In 2002 the League worked to ensure the scenic quality of Lake Tahoe’s shoreline was protected. As the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency developed new ordinances designed to protect Tahoe’s beautiful shoreline, the League supported their system. A number of lakefront homeowners opposed TRPA’s system and argued their property rights were infringed upon. The ordinances were ultimately passed by the TRPA Governing Board, however, and withstood a legal challenge by a group of lakefront property owners. The League is extremely pleased that the matter was resolved and that the beauty of the Lake’s shoreline will be protected for future generations.
The following is a League editorial published in the Tahoe World, October 17, 2002
Recently, a number of letters to the editor have criticized the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency's efforts to protect scenic quality as misguided, and their proposed ordinances as oppressive. They ask: with all of the important work that needs to be done to preserve lake clarity, improve air quality, and reduce the risks of catastrophic fire, why should anyone care about scenic quality? Indeed, what is scenic quality, and why is it worth protecting?
In 1871 Mark Twain described Lake Tahoe as the “fairest picture the whole earth affords.” What exactly was it that inspired Twain to make such a statement—was it water quality, air quality, vegetation, wildlife? Individually, some resources have more impact on us than others, but the combination of these qualities explains why so many people choose to live in and visit the Lake Tahoe Basin every year—scenic quality. So important are Tahoe's scenic resources, that the Tahoe Regional Planning Compact between California and Nevada specifically declared them valuable and worthy of preservation. The Compact states: “Maintenance of the social and economic health of the region depends on maintaining the significant scenic . . . values provided by the Lake Tahoe Basin.”
Let us take a moment to reflect on that last statement. Whether you personally feel that it is the high mountain peaks, or the forests, or the lake's exceptionally blue waters that are most beautiful—we all, visitors and residents alike, have placed value upon these natural resources. If we did not appreciate the wealth of natural beauty that surrounds us in the Tahoe Basin, there are plenty of nearby cities and towns that have become dominated by the man-made environment, and we could easily choose to live in or visit them. If it's urban sprawl you're looking for, you have but only to travel a short distance off the mountain to find it.
But Lake Tahoe is a unique place, and we are, every one of us, privileged to be able to visit or live in this spectacularly beautiful setting. Many of us, in fact, make a living, even if indirectly, from the region's beauty. Ours is a tourist-based economy: many of us in the community who work in restaurants, casinos, hotels, and gift shops, would suffer if people no longer chose to spend their vacations in Tahoe. Though it may be true that some visitors to our region enjoy looking at the man-made development that has proliferated along the shoreline, there are a number of other communities that lack our beautiful lake, trees, and mountains which people could visit if they simply wanted to gaze at development, architecturally attractive or otherwise.
In addition to what we will gain economically from protecting Tahoe's scenic beauty, we will also gain socially, as a community. People who can stand together to protect values that they hold dear for their children and grandchildren enjoy greater freedom, not less. It is the sign of a liberated people who can consider both short-term and long-term benefits and decide that the quality of life is important not only for today, but also for tomorrow.
Lake Tahoe is not a national park, and never will be. But that does not mean that Tahoe must necessarily be like so many other communities throughout America that suffer under the strains of uncontrolled growth. We need to strike a balance between the man-made and the natural environment. Humans can co-exist with nature, but only if we put some thought and care into the way we develop our communities.
It is indeed Tahoe's beauty, as the Supreme Court of the United States recently cited, that is the wellspring of its undoing. But it is not too late. Each and every one of us stands to gain infinitely if we take the opportunity to act now to protect what is most precious to us about Lake Tahoe—we all have a stake. Not only will we all enjoy a greater quality of life today, but our children will thank us for it. If we all could take a moment to think about what it is to each of us that is most beautiful about Lake Tahoe, it is easy enough to see that there is actually no greater fight to win than that for the protection of Tahoe's scenic beauty.
By Sara Urch, Program Associate of the League to Save Lake Tahoe.
