Guest column by Darcie Goodman Collins & Heidi Hill Drum
One year ago, we did a joint column about the importance of community revitalization for Tahoe. Our region has a plethora of old, rundown apartment buildings, motels and strip malls. Our hope was that by highlighting the benefits of environmental redevelopment, more of it would happen.
While there has been some progress, there are still too many barriers in the way. The cost of land and various fees associated with development in Tahoe are some of the biggest impediments to redevelopment. So, how do we overcome these obstacles?
First, we have to recognize that we’re all in this together and that all of us have created this problem. Each agency, jurisdiction, special district and interest group has a part in creating the barriers to positive redevelopment. There is not one single agency or government or group to blame because the problem is collective. Therefore, the solution needs to be collective. In order to have a massive positive impact, we must work together — to reduce barriers, to provide incentives for positive redevelopment and to balance our economic development with our environmental goals.
Darcie Goodman Collins, Ph.D., is the executive director of the League to Save Lake Tahoe. The League, also known by the slogan “Keep Tahoe Blue,” is Tahoe’s oldest and largest nonprofit environmental advocacy organization, founded in 1957. Visit keeptahoeblue.org for more information.
Heidi Hill Drum is CEO of the Tahoe Prosperity Center, whose mission is uniting Tahoe’s communities to strengthen regional prosperity. Visit Tahoeprosperity.org for more information.