HomeMy Public PortalAboutPublic Comment - Alexis Ollar
July 11, 2022
Town of Truckee
Town Council & Planning Commission
RE: Truckee 2040 Public Hearings
Dear Truckee Town Council & Planning Commission Members,
Thank you for the opportunity to provide public comments on the Draft Truckee 2040
General Plan. As the Executive Director for MAP, I have had the blessing to serve our
members and the Truckee Tahoe conservation community since 2011. I have also
served on the General Plan Advisory Committee (GPAC) for the last four years as the
environmental representative. Our organization is planning to participate in the
upcoming public hearings and provide verbal comments on the draft elements while
also conducting outreach to get the community involved in Truckee 2040.
MAP has dedicated thousands of staff hours to this public process through outreach
that has brought the community to the surveys, the zooms, and the hearings. I have
heard from hundreds of MAP supporters feeling helpless after those efforts. Wondering
why it matters to take a survey when concerns regarding too much growth, fire threats,
lacking infrastructure, and the need for identifying local workforce housing seem to be
ignored during the Land Use Alternative (LUA) process. I continue to remind residents
that their voice counts, even though I, too, have witnessed economic data, survey
responses, and public comments dismissed. I am hopeful that the community at large
will continue to participate because the plan and the environmental analysis are not
yet done, and this plan is supposed to reflect the vision and goals of the community.
As I review the draft, I continue to read statements that reference these planning ideas
that came from GPAC or the public, and I am grappling with that. The concepts,
including the five focus areas, mixed-use, high density, increased floor area ratio (FAR),
and new zoning districts, came from Staff and the Consultants. GPAC and the public
have been reacting to them. As a GPAC member, I witnessed our inability to pick a
land use alternative and have consistent participation throughout the last four years.
GPAC may have influenced some of the planning concepts, but we did not make a
LUA recommendation to the Planning Commission/Town Council in the fall of 2021.
Unfortunately, when the Town Council's resolution to reevaluate the Upper McIver
rezone in the General Plan update process from 2018 was dismissed early on due to
downzoning or a 'takings' lawsuit concern, we lost faith in the process. What is the point
of a resolution if we do not really intend to address the issue or problem solve? This is just
one of the issues with Upper McIver, and why it has been so contentious during Truckee
2040.
The pandemic majorly impacted Truckee 2040, which is why hundreds of community
members advocated that the process be put on hold in July of 2020. We now have a
301-page draft General Plan, a 134-page draft Downtown Plan, a future EIR, and what
looks like A LOT of homework outlined in the draft, such as redoing the Hilltop Master
Plan and Downtown Historic Design Guidelines and more. COVID has brought to light
land use constraints and impacts with over-use of recreational assets, impacts to
natural resources, and infrastructure constraints, which has not been reflected in
Truckee 2040, except for stating that sustainable tourism is a priority. Shouldn't we
address all potential land use changes in this process as a holistic planning effort?
Part of MAP's Environment & Community LUA requested that we analyze our past
Master Plans & Specific Plans to recognize the existing development capacity. And ask
how these plans may be impacted by new state laws (i.e., density bonuses), how to
create policies and zoning overlays to deed restrict housing for the local workforce, and
how to address climate action planning for sites that align with infill and density. We
have been advocating to prioritize these areas and not forget the growth we have
already envisioned and planned for, not 'no growth.'
MAP is about to turn thirty-five this summer, and our organization has participated in
every General Plan process to date and all major land use reviews, with our mission
forming as a call to action due to poor planning and policies coming from Nevada
City. In 1987, the community did not want decision-makers to overbuild Truckee and
ruin the mountain character, which is why we opposed and prevailed in stopping
KMART. Now, in 2022, we are supported by MAP members who do not want decision-
makers to vastly change the community's character by allowing development that is
out of scale for the mountains and resources.
Now that the final public hearings are about to initiate, I ask that you all listen to the
community with open ears. Read the draft plans, ask questions, review hundreds of
surveys and public comments, and think about the community members who are not
represented because they are working multiple jobs to live here.
Truckee's future development and conservation decisions will outlive us all. As a town,
we are still very young, which makes getting the General Plan, goals, policies, action
items, and zoning right. Thank you again for your service in this critical community
planning process.
Sincerely,
Alexis Ollar
MAP Executive Director