On Tuesday, the nonprofit conservation and workforce housing organization, Mountain Area Preservation (MAP), announced it settled a lawsuit with the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA).
The lawsuit came after TRPA updated housing codes in December. MAP said that "bonus unit" housing developments were not guaranteed to be affordable and may cause water pollution.
The settlement guarantees affordability protections for those units and enhances water quality protection.
TRPA made two amendments to the Phase two housing codes as part of the settlement.
The first one requires that 50 percent of the units allowed be reserved for affordable housing. The second amendment strengthens stormwater collection and treatment requirements.
TRPA's Housing Initiative includes three phases.
The first, already approved, provided for Accessory Dwelling Units, increased residential densities as part of hotel/motel redevelopment, and aligned the Bonus Unit Boundary.
Phase two amendments were the subject of MAP's lawsuit.
Phase three will involve considering additional policies related to sustainable housing and improving climate resilience.
"MAP is pleased to announce we will now have an opportunity to include a member of our staff on TRPA’s working group, which will be developing the parameters for Phase 3,” said Alexis Ollar, executive director of MAP. “We’re also glad to note that TRPA has committed to preparing an Environmental Impact Statement that relies on current conditions as the baseline of its analysis as part of its next round of updates to its housing codes.”
