once released, County staff will review the Plan and then return to the Supervisors for direction on any issues identified in the Plan.

Staff from county Public Works, Planning, Engineering and Surveying, Executive Office, Facility Services and the former Redevelopment Agency all have provided input on the Plan. Each of these county divisions has commented on how TRPA’s current and proposed codes relate to each discipline.

Tahoe Basin Community Plan: The County’s Tahoe Basin Community Plan Update is closely tied to the TRPA Regional Plan Update. The Board received an update on the Community Plan from Planning Department staff.

As directed by the Board of Supervisors last July, Placer County Planning staff moved forward with the Tahoe Basin Community Plan Update (TBCPU) work program. The program has set up a public outreach strategy to ensure the county’s work on its own Community Plan for the Tahoe area is done in coordination with the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency’s (TRPA) Update.

There are four regions within the Placer County Community Plan for Lake Tahoe are: North Tahoe East (including the Kings Beach and Stateline areas); North Tahoe West (including the Carnelian Bay and Tahoe Vista areas), West Shore, and Greater Tahoe City. The working groups, also known as Plan Area Teams, have been staffed with nine members each, who will work to ensure the plans reflect the community’s vision. The Plan Team members will meet on May 9, 2012, to begin their work.

Kings Beach Commercial Core Improvement Project: On Tuesday, the Board approved the purchase of two parcels in Kings Beach that will be used for parking. The Improvement Project will revitalize a 1.1-mile section of Highway 28 through the middle of this Lake Tahoe community. The project will transform a four-lane highway with one signalized intersection into a three-lane thoroughfare that uses roundabouts and other traffic calming features. The project will build sidewalks, bicycle lanes and other aesthetic improvements.

Because on-street parking will be reduced when the project is built, part of its design is to add off-street parking primarily in the commercially developed areas adjacent to the highway. The two parcels obtained on Tuesday will be used for that purpose.

The Core Improvement project will also install water treatment facilities that will capture and treat runoff before it gets to the lake. Sediment-containing runoff contributes to the degradation of Lake Tahoe’s famed clarity.

A location has been secured for the samples of the sidewalk, pavers and planting mulch that is being proposed for use on the project. The county and its contractor are working to get the samples in place. The samples should be available for community viewing this spring.

The county is also coordinating with utility agencies so that utility features are moved prior to beginning work on the Improvement Project. The utility relocation work is expected to begin in May.