SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. – The city of South Lake Tahoe’s Mid-Town Area Plan process is now underway. Senior Planner Anna Kashuba made the announcement at City Council on Tuesday, May 7.

Councilmember Cristi Creegan said, “This has been a long time coming for us.”

Along with the announcement, Kashuba provided a tentative timeline with hopes of having the plan complete and adopted by fall of next year. This includes agency approval and adoption from the Planning Commission, City Council and the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency, currently slated for approval between June and August 2025.

Staff plans on being busy this summer with community and stakeholder outreach and engagement scheduled August through September.

They’ll draft the plan thereafter, incorporating the feedback and presenting the draft plans in December for further community feedback and revisions.

“We want to have an inclusive and equitable outreach approach and include those not traditionally brought into the planning process, such as our high school and college aged population,” Kashuba revealed to Council. They’ll also conduct outreach to the Washoe Tribe.

They’re making economic activity and redevelopment a priority in the area to address the vacant and underused sites in the mid-town area. The city’s Vacant and Underused Sites Inventory identified that 17 of 40 citywide identified sites are in the proposed plan boundaries.

In discussions, Council provided consensus directing the City Manager send a letter of support for Assembly Bill 930. If passed, the bill could provide a possible implementation tool, providing access to state loans to jumpstart transit-oriented infill development and supportive infrastructure. It could also provide access to tax increment financing.

The South Tahoe Association of Realtors is incorporated to provide analysis and recommendations for economic development and redevelopment strategies in the proposed plan areas.

Councilmember Scott Robbins inquired whether the proposed plan boundaries are set in stone or flexible. Kashuba answered they are subject to change within the planning process.

Current boundaries include the South Lake Tahoe Recreation Area, Bijou Golf Course and meadow, Bijou Community Park, Sierra Tahoe Commercial area and parcels within the Bijou/Al Tahoe Community Plan.