INCLINE VILLAGE, Nev. – Washoe County Commissioners heard a first reading of some controversial updates to the Tahoe Area Plan during their Tuesday, July 15 meeting.

The plan was first adopted in 2021 and several of the updates included cleaning up language in the plan. 

However, the updates that have Incline Village and Crystal Bay residents on edge are mandatory updates coming from the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency. 

Those changes were dictated in the Phase 2 Housing Amendments, which were adopted in 2023 by the TRPA. Commissioner Alexis Hill, who represents Washoe County on the TRPA board, approved those amendments. 

The changes deal with parking, building height, coverage and density. IVCB residents raised concerns specifically on the parking amendment, which would take away the parking requirement in certain development cases. In Incline Village and Crystal Bay, parking is already limited so residents fear not requiring developers to provide a certain number of parking spots could exasperate an already existing issue. Washoe County negotiated with TRPA and is including an amendment in the Washoe Area Plan that would allow county staff to conduct additional analysis on parking requirements in permit applications. 

Another fear of IVCB residents centers around density as it concerns fire evacuation. TRPA amendments encourage in-fill and development in town centers. With traffic already being an issue in the summer, residents fear adding more development, would make evacuating nearly impossible. 

However, Eric Young, Senior Planner at Washoe County said when talking to fire experts, they said having people clustered is preferred because they can focus on community hardening and sheltering in place. Washoe County will be embarking on a fire evacuation study in the near future. 

The updates to the Washoe Area Plan also include a change of designation of Ponderosa Ranch to include multifamily and deed restricted housing, removal of any language around changes to Tyrolian Village and changing the ADU requirement from an acre to less than an acre. 

The Washoe Commissioners heard the residents concerns but the county is stuck between making changes that align with residents’ interests and concerns and following mandatory TRPA amendments. 

Hill read the amendments into the record and the item will come back to the commission for a public hearing and vote on August 26, 2025.