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Pathway 2007 is taking a major step forward in January by moving into local "place-based" planning teams around the lake. Pathway 2007 is the partnership between Tahoe agencies and the public to create a 20-year vision for the Lake Tahoe Basin.
Balancing Lake Tahoe's natural and manmade environments has never been easy at Lake Tahoe. Looking ahead 20 years, the key ingredient to success will be community involvement and participation, which is the foundation of the local "place-based" working groups being formed. Three major urbanized areas around the lake are forming working groups:
-- South Shore/South Lake Tahoe, El Dorado and Douglas counties
-- Washoe County/Incline Village and Crystal Bay
-- Placer County/North Shore communities.
This partnership between local governments and the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency and other agencies is unprecedented and is a major improvement from the old way of doing business at Tahoe. From the South Shore's diverse beauty, to Incline's peaceful shores, to Tahoe City's downtown charm, each community around the lake has its own unique character and specific place-based needs. The approach we're taking will help ensure the regional vision created for the Lake Tahoe Basin can work at the local neighborhood level.
The four Pathway 2007 agencies - TRPA, Lahontan Regional Water Quality Control Board, Nevada Department of Environmental Protection, and USDA Forest Service - previously revised their long-range plans independently of each other. Seeing the need to streamline the agencies' regulations, the Pathway 2007 process involves each agency updating its next set of regional plans in a collaborative way while incorporating public input throughout the process. The non-urban areas at Lake Tahoe make up about 85 percent of the land in the Basin (the forest and beaches for example) which will require collaboration between the place-based working groups and the Forest Service and our two state governments.
Place-based teams will be grassroots
As we look toward 2007 and TRPA's next regional plan begins to take shape, it's imperative each community become involved in the planning process. While this multi-step planning process will be comprehensive, it can be broken down into a few overarching themes. First, the TRPA has identified the need to streamline our regulations to make it easier for communities to understand future planning guidelines.
Second, communities need assistance in creating a vision for a sustainable future. This includes such steps as educating the public about cumulative effects of individuals, discussing smart growth strategies and developing community design guidelines that work from the forest boundary to the commercial centers around the lake.
Third, we've identified the need to create better linkages and consistency among basin planning agencies. This calls for all Pathway partner agencies' plans to work in harmony with one another and not to conflict or add layers of bureaucracy.
Pathway is all about involvement
Community input and participation is the key to Pathway 2007's success. That's why the Pathway Forum, a citizen's advisory group, has been meeting for nearly a year. The 40-member group, composed of stakeholder representatives from local, regional and national communities around the lake, is the public's direct link to the four Pathway agencies. The Forum will be working with the place-based working groups in the next phase of Pathway. A list of Forum members and their interests may be found at www.pathway2007.org. If you'd like to get involved with your community's place-based working group, here are your contacts:
-- South Shore/ City of South Lake Tahoe, El Dorado and Douglas counties: David Jinkens, (530) 542-6045
-- Washoe County/Incline Village and Crystal Bay: Eva Krause, (775) 328-3796
-- Placer County/North Shore communities: Jennifer Merchant, (530) 546-1952
- John Singlaub is executive director of the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency.
Balancing Lake Tahoe's natural and manmade environments has never been easy at Lake Tahoe. Looking ahead 20 years, the key ingredient to success will be community involvement and participation, which is the foundation of the local "place-based" working groups being formed. Three major urbanized areas around the lake are forming working groups:
-- South Shore/South Lake Tahoe, El Dorado and Douglas counties
-- Washoe County/Incline Village and Crystal Bay
-- Placer County/North Shore communities.
This partnership between local governments and the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency and other agencies is unprecedented and is a major improvement from the old way of doing business at Tahoe. From the South Shore's diverse beauty, to Incline's peaceful shores, to Tahoe City's downtown charm, each community around the lake has its own unique character and specific place-based needs. The approach we're taking will help ensure the regional vision created for the Lake Tahoe Basin can work at the local neighborhood level.
The four Pathway 2007 agencies - TRPA, Lahontan Regional Water Quality Control Board, Nevada Department of Environmental Protection, and USDA Forest Service - previously revised their long-range plans independently of each other. Seeing the need to streamline the agencies' regulations, the Pathway 2007 process involves each agency updating its next set of regional plans in a collaborative way while incorporating public input throughout the process. The non-urban areas at Lake Tahoe make up about 85 percent of the land in the Basin (the forest and beaches for example) which will require collaboration between the place-based working groups and the Forest Service and our two state governments.
Place-based teams will be grassroots
As we look toward 2007 and TRPA's next regional plan begins to take shape, it's imperative each community become involved in the planning process. While this multi-step planning process will be comprehensive, it can be broken down into a few overarching themes. First, the TRPA has identified the need to streamline our regulations to make it easier for communities to understand future planning guidelines.
Second, communities need assistance in creating a vision for a sustainable future. This includes such steps as educating the public about cumulative effects of individuals, discussing smart growth strategies and developing community design guidelines that work from the forest boundary to the commercial centers around the lake.
Third, we've identified the need to create better linkages and consistency among basin planning agencies. This calls for all Pathway partner agencies' plans to work in harmony with one another and not to conflict or add layers of bureaucracy.
Pathway is all about involvement
Community input and participation is the key to Pathway 2007's success. That's why the Pathway Forum, a citizen's advisory group, has been meeting for nearly a year. The 40-member group, composed of stakeholder representatives from local, regional and national communities around the lake, is the public's direct link to the four Pathway agencies. The Forum will be working with the place-based working groups in the next phase of Pathway. A list of Forum members and their interests may be found at www.pathway2007.org. If you'd like to get involved with your community's place-based working group, here are your contacts:
-- South Shore/ City of South Lake Tahoe, El Dorado and Douglas counties: David Jinkens, (530) 542-6045
-- Washoe County/Incline Village and Crystal Bay: Eva Krause, (775) 328-3796
-- Placer County/North Shore communities: Jennifer Merchant, (530) 546-1952
- John Singlaub is executive director of the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency.
