North Lake Tahoe development program gets five-year extension
The Placer County Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to extend for another five years a program that helps improve and rebuild parts of North Lake Tahoe.
The North Lake Tahoe Economic Development Incentive Program, will now continue through 2031. Leaders say it helps bring new hotels, fix older buildings and improve roads and sidewalks in the Placer County area of the Lake Tahoe Basin.
County officials said the program was started nine years ago because building projects in the Tahoe Basin is very expensive. In fact, no large new hotel projects have been built there since the early 1960s. The goal of the program was to encourage new investment while helping improve the environment and visitor experience in North Lake Tahoe.
The program helps developers in three main ways: helping cover special development costs, giving back part of hotel tax money collected from visitors, and helping pay for infrastructure projects like sidewalks, parking areas and water systems, according to Placer County officials.
One important part of the program involves Tourist Accommodation Units. These are special permits required for lodging projects under rules created by the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency, according to Placer County officials.
The county keeps a supply of the Tourist Accommodation Units that can be loaned to approved projects. Developers pay the county back over time using hotel tax money earned from visitors staying at the property.
District 5 Supervisor Cindy Gustafson said extending the program shows the county is committed to improving North Lake Tahoe.
“The program helps encourage projects that support our local economy, improve community infrastructure and enhance the visitor experience while recognizing the unique development challenges within the Tahoe Basin,” she said.
The board also approved changes to the hotel tax rebate system for remodeled lodging projects to match rising construction costs. Officials said construction costs in California have increased by 31% over the past year.
