County passes road changes

By Annie Flanzraich
Bonanza News Editor, aflanz@tahoebonanza.com
May 9, 2008

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Some residents say they will file an appeal
The Washoe County Planning Commission approved Boulder Bay LLC’s request Tuesday night to redesign roads around the Tahoe Biltmore in Crystal Bay, but a group of citizens called Friends of Crystal Bay say they plan to appeal the board’s decision.

“We’re planning to appeal and use all the remedies we can,” said Ann Nichols, a spokeswoman for the group.

Boulder Bay applied to the county for an abandonment of Reservoir Road and a realignment of Wassou Road. They also requested a slope variance for Lake View Avenue.

Boulder Bay’s future site stands on the location of the Tahoe Biltmore and former Tahoe Mariner site. The site is split in half by Wassou and Reservoir roads. To avoid that splice, the developer applied to the county to abandon Reservoir Road and realign Wassou Road so that it would meet with Lakeview Avenue. Lake View Avenue would then be extended to meet with Stateline Road. To make that extension happen, Boulder Bay also needed a variance because Lake View’s slope would be 12.5 percent, above the county’s 10 percent limit but still below Lake View’s current slope of 14 percent.

The Washoe County Planning Commission approved both the abandonment and the variance, but not before hearing almost two and a half hours of testimony including about 30 Crystal Bay residents and neighbors who were present.

Some residents, like Coleman Much who lives on Lake View Avenue, said they disagreed with the county’s staffs’ opinion to approve the changes.

“The scope of the project renders the staff's approval completely meaningless,” he said. “This is fundamentally unfair and contrary to sound land use planning.”
Still other neighbors spoke in favor of the project.

“ I would feel no hesitation to see Reservoir Road abandoned,” said Paul Reynolds, who lives adjacent to the Tahoe Biltmore. “I think it makes a lot of sense I think it makes sense from a safety point.”

In the end, four of the six planning commissioners agreed with Reynolds.
“I think its important to do for the residents for the safety issues” said commissioner Christy Magers, who is vice chair of the board.

While many of the residents spoke of their concerns about the size of the Boulder Bay project, Magers said the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency was capable of handling those concerns in its process.

“The TRPA is more than adequate to handle those issues very well for the residents,” she said.

Residents who do not agree with the board’s decision have 10 days from the decision date to appeal it. That process includes forms, and a $476 fee to cover administrative costs.

Boulder Bay CEO Roger Wittenberg said the project would move forward even with the possibility of an appeal.

“The appeal will not affect our progress,” he said. “If there is a change in the ruling we will absolutely abide by that change. It will be inconvenient but we will play by the rules.”