News
Opinion
ENLARGE
Heather Segale believes living in the Lake Tahoe basin is a privilege that entails a special responsibility.
Segale coordinates education and outreach for the UC Davis Lake Tahoe Environmental Research Center. She said more residents need to understand the unique environmental problems facing the area before agreeing on long-term projects earmarked for the region's economic growth.
“If more people realized how the health of the lake affected real estate prices, they might pay closer attention to how they could take steps to positively impact the lake,” Segale said.
Segale pointed to the concept of a triple bottom line: the economic, social, and environmental capital of the area. She said that these three aspects of life in the Tahoe Basin are closely intertwined.
During a recent community forum featuring discussion about a workforce housing report recently released by Washoe County, the debate focused primarily on the economic and social repercussions of the current lack of workforce housing.
Local business owners such as Linda Offerdahl — resident, business owner and president of the Incline Community Business Association — said businesses in Incline are hurt by a lack of year-round residents.
“There are not enough businesses that are earning a living in this area,” she said. “We need people who both live and work here for those businesses to do better.”
Offerdahl and other residents said the creation of affordable housing developments and the erection of family-style homes geared toward middle-income families would alleviate some of the current economic turmoil.
However, Segale believes communities in the basin need to proceed carefully when discussing adding additional development.
Lake Tahoe's famous clarity has been compromised in the last 40 years, since basin-wide development began to bloom in the 1960s after the Squaw Valley Games brought worldwide attention to the area.
“In the ‘60s, you could see more than 100 feet into the lake,” she said. “Nowadays, if you're lucky you can see 70 feet before the water gets murky.”
Segale said the reduction in clarity is directly attributable to development, the increase of auto traffic, and the eradication of wetlands, which act as a filter for the lake.
“All the dirt, soil, urban run-off, car exhaust has found a way into the lake and as the sediment continues to accrue, the clarity of the lake is compromised,” she said.
While Segale is opposed to further development which would dramatically increase population in the basin, she said she understood the need for a strong local economy and recommended exploring redevelopment of existing parcels.
“If you redevelop in an environmentally conscientious manner, I think you can solve some economic problems without hurting the very thing that draws people to this area in the first place,” she said.
Dennis Oliver, Public Information Officer with the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency, agrees.
“There are a lot of developments built in the 60s, which were done poorly,” he said. “Back then you had people building right next to creeks, in the midst of meadows, on top of streams, all of which really hurt the water quality of the lake.”
“If we could redevelop, rebuild and improve some of these developments integrating water quality measures and erosion control it would benefit the lake and the surrounding environment,” concluded Oliver.
County officials are committed to gathering public input before proceeding with solutions to problems enumerated in the report.
“People are just beginning to understand the data and statistics in this report,” said Washoe County Commissioner John Breternitz, who represents Incline Village/Crystal Bay as part of District 1. “Once people understand, we can have more informed discussion as a community and we can move forward. That may mean taking action to provide 250 units of affordable housing, but it also may mean taking no action at all. As officials, it's up to us to listen and determine where the community wants to go.”
Segale coordinates education and outreach for the UC Davis Lake Tahoe Environmental Research Center. She said more residents need to understand the unique environmental problems facing the area before agreeing on long-term projects earmarked for the region's economic growth.
“If more people realized how the health of the lake affected real estate prices, they might pay closer attention to how they could take steps to positively impact the lake,” Segale said.
Segale pointed to the concept of a triple bottom line: the economic, social, and environmental capital of the area. She said that these three aspects of life in the Tahoe Basin are closely intertwined.
During a recent community forum featuring discussion about a workforce housing report recently released by Washoe County, the debate focused primarily on the economic and social repercussions of the current lack of workforce housing.
Local business owners such as Linda Offerdahl — resident, business owner and president of the Incline Community Business Association — said businesses in Incline are hurt by a lack of year-round residents.
“There are not enough businesses that are earning a living in this area,” she said. “We need people who both live and work here for those businesses to do better.”
Offerdahl and other residents said the creation of affordable housing developments and the erection of family-style homes geared toward middle-income families would alleviate some of the current economic turmoil.
However, Segale believes communities in the basin need to proceed carefully when discussing adding additional development.
Lake Tahoe's famous clarity has been compromised in the last 40 years, since basin-wide development began to bloom in the 1960s after the Squaw Valley Games brought worldwide attention to the area.
“In the ‘60s, you could see more than 100 feet into the lake,” she said. “Nowadays, if you're lucky you can see 70 feet before the water gets murky.”
Segale said the reduction in clarity is directly attributable to development, the increase of auto traffic, and the eradication of wetlands, which act as a filter for the lake.
“All the dirt, soil, urban run-off, car exhaust has found a way into the lake and as the sediment continues to accrue, the clarity of the lake is compromised,” she said.
While Segale is opposed to further development which would dramatically increase population in the basin, she said she understood the need for a strong local economy and recommended exploring redevelopment of existing parcels.
“If you redevelop in an environmentally conscientious manner, I think you can solve some economic problems without hurting the very thing that draws people to this area in the first place,” she said.
Dennis Oliver, Public Information Officer with the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency, agrees.
“There are a lot of developments built in the 60s, which were done poorly,” he said. “Back then you had people building right next to creeks, in the midst of meadows, on top of streams, all of which really hurt the water quality of the lake.”
“If we could redevelop, rebuild and improve some of these developments integrating water quality measures and erosion control it would benefit the lake and the surrounding environment,” concluded Oliver.
County officials are committed to gathering public input before proceeding with solutions to problems enumerated in the report.
“People are just beginning to understand the data and statistics in this report,” said Washoe County Commissioner John Breternitz, who represents Incline Village/Crystal Bay as part of District 1. “Once people understand, we can have more informed discussion as a community and we can move forward. That may mean taking action to provide 250 units of affordable housing, but it also may mean taking no action at all. As officials, it's up to us to listen and determine where the community wants to go.”
