Timeshare project working its way through approval process

The developer of the stalled convention center project at the state line is moving forward with plans for 20 timeshare units on Lake Parkway, across from the Forest Suites Resort.

The project, called the Gondola Vista Timeshare Resort, also would include four affordable-housing units, for a total of 24 units.

The proposal was reviewed by the city's Planning Commission on Sept. 11 and still must go to the City Council for approval. A date for that hearing has not been set.

The developer of the Gondola Vista project is Falcon Capital LLC, whose managing member is Randy Lane. Lane also is managing member of Lake Tahoe Development Co., the developer of the convention center project. Construction on that project stopped early this year.

Gondola Vista and the convention center are "completely separate" projects, and there is no linkage between the two, including their financing, said attorney Lew Feldman, who is representing the developer.

But construction of either project is not going to move forward until the national financial crisis is resolved, Feldman said Tuesday.

"There is simply no money to borrow," Feldman said. "This is a problem that is much broader than South Lake Tahoe."

However, Feldman said now is a good time to plan developments and receive needed approvals so that projects are ready to go when financing materializes.

At the Planning Commission meeting this month, commission members were split as to whether the Gondola Vista project should be required to have its own sidewalk, as city planning staff has recommended. The developer wants to build a crosswalk to an existing sidewalk on the other side of the street instead.

Feldman argued that many skiers come off the slopes at Heavenly Mountain Resort, cross Lake Parkway midblock, then walk through the Forest Suites property as a shortcut back to the gondola. Having a crosswalk there would make the crossing safer, he said.

Feldman compared the situation with that on Heavenly Village Way, where pedestrians have been reluctant to walk to the corner to cross the street and jaywalking was common. A midblock crosswalk ultimately was installed between the Raley's-anchored Village Center and Heavenly Village across the street.

A new sidewalk for Gondola Vista also would require coverage of sensitive stream-zone land, which would require approval from the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency, Feldman said. And if Lake Parkway is widened as part of a plan to reduce traffic on Highway 50 through the casino corridor, the sidewalk might need to be removed, he said.

But city planning staff want the developer to build a sidewalk about 340 feet long, from the Gondola Vista project to the corner of Heavenly Village Way. There, pedestrians could cross the street more safely to get to Raley's or Heavenly Village.

"Midblock crosswalks are a hazard," said Public Works Engineering Manager Stan Hill.

Westbound traffic would be descending a hill just before the crosswalk, city staff said, and icy winter roads would make the crossing even more hazardous.

The project is a chance to reverse the city's long history of not building sidewalks, Hill said.

"This is an opportunity. We have a new development," Hill said. "It seems like we shouldn't let the developer off the hook."

The Gondola Vista timeshares would be four-bedroom units with attached garages in 10 duplex buildings. Three of the four affordable-housing units would be two-bedroom. The fourth would be a one-bedroom unit for an on-site employee, plus an office and guest check-in lobby.

The project was approved by a TRPA hearings officer May 15.