Palisades Tahoe settles with environmental groups to scale back ski village development

July 8, 2025

NEW DEVELOPMENTS UP NEAR LAKE TAHOE. AS THE OWNERS OF PALISADES TAHOE HAVE REACHED A SETTLEMENT WITH TWO ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION GROUPS THAT CHALLENGE THE RESORT’S NEWEST SKI VILLAGE PROPOSAL. IT’S PLANNED IN THE OLYMPIC VILLAGE KEEP TAHOE BLUE AND SIERRA WATCH HAD CLAIMED IN FILING THEIR LAWSUIT THAT THE DEVELOPMENT WOULD WORSEN TRAFFIC, INCREASE POLLUTION, ERODE ROADWAYS AND DEGRADE WATER QUALITY IN THE LAKE TAHOE BASIN. BUT IN A JOINT STATEMENT, THE ENVIRONMENTAL GROUP SAID THE DEAL INCLUDES PLANS TO SCALE BACK SOME ELEMENTS OF THE DEVELOPMENT. THIS IS A LIST OF SOME OF THE THINGS THE PARTIES AGREED TO DO. IT NOW INCLUDES REDUCING THE TOTAL BEDROOMS WITHIN THE PLAN BY 60% FROM THE INITIAL PROPOSAL. THEY WILL ALSO REDUCE TOTAL NEW COMMERCIAL SPACE BY 20% AND NO INDOOR WATER PARK FOR THE VILLAGE. THE PROJECT WILL INSTEAD HAVE A SMALLER MOUNTAIN ADVENTURE CENTER. THIS PLAN HAS BEEN IN THE WORKS SINCE 2011 AND HAS ALREADY SEEN SEVERAL REVISIONS. PLACER COUNTY MUST FIRST APPROVE THIS VERSION O

Palisades Tahoe settles with environmental groups to scale back ski village development

Updated: 9:50 AM PDT Jul 8, 2025

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The owners of Palisades Tahoe have reached a settlement with two environmental conservation groups that challenged the resort’s proposed ski village development in Olympic Valley.In a joint statement, The League to Save Lake Tahoe (known as Keep Tahoe Blue), Sierra Watch and Palisades Tahoe said the deal includes plans to scale back some elements of the development. “Sierra Watch, Keep Tahoe Blue, and Palisades Tahoe negotiated in good faith to find a solution that effectively ends the fourteen-year conflict over Olympic Valley while supporting the social, economic, and environmental needs of Olympic Valley and the Lake Tahoe region,” the groups said. The parties agreed to:Reduce the total bedrooms within the plan by 40% from the latest plan and 60% from the initial proposal. Reduce total new commercial space by 20%Eliminate plans for an indoor waterpark that had planned waterslides, indoor water skiing, a wave pool and an indoor river. Instead, the project will have a smaller Mountain Adventure Center. Preserve land for recreation and public trail access in perpetuity by creating a conservation easement for the area at the base of Shirley Canyon that had been proposed for subdivision developmentPrevent additional development within the plan’s boundary for 25 yearsThe environmental groups had filed a lawsuit against Alterra Mountain Company’s proposed 85-acre Village at Palisades Tahoe project in December after the plan was unanimously approved by Placer County supervisors despite a marathon meeting where many residents voiced concerns. That project had also been scaled back from the initial proposal. Under the initial 2011 application, Alterra had called for the construction of 2,184 bedrooms. That was reduced to 1,493 bedrooms in a 2014 revised proposal where 850 housing units — a mix of condominiums, hotel rooms and timeshares — were planned. The new agreement calls for a total of 896 bedrooms. The previously approved proposal had allowed 278,000 square feet of commercial space. That is reduced to 222,000 square feet under the new agreement. A spokesperson for the conservation groups said the project will still commit to 296 new beds for resort employees. Keep Tahoe Blue and Sierra Watch had claimed in filing their lawsuit that the development “would worsen traffic congestion, increase air pollution, erode roadways, and degrade water quality in the Lake Tahoe Basin,” the San Francisco Chronicle reported. The groups said Tuesday that the agreement will lead to a 38% reduction in daily car trips to the area. The new joint statement said Placer County’s approval of the revised blueprint would end legal challenges for the development.”We are listening and taking a different approach, and we feel good about the outcome. Grounded in our values, the empowerment we have as leaders of Palisades Tahoe and Alterra Mountain Company supported our ability to collaborate, to find a way to evolve the resort, invest in the community, and find common ground,” Palisades Tahoe President and CEO Amy Ohran said in a separate statement.See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel

The owners of Palisades Tahoe have reached a settlement with two environmental conservation groups that challenged the resort’s proposed ski village development in Olympic Valley.

In a joint statement, The League to Save Lake Tahoe (known as Keep Tahoe Blue), Sierra Watch and Palisades Tahoe said the deal includes plans to scale back some elements of the development.

“Sierra Watch, Keep Tahoe Blue, and Palisades Tahoe negotiated in good faith to find a solution that effectively ends the fourteen-year conflict over Olympic Valley while supporting the social, economic, and environmental needs of Olympic Valley and the Lake Tahoe region,” the groups said.

The parties agreed to:

  • Reduce the total bedrooms within the plan by 40% from the latest plan and 60% from the initial proposal.
  • Reduce total new commercial space by 20%
  • Eliminate plans for an indoor waterpark that had planned waterslides, indoor water skiing, a wave pool and an indoor river. Instead, the project will have a smaller Mountain Adventure Center.
  • Preserve land for recreation and public trail access in perpetuity by creating a conservation easement for the area at the base of Shirley Canyon that had been proposed for subdivision development
  • Prevent additional development within the plan’s boundary for 25 years

The environmental groups had filed a lawsuit against Alterra Mountain Company’s proposed 85-acre Village at Palisades Tahoe project in December after the plan was unanimously approved by Placer County supervisors despite a marathon meeting where many residents voiced concerns. That project had also been scaled back from the initial proposal.

Under the initial 2011 application, Alterra had called for the construction of 2,184 bedrooms. That was reduced to 1,493 bedrooms in a 2014 revised proposal where 850 housing units — a mix of condominiums, hotel rooms and timeshares — were planned. The new agreement calls for a total of 896 bedrooms.

The previously approved proposal had allowed 278,000 square feet of commercial space. That is reduced to 222,000 square feet under the new agreement.

A spokesperson for the conservation groups said the project will still commit to 296 new beds for resort employees.

Keep Tahoe Blue and Sierra Watch had claimed in filing their lawsuit that the development “would worsen traffic congestion, increase air pollution, erode roadways, and degrade water quality in the Lake Tahoe Basin,” the San Francisco Chronicle reported.

The groups said Tuesday that the agreement will lead to a 38% reduction in daily car trips to the area.

The new joint statement said Placer County’s approval of the revised blueprint would end legal challenges for the development.

“We are listening and taking a different approach, and we feel good about the outcome. Grounded in our values, the empowerment we have as leaders of Palisades Tahoe and Alterra Mountain Company supported our ability to collaborate, to find a way to evolve the resort, invest in the community, and find common ground,” Palisades Tahoe President and CEO Amy Ohran said in a separate statement.

See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel

 

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