Shorezone code could be ready for approval by June

Annie Flanzraich
Bonanza News Editor, aflanz@tahoebonanza.com
March 26, 2008

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The 20-year debate about the regulation of piers, buoys and boats could be nearing an end if the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency directs its staff at today's meeting to finalize the language of the ordinance.

If the TRPA approves, staff would move forward with the completion of the Shorezone Ordinance amendments and associated environmental impact statement. The governing board will hear the agenda item at 1 p.m. today at the Chateau.

Staff is asking for approval to move forward as the TRPA faces a budget crunch from both Nevada and California's predicted shortfalls.

"We're kind of in a budget crunch so we want to make sure that before we move forward the governing board is behind the shorezone update," said TRPA Spokesman Jeff Cowen.

If approved, the final language could be ready by June according to TRPA reports.

"The board will vote to give us direction," said TRPA Spokeswoman Julie Regan. "We will write the ordinances, and do the legal steps necessary to bring it back to the board for a vote."

The updated policy the TRPA will look at is the agency's preferred alternative which makes changes to pier and buoy regulations presented in Alternative 6A, given to the board in Fall 2006. In the end, the new shorezone ordinances would regulate boats, piers and buoys at the lake for the next 22 years.

The preferred alternative reduces by half the amount of piers that can be approved for the entire each year to 5, down from 10 in Alternative 6A. It also creates a system to phase in buoys based on a Blue Boating program.

The Blue Boating program would create a boat sticker program to mitigate pollutants coming into the lake due to increased motorized watercraft. Fees for the Blue Boating program are yet to be determined.

After the Blue Boating program is implemented TRPA can begin approving bouys up to 6,316 bouys around the lake. Currently there are 4.454 buoys.

Previously the lieutenant governors of Nevada and California disagreed on the existence of private piers. California Lt. Gov. John Garamendi was concerned about allowing private piers, while Nevada officials did not echo that concern.

"It's a collaboration between the two states," Regan said. "What we've been working on for the past year and we've been trying to faciliate is coming to an agreement for the number of piers."

The 20-year shorezone debate centers around the environmental effects of boats, buoys and piers around the lake. In 1987 the TRPA's regional plan prohibited development of the shorezone in fish habitats, and TRPA was to study the impact of construction in those areas.

Over the past 20 years, TRPA has studied the effects of structures in fish habitats and have found they pose no immediate threat to fish behavior, Regan said. The new shorezone policies aim to reflect those studies.

"We are trying to update a body of work with a modest approach," Regan said. "We think it's a reasonable approach for property owners who have been waiting years. We think this is a smart balance."