SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. – On Thursday, the city’s planning commission unanimously approved the proposal for an affordable housing project on 3900 and 3908 Lake Tahoe Boulevard, adding to the affordable housing available in South Lake Tahoe.

Back in 2022, the city’s successor agency released a notice indicating that the parcels on 3900 and 3908 Lake Tahoe Boulevard were available for development as an affordable housing project. Novin Development Corporation and SMR Development LLC are working with the city to develop the project.

The proposal described a four-story structure with on-site covered parking, a second-floor courtyard, an office, learning center, and indoor bike storage for residents. The 75 units will consist of 31 one-bedroom units, 23 two-bedroom units, 18 three-bedroom units, 2 two-bedroom live-work units, and one two-bedroom manager’s unit, with bonus units from the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA). All of the site will be deed-restricted, ensuring its affordability in the future. The site’s proposed height is 59 feet, with a maximum height of 65 feet.

Like other affordable housing projects, it’s aimed at those who live at 80% or below the area median income (AMI). However, the two live-work units are technically achievable housing. TRPA has three criteria for residents in achievable housing: they must not have a household income not in excess of 120% AMI, at least one occupant of the household must work full-time in the region, or the resident must be a retired person who has lived in a deed-restricted unit in Tahoe for more than seven years.

Commissioner Julia Lucksinger asked about if there would be projects like this to address the “missing middle”, referencing that someone who worked at the newly opened Target full-time may not qualify for the affordable housing. Director of development services Zachary Thomas noted how challenging it was for cities across the United States to address people living at 80% to 120% of the AMI. Thomas also clarified that the two live-work units are achievable, which was Novin and SMR Development’s way of balancing the project’s costs, as there are few funding sources that help build achievable housing.

SMR Development’s CEO, Shellan Rodriguez also presented and was available for questions.  The commission had questions regarding parking management, snow load, pedestrian access to the sidewalk, and construction supervision for the project. Commissioner Douglas Williams asked when SMR was planning on breaking ground. Rodriguez indicated that they would follow the city’s lead on local preference for the project and were not planning on doing any groundwork until the project was fully funded. However, in a best-case scenario, she said that if funding was secured in August and granted in December, they would break ground in spring of 2026.

Chair Natalia Wieczorek expressed her support for the project, saying, “I am hopeful that this project will inspire additional similar uses of properties in the vicinity in the Tourist Core, really pushing for density and housing—it meets the goals for this particular area. Even though it seems out of scale now, it does not mean it will be out of scale in the future.”

The proposal passed unanimously, with Chair Wieczorek wishing the developers and city well in securing funding.

Eli Ramos is a reporter for Tahoe Daily Tribune. They are part of the 2024–26 cohort of California Local News Fellows through UC Berkeley.