Palisades Tahoe and Environmental Groups Settle Lawsuit

A proposed mega-expansion of Palisades Tahoe has been cut down after the ski resort and two environmental groups came to a compromise.

On Tuesday, Palisades Tahoe, the League to Save Lake Tahoe and Sierra Watch announced a settlement agreement putting an end to a 14-year feud, The Mercury News reported. The trio purportedly spent seven months in settlement negotiations.

Under the agreement, Palisades Tahoe will be able to build 896 new hotel rooms and condominium units as well as 222,000 square feet of commercial space.

That’s a significant chop from Palisades’ proposal in 2011. At the time, the resort was looking to build 2,184 hotel rooms and condo units, a water park, wave pool, indoor river, simulated indoor skydiving facility and 278,000 square feet of retail next to its ski area.

Placer County officials approved those plans in 2016, but environmentalists filed a lawsuit to overturn the entitlements, arguing it would ruin Tahoe’s character and bring in more traffic to the area. In 2021, California’s Third District Court of Appeal sided with conservationists, ruling that the 2016 approvals violated the California Environmental Quality Act.

While there won’t be a water park, indoor skydiving or a lazy river, Palisades Tahoe is still allowed to build a recreation center with climbing walls, ziplines and swimming pools.

“People are still going to have the incredible experience when they turn off Highway 89 and see the beautiful meadows and the creek and the mountains,” Tom Mooers, executive director of Sierra Watch, told The Mercury News. “But the view of the mountains won’t be blocked by a giant indoor water park. We think we’ve been able to protect the awesome sense of place here.”

The goal with the new additions, albeit pared down, is to attract more visitors for year-round activities rather than just winter-based sports.

“To get a different outcome we had to take a different approach, a new direction,” Amy Ohran, president and CEO of Palisades Tahoe said. “Really meaningful progress happens through collaboration. We feel really good about the outcome.”

The next step is for the Placer County Board of Supervisors to approve the compromise plan. If it gets the green light, construction could begin by 2027 or 2028.

— Chris Malone Méndez