The Village at Palisades Tahoe Plan is Approved
project overview
The Plan for the Future
The Best is Yet to Come.
The Placer County Board of Supervisors voted to approve the Village at Palisades Tahoe Specific Plan on November 19, 2024, which will allow Palisades Tahoe to complete a world-class village and base area to complement and support its world-class mountain. The plan also stands to benefit the broader North Lake Tahoe community with significant funding for regional workforce housing initiatives, transportation, tourism mitigation, and other Olympic Valley and regional priorities.
The plan, which was downsized over time to incorporate community feedback, will result in 58% fewer bedrooms than allowed under the current zoning for the Village site, 1,493 vs. 3,554 respectively. It also restricts building heights and setbacks, and more than double the acres of conservation preserve.
Always Progressing
We love Palisades Tahoe and want to protect what makes it great.
We’re focused on making the resort experience better for you, our employees, our community, and the environment. We want you to have the newest available information related to how this project addresses water, traffic, and wildfire preparedness, and know how it creates new in-valley workforce housing for our employees.
Our Plan for Progression
Our future relies on further on-mountain improvements and investments in in-valley housing for our employees, more lodging in the valley for guests who are already coming here, and a vibrant village with a dedicated facility for fitness and year-round family activities. We’re excited about what lies ahead.
Shaping the Future of Mountain Adventure
Our goal is simple: to make an already great mountain better. Beyond completing The Village, our intention is to continue to invest in resort improvements that allow us to open terrain quicker, give you faster lifts, more snow to ski and ride on, and to make every day you spend on-mountain the best it can be.
Future Planned Improvements
A richer, vibrant village experience with more quality dining, shopping, and après experiences
2A dedicated mountain-centric fitness facility in the village to stay on top of your game and for year-round family activities
3Nearly 9 acres of active park land
417 miles of new and existing multi-purpose trail improvements to encourage car-free outdoor experiences
5A creekside interpretive trail
A richer, vibrant village experience with more quality dining, shopping, and après experiences
A richer, vibrant village experience with more quality dining, shopping, and après experiences
A dedicated mountain-centric fitness facility in the village to stay on top of your game and for year-round family activities
A dedicated mountain-centric fitness facility in the village to stay on top of your game and for year-round family activities
Nearly 9 acres of active park land
Nearly 9 acres of active park land
17 miles of new and existing multi-purpose trail improvements to encourage car-free outdoor experiences
17 miles of new and existing multi-purpose trail improvements to encourage car-free outdoor experiences
A creekside interpretive trail
A creekside interpretive trail
The Community
We’re Investing in Community
- Up to 850 new guest accommodation units that will help reduce arrival/departure traffic during peak times of day
- Significant financial investments in regional transportation and infrastructure
- A new fire station on the west end of The Valley, response vehicles and 6 additional full-time firefighters
- $3.4M in parks and trails fees and $210,000 in annual maintenance
- $97,500 in annual funding for the Tahoe Area Regional Transit (TART)
- Approximately $7M in additional TOT revenue to contribute to workforce housing, transportation, tourism mitigation and other regional priorities
- $2M to the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency for mobility improvements in Placer County that will reduce VMT in the Tahoe Basin
- A 2.5% lodging fee on all future short-term lodging would generate approximately $1M per year for additional workforce housing and transportation initiatives
- An $800,000 contribution toward “regional interests” that benefit environmental restoration efforts, open space acquisitions, public trails or public safety improvements within Olympic Valley
- Up to $15,000 annually to the USFS for maintenance of multi-purpose trails on federal land
Creating a Sustainable Employee Base
As one of the largest employers in the region, our staff is part of the fabric of this community. Ensuring their ability to live rich, fulfilling lives in the Valley strengthens our community. When people can live and work here, that happiness spreads.
- New, in-valley housing to be built first for 250-300 existing and new employees
- $500,000 toward additional regional workforce housing initiatives
- $1M+ in annual cash and in-kind contributions to projects and programs that benefit our employees, our community, and our guests
Right: Concept Imagery
Palisades Tahoe is committed to providing its employees with affordable housing. With this plan, the company plans to double its employee housing capacity over five years. These efforts are part of Palisades Tahoe’s ongoing commitment to enhancing the guest and employee experience at the resort, which will improve their overall experience and attract and retain top talent.
TOTAL employee housing beds increased from 2021/22
Year-round beds increased 2021/22
purchased separate housing units in North Lake Tahoe encompassing 60 permanent beds
secured beds annually for employees through master leases and partnerships with local hotels and private owners
The Mountain
Adventure Center
This is not a waterpark.
We guaranteed the Mountain Adventure Center would not be a “waterpark” when we eliminated features and experiences from the plan that our community told us they didn’t want. This change has been documented, as has our commitment to providing full-time Eastern Placer County residents with discounted access if the facility is built.
