Transportation
The North Tahoe Community Alliance represents the local business community in regional transportation discussions. Staff and committees meet regularly with transit partners to identify innovative, long-term solutions for the unique transportation challenges in and around North Lake Tahoe that can benefit from TOT funding. Recent projects recommended by the NTCA, its board and committees, and approved for funding by the Placer County Board of Supervisors include:
- TART Connect microtransit service within the Tahoe Basin
- Expansion of TART Connect microtransit services within the Tahoe Basin and resort communities
- To reduce vehicle trips, traffic and parking congestion, the NTCA Board of Directors has recommended $685,000 of unused TOT to the Placer County Board of Supervisors to support micro-transit services in North Lake Tahoe. These funds will expand service hours year-round, provide system technology upgrades, and extra service for special events in the region.
TART Connect schedule: https://tahoetruckeetransit.com/tart-connect/
Quick Links
Catch the Bus (Tahoe Truckee Transit)
TART Connect (free microtransit service in the Tahoe Basin)
Additionally, Mountaineer, the service that offers free, convenient winter transportation in Olympic Valley and Alpine Meadows, will add new service routes and expand its operating schedule for the 2022-23 winter season. Passengers can request rides through the Mountaineer app, which is free in the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store.
For real-time weather and travel updates, visitors and locals are encouraged to download the Caltrans QuickMap App.
Housing
Local workforce housing continues to be at the forefront of community conversations. That’s why the NTCA is focused on supporting and advocating for workforce housing solutions. The shift in the organization’s funding source and focus means that roughly $4M in TOT that formerly funded destination marketing initiatives is now being allocated toward local workforce housing and transportation initiatives. Recent projects recommended by the NTCA, its board and committees, and supported by TOT funds as approved by the Placer County Board of Supervisors include:
- To incentivize second homeowners to rent long-term to the local workforce in Eastern Placer County, the NTCA Board of Directors recommended and the Placer County Board of Supervisors approved an additional $500,000 of unspent Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT) support the Placemate workforce housing program in 2023.
- As of August 28, 2023, 179 homeowners expressed interest in renting their properties through Placemate. 46 properties have been awarded grants, 116 people have been housed at an average property rent of $2,630 per month, and the total incentive cost has been $515,000.
Dollar Creek Workforce Housing Project pre-development-related assistance
- The NTCA board approved the recommendation of TOT funds to the Placer County Board of Supervisors in support of the Dollar Creek Housing Project.
Workforce Development
The NTCA provides market research focused on tourism and visitor services. Real-time information is provided to businesses to directly enhance their ability to serve residents and visitors. In addition, the NTCA is a founding sponsor of the annual North Lake Tahoe Truckee Leadership Program.
View the Events Calendar for upcoming events, workshops and networking opportunities.
Government Advocacy
USPS
At the direction of the NTCA Board of Directors, talking points were developed as a starting point for North Lake Tahoe residents and businesses to use or customize as they see fit if they wish to contact the United States Postal Service to speak out about diminished levels of service impacting quality of life and our businesses. To take action, email the USPS.
Email Template/Talking Points:
As a resident of Eastern Placer County, the unreliability of the postal service throughout the North Lake Tahoe region is causing significant daily impacts on my quality of life and the operations of local businesses in my community. The specific problems our community continues to experience, include:
- No mail delivery for multiple days in a row (and multiple weeks, in some instances), misdelivered mail, and important documents sent to local addresses that are never delivered such as mortgage and utility bills and payments, prescriptions, etc.—all of which occur regularly.
- Packages are not consistently delivered to residents or businesses. Additionally, when community members go to the post office to pick up a package, staff often cannot locate items due to the volume of packages, lack of staff, and space constraints.
- Inconsistent package delivery is made even more challenging when long wait times are the norm and not the exception.
- USPS staffing shortages due to non-competitive pay. The starting wage for postal service staff does not align with the cost of living in our area. To remedy the current staffing situation which will in turn impact service levels, this needs to be addressed.
These are critical issues, as the USPS provides a necessary service that our community needs to be able to rely on. Please take immediate steps to improve the level of service in North Lake Tahoe and communicate those actions to those who live in and run businesses in our region.
Proposed Bill SB 584
Update:
Thanks to advocacy efforts from all around California, and the direct activation of 946 individuals who sent in letters to Assembly Housing, we put a stop to SB 584 (Limon) for 2023.
SB 584 has been turned into a two-year bill, which means that it will not be heard in Assembly Housing & Community Development on Wednesday, June 28. The bill will be eligible for a hearing January 2024, if the author decides to move forward. It will still have to pass Assembly Housing and Assembly Revenue & Taxation and go through all of the similar hurdles it would have this year, but must move out of committees and off the Assembly Floor by the end of January. A much tighter timeframe and a steeper challenge for SB 584 to overcome.
The next steps are that we will continue to monitor SB 584 and engage in discussions with the author’s office. If activation is needed, we will send out communications in 2024.
Thank you for your engagement on this critical issue! Together we raised our industry’s voice and asserted our economic impact on California’s economy. Thank you as well to CalTravel for their lobbying efforts on behalf of all of us in California.
Recap:
At our meeting on June 7, the North Tahoe Community Alliance Board of Directors elected to oppose the proposed bill SB 584. If enacted, the bill will impose a tax on the occupancy of a short-term rentals (STR) in California at 15% of the rental price of the short-term rental. In North Lake Tahoe, this tax will be assessed on top of the 10% TOT tax and 2% TBID assessment already collected on STRs in Placer County that is being reinvested locally in transportation and workforce housing initiatives.
NTCA has created a letter for you to email or speak to via phone call to your Assemblymember.
NTCA also represents the business community on the following:
- Destination Stewardship of Lake Tahoe
- Regional Air Service Corporation (in conjunction with the Reno-Tahoe International Airport and regional businesses)
- Placer County’s Capital Projects Advisory Committee
- NTCA & Travel North Tahoe Nevada Co-op Marketing Committee
- North Tahoe Business Association
- Visit California Snow, Research, and Brand Committees
- Cal Travel Board of Directors
- Other partnerships and associations as related to our mission