By John Singlaub
Column Community Enhancement Program Looks Forward With Smart Growth Principles
Over the last 20 years, TRPA has worked to stop runaway development and focus more on improving the built environment that already exists at Lake Tahoe. Since nearly 90 percent of all buildings you see around the Tahoe Basin were built before our current regional plan was adopted in the 1980s, we have a great deal of catching up to do. It’s no secret that when you look around the lake, the natural beauty far exceeds the look and feel of the buildings around us. And most of the older buildings at Lake Tahoe have no conservation measures in place and have wall-to-wall asphalt which causes erosion and runoff.