This is the opportunity for our community’s perspective and input to be heard.
Please participate in any or all of the ways available.
*Attend the in-person workshop this Thursday
* Participate virtually on Wednesday, June 12
* Provide Comments on the TED Project Website
El Dorado County will host one of its Tahoe El Dorado (TED) Area Plan community workshops at the Fallen Leaf Lake Community Center this Thursday, June 6th, from 6-7:30 pm. This workshop will be in-person only. Please attend this in-person workshop if you are able to. County staff will make a short presentation which will be followed by Q & A and break-out stations intended to highlight key issues and gather information. The County is hoping to have USFS staff on site, as well.
Note the Press Release issued by the County (attached), in which the term “recreation” is now promoted as a topic for this visioning process. El Dorado County staff chose Fallen Leaf as a venue for one of their workshops. As USFS land comprises much of the Fallen Leaf Basin, this meeting venue could attract people who are interested in increased and year-round recreational access in the Fallen Leaf Basin. Our community’s input is important to informed land planning decisions that would affect the future of the Fallen Leaf Basin.
There is a virtual workshop option available next Wednesday, June 12, at 6-7:30 pm. For those who cannot attend in person, please click here to Register for the TED Virtual Workshop – June 12 (6-7:30pm).
As per our May 13 email, provided below for your reference, our community’s comments, concerns, and problem-solving suggestions are needed. Everyone is encouraged to also register comments on the TED (Tahoe El Dorado) Area Plan project by clickinghere. Take the time to explore this project and to make your suggestions this week.
Please share this email with your family and friends so that anyone who would like to be involved has the opportunity.
Thank you,
Ruth Rich
Fallen Leaf Conservation Coalition____________________________________________________________________________
Email of May 13, 2024
El Dorado County is developing an Area Plan for its portion of the Tahoe Basin and Fallen Leaf is included.
What Is An Area Plan? These are long range plans that entities (agencies, counties, municipalities…) put together to guide long-range planning for a region and covers development, land use, housing, roads, businesses, traffic, recreation, and more.
Why We Care: We have this opportunity to bring our community voice to El Dorado County in this planning phase. Until now our work has been targeting the US Forest Service and TRPA who cover the entire Tahoe Basin. Our major concerns are:
- Environmental impact of unrestricted increased use
- Safety of residents and visitors
- Overuse of the region and lack of sorely needed messaging and enforcement
What’s Happening: El Dorado County is developing the Tahoe El Dorado (TED) Area Plan. To get community and public input, County staff will be holding a series of four workshops, one of which will take place at the Old Store on Thursday, June 6th, from 6:00-7:30pm. Fallen Leaf Community input and concerns need to be heard at this early opportunity.
What We Need From You:
- Review El Dorado County’s vision of the TED plan here
- Submit comments at https://dks-engage.com/ted-area-plan. Access the website and click on the webpage’s heading “Share Your Ideas”, located above the Get Involved image at the top of the page. Click either on the map that comes up for that page or on the Click Here in the first paragraph of orange text. You will be redirected to an interactive page where you can “Add a Marker” and provide comments specific to any area within the Lake Tahoe plan area. You can rank your concerns by clicking the # icon to the right of each concern topic provided or add Other concerns to the existing list.
- Attend the public workshop on June 6th, 6:00pm-7:30pm at the FLL Old Store in-person or online. Online meeting details will be sent out later.
The following are a few of the issues pertinent within the Fallen Leaf Basin:
- While the FLL community may support increased density and affordable housing considerations in the Tahoe Basin, neither is appropriate at Fallen Leaf Lake.
- Fallen Leaf Road is narrow. Even with improvement at various locations, it is unlikely that Fallen Leaf Road would accommodate increased traffic without sacrificing visitor and resident experience. During peak months, current traffic volumes result in safety risks and lengthy experiential inconveniences for visitors and residents.
- Without management of user access to all points around the lake, any plan that includes widening the road or creating more parking would continue to be detrimental to the sensitive natural areas surrounding Fallen Leaf Lake and thereby the water quality of the lake. This should be explicitly addressed in the Area Plan.
- There is insufficient parking infrastructure at all recreational access points along Fallen Leaf Rd. This is especially true at Lily Lake/Glen Alpine Trailhead, the Lower Falls, the Store & Marina, and the Taggart Property area. As it appears there are no easy solutions to increase parking at the south end of the lake, perhaps a parking reservation system, along with enforcement for parking that is not permitted, would be a reasonable suggestion. Same for a shuttle service from remote parking?
- Capacity and Land Capability: Any increase in recreational access points at Fallen Leaf Lake would similarly be detrimental to the environmentally sensitive areas surrounding Fallen Leaf Lake. This includes the following:
- Air Quality and Water Quality issues, including AIS, present challenges for future growth. AIS is already a significant threat which, given the miles of open access points around the north end of Fallen Leaf Lake and off of private docks when unoccupied, are not at all controlled. Infrastructure (roads, store, marina, and parking) capacity to support access is problematic now. What happens with additional growth?
- Trail use and demand/interest overall is increasing with the popularity of mountain and e-bikes. These competing multi-use activities are allowed by the Forest Service and present a growing management and safety problem. Increased publicity via social media and mapping apps encouraged uninformed visitors to make irresponsible decisions.
- Paved bike trail access is a broad objective throughout the Tahoe Basin, with the aim of getting people out of their cars and reducing emissions, congestion, and parking infrastructure shortfalls. As we have seen in previous proposed travel plan project documents, this interest may extend into the Fallen Leaf Basin.
- Lake capacity of watercraft of all varieties (motorized, non-motorized, and water “toys”) is a growing concern, as is the circulation of this watercraft.
- Education and Enforcement: While improvements in education and enforcement could potentially mitigate some of these negative impacts, the FLL Community cannot support increased recreational access at FLL until or unless there is a sustained commitment from El Dorado County, TRPA, and the US Forest Service to ensure that increased access does not negatively impact Fallen Leaf Lake.
- The County’s Area Plan should preserve the unique nature of Fallen Leaf Lake and the environmentally sensitive lands that surround it. Any new zoning ordinances should respect the natural, cultural, and community history of FLL, and recognize the primitive infrastructure in the area. Allowances that would possibly alter the pristine and old-world character of the Fallen Leaf Basin, whether now or in the future, would negatively impact Fallen Leaf residents and visitors alike.
PLEASE DO submit suggestions and concerns through the County’s public process via this website link — and on June 6th at the Old Store. We will send reminders as we get closer to that date.
