A judge’s decision could delay a billion-dollar plan by Vail Valley-based companies East West Partners and Booth Creek Ski Holdings to develop more than 1,400 slopeside homes at Booth Creek’s Northstar ski area at Lake Tahoe.
California Superior Court Judge James Garbolino last week sided with an environmental coalition in ruling that the comprehensive development plan of Placer County, Calif., violated state environmental laws.
The 2003 Martis Valley Community Plan lacked limitations for growth and could open the door to “environmental mischief,” the judge ruled.
The plan was used to approve nearly 6,000 new homes in several large developments near Lake Tahoe’s northern shore, including the project by East West and Booth Creek to build luxury homes at the ski area.
The judge’s order dismisses the lengthy environmental studies conducted for development projects that were reviewed under the plan.
Garbolino’s decision could force the developers to resubmit their projects, which county leaders would then consider using a 1975 development plan.
The Northstar project follows the county’s 1975 growth plan and should be allowed to move forward quickly, said Roger Lessman, head of East West’s $3 billion worth of projects in and around Tahoe.
The judge’s decision doesn’t affect two other company projects – one within the village at Northstar and the other around two golf courses in the town of Truckee.
“We are not back to square one,” Lessman said. “We may have to go back and do some tweaking but nothing significant.”
East West agreed in a settlement with the coalition in March to limit development at Northstar to 800 acres and prohibit development on 4,900 acres owned by Booth Creek surrounding the ski area.
Staff writer Jason Blevins can be reached at 303-820-1374 or jblevins@denverpost.com.
