Attachment 9_TM SCOPE 8.5 H-1 NTCD-TahoeMdwsSouth-ProjectOverview.pdf

Tahoe Meadows South Sustainable Recreation and Pedestrian Safety Improvements Feasibility Analysis Overview The Nevada Tahoe Conservation District (NTCD) has received a grant from the Tahoe Fund and Washoe County to analyze feasibility and design for o�-highway parking at a parcel owned by the Incline Village General Improvement District (IVGID) along the Mt. Rose Highway (SR-431) near Tahoe Meadows. This location was identified as a location for o�-highway parking in the Mt. Rose Scenic Byway Corridor Management Plan and in the Washoe County Tahoe Area Plan.

The adjacent National Forest in this area sees heavy recreational usage year-round including in winter where it is a popular area for backcountry skiing, cross-country skiing, snowmobiling, sledding, hiking and snowshoeing. Parking during winter is limited to shoulders along the highway which often fills up on winter weekends. This parking can cause issues with snow removal operations during storms, and also creates unsafe conditions for both recreators and drivers using the highway, which is a major connector between Lake Tahoe and the Reno metropolitan area.

IVGID acquired a parcel along the highway in 2008 for recreation purposes, however no further action has been taken by the district on developing recreational amenities at this location due to other ongoing financial and infrastructure priorities. With letters of support from IVGID, the Nevada Department of Transportation (NDOT), Nevada Nordic and the Snowlands Alliance, NTCD has received this grant to begin preliminary design and analysis of a potential parking lot at this IVGID-owned parcel. The final product from this grant will be a grant-ready report, equipping project partners with the tools needed to secure funding for implementation.

Relevant History 1990s: IVGID operates a cross-country ski trail system near Tahoe Meadows on the west side of the Mt. Rose Highway 2005-2008: Discussions and negotiations for the Incline Lake acquisition by the US Forest

Service. As part of this acquisition, IVGID is given the opportunity to acquire a 5-acre parcel along the highway for recreational purposes. This is formally acquired by IVGID in 2008.

2009: IVGID puts plans on hold to develop a cross-country ski area at the parcel due to the potential project costs.

2014: Parcel is identified as a potential location for parking in the Mt. Rose Scenic Byway Corridor Management Plan. These recommendations are then formalized in the Washoe County Tahoe Area Plan.

2015: Nevada Nordic non-profit founded by Incline Village residents with desire to bring groomed cross-country ski trails back to the mountains above Incline. This trail system grooms 13 miles of trails on the east side of the highway on US Forest Service lands from November through April.

SCOPE 8.5 H-1

2024: Increasing winter recreational usage along highway leads to multi-agency/stakeholder e�ort to improve recreation management along highway at Tahoe Meadows

The Parcel The IVGID-owned parcel along the highway is 5-acres and located primarily on high-capability land that is suitable for development. A TRPA land capability and coverage verification was completed on the parcel in 2006 which showed 61,739 SF of allowable coverage on the parcel. TRPA records do not show any of this available coverage as being transferred from the parcel. The Tahoe Basin watershed boundary runs through the upper end of the parcel, with approximately 12,000 SF of the parcel being located outside of the Tahoe Basin. The parcel is surrounded by the NDOT right-of-way and US Forest Service-owned lands. Because the watershed boundary of Lake Tahoe delineates a US Forest Service management boundary, the parcel is contiguous both with lands managed by the Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit (LTBMU) and the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest.

According to news articles from the time of the acquisition, IVGID purchased the parcel for $1,000,000, with approximately 75% of the funding supplied by Nevada State Lands Question 1 Bonds, and 25% funded through the district’s recreation fees. Because of the use of Question 1 bonds, a deed restriction was filed on the parcel which limits its use to “Urban Park and Greenbelt Purposes”. IVGID also acquired 90-acre feet of water rights through the acquisition.

Just to the north of the parcel lies Incline Lake road, a gated dirt road used by the US Forest Service to access lands to the west. On the parcel itself, a compacted dirt area exists near the location where a potential parking lot could be developed. This area appears to be located both on the IVGID parcel and within the NDOT ROW and is used during summertime for parking by recreators and also appears to be a location used for staging and storing construction materials. From this compacted dirt area, a dirt road runs south to the highway, which is a portion of the Old Mt. Rose Highway. This driveway is blocked o� at the highway by boulders to prevent ingress/egress from the highway.

Potential Parking Lot Design NTCD has done a preliminary design for a potential parking improvement at the parcel. Based on this design, it appears a 50 space parking lot could be developed with spaces both for passenger and oversize vehicles, as well as trailhead amenities. To facilitate design, some grading may need to occur within the NDOT ROW, however, this would only be along the ROW line and would significant distance and elevation from the edge of the highway. The ingress/egress from the parking lot would occur at the existing dirt area where Incline Lake Road meets the highway. Desing of this entrance could be coordinated with additional highway safety improvements such as turn lanes and a pedestrian crossing. NTCD will be sharing this preliminary design with project stakeholders for feedback.

Parking Lot Maintenance/Management Any improvements at the parcel will need to be managed by an agency that can both maintain the parking lot and coordinate snow removal during the winter. As part of this planning e�ort and other concurrent planning e�orts going on in the area, hopefully a management agency can be identified prior to construction of any improvements. At the time of acquisition, IVGID documents suggested that if IVGID did not want to manage improvements, the parcel could be conveyed to or an operating agreement could be reached with another agency such as Washoe County Parks and Open Space or NDOT.

Next Steps This initial planning e�ort will aim to create 30% design plans, a report and a cost estimate for potential improvements at the parcel. These documents can then be used to apply for additional funding for project implementation and additional studies that may need to be done prior to project construction. Work will also need to be done to determine the entities ultimately responsible for owning the site, if IVGID wishes to dispose of the site, as well as the entity responsible for maintaining and plowing the parking lot. Potential future grants that this project could qualify include:

Conserve Nevada Nevada State Parks Recreational Trails Program Nevada OHV Grant Program Lake Tahoe License Plate Program Federal Lands Access Program Land and Water Conservation Fund