Martis Valley West
The Martis Valley West Specific Plan (MVWSP) proposes the development of 760 residences and 6.6 acres of commercial/retail on undeveloped forest land, with buildings located up to and on the ridge-line above North Lake Tahoe. The project area is immediately adjacent to the Lake Tahoe Basin and will create more traffic within the Basin.
FOWS Concerns
This project will add to increasing traffic problems in the region, threaten future access for emergency services and evacuation routes, create significant environmental impacts, set more bad precedents for the over-development of Tahoe, and steal from future generations the current views of natural forest and ridge-lines that can now be seen from areas throughout the Basin and on the Lake. Although we have provided more detailed information below, visit the Mountain Area Preservation’s Stop Martis Valley West page for additional information. The project is currently halted by litigation.
MVWSP Timeline
December 2021: Oral arguments were heard on 12/17 in front of the State’s Third District Court of Appeals; the Court has 90 days to determine if the environmental report on the Martis Valley West development project was done properly. Issues include inadequate analyses of traffic impacts to the Tahoe Basin, wildfire/evacuation concerns, and other impacts. The Sierra Watch, the League to Save Lake Tahoe, and Mountain Area Preservation are behind the appeal.
November 2018: On March 12, 2018, the California Superior Court released its decision on the MVWSP lawsuit filed by the Mountain Area Preservation, Sierra Watch, and the League to Save Lake Tahoe (more information below under “Final EIR”). On the positive side, the court agreed the Environmental Impact Report (EIR) had not adequately addressed emergency evacuations in a high fire danger area. On the negative side, the court found that the EIR was adequate with respect to the analysis of impacts (including impacts to the Tahoe Basin). In May an appeal was filed by conservation groups challenging the court’s ruling that the environmental analysis had sufficiently addressed the project’s impacts to the Lake Tahoe Basin, and their opening brief was filed in November 2018.
December 2017: In the fall of 2016, two lawsuits were filed. One was brought by the California Clean Energy Committee, and the other by the Mountain Area Preservation, Sierra Watch, and the League to Save Lake Tahoe; the three organizations filed their opening legal document with the court on 06/30/17 - legal brief. A court hearing was held on 12/14/17 for the organizations’ lawsuit.
October 2016: In September the Placer County Board of Supervisors voted 4-1 for ‘tentative’ approval of the Martis Valley West development. It was estimated over 300 people were in attendance and approx. 60 members of the public spoke with over 2/3 opposed to the project as proposed. Impacts to traffic, public health and safety (e.g. evacuations, emergency access), scenic quality, and Lake Tahoe’s clarity were extensively discussed by many members of the public, yet Board deliberations barely brushed on these topics after public comment had closed. The Board of Supervisors gave final approval to the project at their 10/11/16 hearing in Auburn, despite information that the conservation of the East Parcel through sale to public land trusts was not happening; the sale was touted as the main reason the four Supervisors voted in favor of the project regardless of the significant and unavoidable impacts. Read FOWS comments to the Placer County Board of Supervisors - 09/10/16 and 10/07/16.
July 2016: The final EIR, released in May 2016, did not adequately respond to most of these comments. Further, Placer County ignored concerns expressed by numerous organizations and entities, including FOWS, the Tahoe Area Sierra Club, Sierra Watch, Mountain Area Preservation Foundation, the League to Save Lake Tahoe, and the California Attorney General, that the EIR had not sufficiently addressed the project’s impacts to Lake Tahoe. Read FOWS comments to the Placer County Planning Commission - 06/06/16 and 07/04/16.
December 2015: After the
Friends of the West Shore & Tahoe Area Sierra Club: Letter
League to Save Lake Tahoe: Cover, Full Letter
Mountain Area Preservation Foundation & Sierra Watch: Cover, Full Letter
North Tahoe Preservation Alliance: Cover & Letter, Exhibits
North Tahoe Public Utility District: Letter
Sierra Club – Mother Lode Chapter: Letter
Waller, Ellie (Tahoe Vista): Letter
November 2015: A public hearing was held by Placer County Planning Commission to receive input. Numerous organizations including FOWS expressed substantial concerns with the adequacy of the draft environmental impact report (DEIR) released on 10/22/15 and the impacts to Lake Tahoe from the project, and requested the technical studies be sufficiently revised and the DEIR recirculated, however Placer County does not plan to do so.
What can I do?
Every West Shore resident should understand this project and its potential impact on our community, so thank you for reading this and staying active! More ways to help:
Write letters to Placer/El Dorado County Board of Supervisors and the TRPA Governing Board.
Attend Placer/El Dorado County and TRPA public meetings and workshops. Check our site for updates on upcoming meetings.
Read our newsletters and connect with us on facebook to stay informed on opportunities to take action.
Get in touch with us. Let us know your concerns and what can we do to help you understand this project.
Support us through membership, volunteering, or donation.