HomeMy Public PortalAboutPublic Comment - Patrick Flora Contractors Association of Truckee Tahoe
Town of Truckee
10183 Truckee Airport Road Truckee, CA 96161
Email: planning division@townoftruckee.com
To, Honorable Mayor Henderson, Council members. Chair Gove and Planning Commission.
With the current format of the joint Council/Commission meetings there is little to no opportunity for
the public to provide informed comment on the questions that the Council/Commission have asked staff
nor the staff responses prior to the meeting. Based on the last joint meeting, the questions staff
proposed to Council and Commission did not appear to be in the staff report for the meeting. With
public comment being opened prior to Council/Commission deliberation there is essentially no
opportunity to express support or concern regarding the discussion topics. As the EIR has not yet been
released we cannot comment on the scope of potential impacts, significance or lack thereof of Goals
and Policies outlined in the draft GP Update that will be addressed in the EIR. Therefore, our comments
below are some of our concerns as they pertain to the CAP Element and Mobility.
CAP-7 Energy Efficiency in Existing Development & CAP-8 in New Development:
The focus of both CAP-7 and CAP-8 on “Electrification” present numerous issues that cannot be mitigated
to a less than significant threshold. Including, but not limited to public Health and Life Safety concerns.
Given the climate in Truckee, numerous often lengthy power outages occur in winter months when
temperatures are regularly <20°F and with the ever increasing wildfire conditions which trigger
unplanned outages in the summer. The elimination or substantial reduction of Natural Gas as a source of
heat, water heat and cooking fuel is a direct threat to the Health, Life and Safety of Town residents until
the technology exists to provide affordable, reliable electricity and battery backup to every resident.
Additionally, the methodology and actual production of “renewable” vs fossil fuel-based percentages of
electricity provided to the Town along with new technologies in NG production and supply should be
addressed.
Solar efficacy, TDPUD renewable energy contract structure, pricing, sourcing, and
impacts on all rate payers should be addressed relative to all solar mitigations. As well as
viable snow loads, installation and warranty issues should be addressed for solar to be a
viable mitigation measure. The EIR should recognize that Solar generation is not possible
on many properties in Truckee due to shading from nearby trees & since higher
elevations in Town have snowloads, which exceed structural capacity of PV systems.
Thus, the need for mitigations for not being able to meet net zero goals will be necessary
where power generation is not possible or efficient.
Transportation and Circulation
Cumulative impacts of transitory (I80 pass thru, tourist traffic etc.) fossil fuel vehicle VMT’s
on Truckee GHG emissions should be clearly identified.
CAP-1.B: VMT Mitigation: Current Town policy as it relates to multi-family 5 units or
more requires a traffic analysis of VMT. Unless the project is located within one half mile
of the designated Market Rate Residential CEQA VMT Exemption Zone these projects will
be deemed to have significant unmitigable impacts and therefore unbuildable.
Alternative: Modify current Town standards to evaluate EV use, EV deed restrictions and
other methodologies that accurately reflect changing technology and green energy
being used to charge the vehicles.
CAP-1.C: Reduce Parking Requirements: Current and proposed parking reductions are
and will continue to have negative impacts particularly on “affordable” housing until and unless
a viable, substantial, and sustainable increase in mass transit/alternative transportation options
are implemented. With mitigations, ensure that adequate parking is provided until a mass
transit system is in place. It must be recognized that in the timeframe of the 2040 general plan,
that most vehicles will likely be electric and using electricity generated from renewable sources.
Thus, reducing parking for them will not yield significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.
Patrick Flora
Government Affairs Manager
Contractors Association of Truckee Tahoe
12313 Soaring Way Suite 1A
Truckee, Ca 96161