Placer County | Washoe County | South Lake Tahoe Partnership | Public Lands
The Place-Based Planning Process
The Tahoe Basin Communities will benefit from active participation in the place-based public visioning process. This project provides an opportunity to harness the creative energy in the Basin and assist local communities envision a prosperous future while meeting overall regional goals. Community workshops and representation in the process is organized around four "Working Groups" of citizen advisors representing Placer County, Washoe County, South Lake Tahoe Partnership (El Dorado County, Douglas County and the City of South Lake Tahoe), and Public Lands. Each of these areas have their own websites that can be accessed by clicking on the place names below the map diagrams.
What is Place-Based Planning? It is inclusive, interactive, and informed  by partnering and reaching out to local jurisdictions and working together to create a vision for a better future. Responsible civic leaders may very well ask, how will the place-based visioning process benefit their communities? This question is certainly warranted and deserves a frank and thoughtful answer.
It is known that the TRPA's mandate is to protect the Tahoe Basin's natural environment and establish harmony between nature and the manmade environment. Entrusted with this complex mandate, the agency has established appropriate thresholds, prepared three successive plans and enforces supporting regulations. Of all the environmental concerns represented in TRPA's past work, socioeconomic considerations represented but one single concern. Pathway 2007 represents a chance to remedy this imbalance and take a fresh look at public policies and regulations to preserve the watershed's natural environment while also providing for thriving communities.
This can be accomplished through an effective dialogue between planners, administrators and the scientists who have contributed to establishing the thresholds. With local partnerships and support, broader community input will be facilitated through the public place-based visioning process. The process will assure the necessary community input through three consecutive steps, focusing on: 1) Issues and opportunities, 2) Alternative futures and 3) a Plan of Action.
The objective is to balance local need for reinvestment with long-term regional goals for environmental quality, sustainability, and quality of life.