Our intention is for the activities the Mountain Adventure Center houses align with the culture of our Valley. We want to build a year-round, state-of-the-art indoor/outdoor mountain training facility combined with a family adventure camp for Team Palisades Tahoe, our community, and our guests. Along with world-class training opportunities, we’d like to offer activities like a pool and soaking tub, a climbing wall and other agility activities, community gathering place, conference area, and employee spaces.
Preserving Our Mountain Culture
Our Valley was always meant to be a recreational paradise, just as Palisades Tahoe was always envisioned to be the preeminent resort in North America. Everything we have done to this point – and are planning to do – is about making this place we love better. For you. For our community. For our guests. For the environment.
Our plan was developed and “right sized” thanks to years of extensive community feedback. The intention has always been to leave Palisades Tahoe better for our children and their children – to make it legendary on every level and keep the stoke going for generations to come.
village density
Ways Community Feedback Has Positively Impacted The Plan
This plan replaces the S***w Valley General Plan Land Use Ordinance (SVGPLUO), reduces the allowable beds by 58%, and puts 16 acres of land into permanent conservation.
3,554 beds to 1,493 beds = 58% reduction from SVGPLUO
(general plan)
general plan
Key takeaways:
- Reduction was based on community discussion and feedback
- Reduction in density allowed for permanent conservation of 16 acres which will never be developed
- New underground parking for lodging guests and retention of all existing day skier parking within new parking structures
Majority of the project will be built on existing asphalt parking lots and otherwise disturbed land.
water usage
On Average, The Plan’s Water Needs Represent 1% of the Total Watershed.
The truth is our watershed is large, our aquifer has proven to replenish itself each year, even through multiple drought years, and is not impacted by what may be occuring in the nearby Truckee River, which is located downstream.
The total watershed on average (snow/precipitation capture area) provides approximately 25,000 acre feet of water annually to the Olympic Valley.
The 2015 Water Study Assessment undertaken as part of EIR which included multiple, consecutive drought years determined that groundwater supply would remain above 77% saturation levels even in the driest years (more than adequate) for current and future uses (including development).
Total fully built project water usage is approximately 1% of total annual watershed supply.
Plan approval does not preclude additional water supply evaluation and ongoing confirmation and assessment of an adequate water supply for the valley.
- A Will Serve Letter from the OVPSD will be required before building permits are issued. This requirement will exist each time a request to proceed on a project within the plan is pursued.
- The resort is also required to enter into a Development Agreement with the OVPSD that will require test wells and monitoring of wells prior to bringing them online as an additional measure to ensure water supply continues to meet both existing and future consumer demand.
results of 2015 water study
- Olympic Valley Public Service District determined that the groundwater basin has sufficient water supply for current and future users including the current Village plan.
results of 2021 OVPSD water study
- Study period from 2016 – 2021
- Assessment showed that groundwater pumping and well recovery were similar to historical conditions.
- The hydrological data showed that there is little change in quantity of water availability or for the ability of the aquifer to replenish and fully recover each winter/spring.
- These results support the 2015 water supply assessment included in the EIR.
January 2023 Six Year Review and Report
traffic impact
Traffic, We All Hate It
here’s what we are doing about it
Our plan not only creates more lodging for overnight guests to stay in the Valley, it will generate millions of dollars for transit solutions both in the Valley and in the region. In the meantime, our efforts towards this issue are ongoing.
Here’s what we’re already doing:
- Requiring parking reservations on weekends and holidays before 1 p.m.
- Contributing funding to provide Park & Ride services, which have increasingly been used to get to the resort on weekends and holidays.
- Using pre-arrival communications including Palisades Tahoe App push notifications, our website, electronic message signs from Truckee and Tahoe City, and local radio to offer real-time parking information.
- Providing free resort access via the Sherwood Shuttle from the West Shore to Alpine when conditions permit.
- Implementing a cash-incentivized employee carpool program.
- Operating 3rd lane traffic and side street programs on busy weekends and holidays to keep traffic moving on Olympic Valley Road and off side streets.
- Contributing funding to regional transit initiatives, contracting with CHP to manage traffic at multiple intersections on SR-89 and in Truckee, and working with CalTrans to manage traffic lights during peak travel times.
These are other ways our plan will help lessen traffic impacts:
- We will maintain community access and retention of all existing day skier parking in new parking structures.
- We will reduce employee traffic on Olympic Valley Road by building new in-valley employee housing for up to 300 employees.
- We will create over 450 additional dedicated new employee parking spaces that will reduce through-Valley vehicles and increase guest parking at the resort.
We are committed to maintaining community access and retention of all existing day skier parking in new parking structures.
