Suit Over Tahoe Basin Development Settled; Limited Building Permitted

California and Nevada officials settled a 3-year-old lawsuit over the development of the Lake Tahoe Basin on Wednesday, agreeing to a plan that allows limited casino expansion, construction of about 300 residences a year and a series of other measures designed to control growth around the lake.

“Development will be permitted around the lake, but it will be carefully controlled to prevent environmental damage,” said California Atty. Gen. John Van de Kamp, who brought the lawsuit and was a key figure in its settlement.

Van de Kamp appeared with other parties to the suit in a brief ceremony in the Capitol during which the four sides to the legal dispute signed the agreement.

A short time later, the agreement was filed in federal court and the case was dismissed by U.S. District Judge Edward J. Garcia. The judge’s action lifted an injunction that has blocked most new development at the lake since Van de Kamp filed suit April 26, 1984.

His suit was filed against the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency and contended that the agency was not adequately protecting the environment. He was joined by the environmentalist League to Save Lake Tahoe, and the state of Nevada jumped in on the side of the regional planning agency.

“A long, tedious process was required to bring all the sides together,” said Chester Gibbs, chairman of the planning agency.

Joining Van de Kamp and Gibbs in signing the agreement were Nevada Atty. Gen. Brian McKay and Clarence Heller, president of the League to Save Lake Tahoe.

Members of the planning agency approved the agreement 12 to 1 on June 25.

In short, the new master plan sets specific limits on the number of new homes and restricts commercial development, including construction of hotel and motel rooms.

Van de Kamp said the plan will allow the construction of an average of 300 residences annually over the next five years.

A total of 200 new hotel beds will be allowed over the next 10 years, a limit the attorney general said is workable because of “the current glut in hotel and motel rooms at the lake.”

A parcel assessment process will cover about 17,000 lots, analyzing each one for suitability of construction with an eye toward potential environmental damage. Most lot owners will not be allowed to build, and authorities said government agencies plan to purchase their property.

“Our best effort is going to be toward making sure that those who cannot build because of the nature of their lot receive adequate compensation,” Van de Kamp said.

He noted that Californians passed a bond act in 1982 to purchase lake property and that both Nevada and the federal government are buying lots.

The agreement continues the current moratorium on casino construction and will limit the expansion of existing gambling houses.

“There will be no expansion except within strict limits,” said Dwight Steele, a spokesman for the League to Save Lake Tahoe.

Steele said environmentalists are “very happy” with the agreement. “This is a day and a time for a celebration by everyone who believes that Tahoe should be preserved for future generations, that it represents a unique scenic beauty that ought to be protected,” he said.