We are reducing employee traffic on Olympic Valley Road by building new in-valley employee housing for up to 300 employees.
We are working with local and regional agencies to improve overall transportation in the region.
We’re creating over 450 additional dedicated new employee parking spaces that will reduce through-Valley vehicles and increase guest parking at the resort.
We offer pre-arrival communications including Palisades Tahoe App push notifications with real-time parking information.
We offer the free Sherwood Shuttle to provide resort access from the West Shore to Alpine when conditions permit.
We require parking reservations on weekends and holidays before 1 p.m.
We have implemented a cash-incentivized employee carpool program.
We operate 3rd lane traffic and side street programs on busy weekends and holidays to keep traffic moving on Olympic Valley Road and off side streets.
Here’s how you can help
Travel during off-peak times. Hang out awhile, enjoy an apres meal in the Village or better yet, stay overnight and make first tracks in the morning.
Come with a crew. Fill up those empty seats in your car with your fellow skiers and riders. More people arriving in fewer cars is a good thing.
Use public transportation whenever possible. It’s easy, and free!
Wildfire action
Protecting our Community from the Threat of Wildfire
The plan includes the activation of a new fire station in the west end of the Valley, new response vehicles, and hiring 6 more full-time firefighters. This reduces the potential for traffic on Olympic Valley Road to influence emergency response times.
The plan also required creation of an Emergency Preparedness and Evacuation Plan (EPEP) that was completed in coordination with local authorities. Much improved Shelter-in-Place options from today will be provided within The Village at Palisades Tahoe (VAPT) buildings with capacity for, at a minimum, VAPT property owners, guests, and employees.
Additionally, a fire plan consisting of construction standards for hardening structures against fire, fuel management, and education, which are crucial to ensuring community safety has been developed. The new development will adhere to the latest wildland fire interface requirements and pursue HVAC systems to filter air during poor air quality.
Palisades Tahoe has an Emergency Preparedness and Evacuation Plan in place, which includes evacuation protocols and Shelter in Place locations.
New studies and training exercises have also been conducted by regional agencies related to wildfire and evacuation, with Cal Fire officials recently telling the Placer County Board of Supervisors that Olympic Valley “is a good example of an area that could provide temporary refuge, or safe refuge if the decision is made to shelter-in-place versus evacuating.”
ONGOING WILDFIRE MANAGEMENT
- Palisades Tahoe participates in community education, fire drills, Community Firewise efforts, funding initiatives, and enhancing communication systems.
- Palisades Tahoe has a specialized Trail Crew department with 20-25 staff members working from May to October, focusing on vegetation management with an annual budget of approximately $1,000,000. This work has been ongoing and annual for over 10 years.
- At Palisades Tahoe, in collaboration with the Forest Service, hazardous trees are identified every winter for removal in the spring.
- This year, around 285 large diameter trees were removed, and 30 acres underwent mechanized mastication over the past two summers.
- Annual brush cutting ranges from 40 to 100 acres, with continuous efforts to cover the entire resort terrain.
Our environment
Environmental Stewardship
Nothing is more important to us than evolving in a responsible way. We want to foster a legacy founded on a deep respect for our natural environment and protect this place we love so you can pass it down for generations to come. This is our chance to invest substantially in the natural ecosystem and create a culture of true environmental stewardship.
The restoration of Washeshu Creek will increase the wetland acreage within the Village by 50% and improve functionality, plant and fish habitat, and sediment loading and re-charge of the aquifer.
This plan reduces number of beds from the S***w Valley General Plan Land Use Ordinance (SVGPLUO) by 58% and more than doubles the acres of developable land placed into conservation preservation.
Creates in-valley workforce housing for up to 300 employees, which will reduce cars on regional roadways.
Majority of the proposed plan will occur on existing parking lots.
$5M+ in parks and recreation investments including a dedicated dog park and Shirley Canyon trailhead improvements.
$1M+ annually for environmental initiatives.
$800,000 contribution to “regional interests” in support of environmental restoration efforts, open space acquisitions, trails, or public safety.
A 2.5% lodging fee on all future short-term lodging is anticipated to generate approximately $1 million per year to fund initiatives that reduce VMT in the Placer County portion of the Tahoe Basin, such as additional workforce housing and transportation improvements.
Economic benefit
A Forward-Thinking Project
This plan will set our community up for future success. This plan is literally a primary economic engine that will bring money in from out of the community to help create and enhance the infrastructure and services our residents need for decades to come.
$25M in Total Annual Tax Revenues
- Provides ongoing contributions to support transit initiatives such as the funding of buses, free public transit fares for employees and guests, and contributions to the Truckee North Tahoe Transportation Management Association
- Contributes an additional $500,000 toward regional workforce housing initiatives
