I'm Not Growing Older Just Wiser...

So, as some of you may know, I have spent much of my Planning Career following court cases and trying to figure out the direction we are heading in. Over the years the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency has been a leader in the Planning field, they have wound up before the U.S. Supreme Court twice over this leadership. In the 1980's the Regional Planning Agency was challenged over growth moratorias. It took years to roll its way through the courts and ultimately wound up being decided by the US Supreme Courtover the question as to whether a temporary moratoria amounted to a compensable taking. You can find a summary of this court case here: Tahoe-Sierra Preservation Council v. Tahoe Regional Planning Agency.

In the 1990's the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency again was taken to the Supreme Court. The second time was over development prohibitions to protect Lake Tahoe. The second case involved a parcel that was determined to have transferable development rights, but due to various factors could not be built upon itself. Again the agency was challenged on the taking principle, and again the agency prevailed, however, on a ripeness argument the second time around. This second decision Suitum v. Tahoe Regional Planning Agency became one of a set of court cases in the mid-1990's that helped to define takings and development exactions.

So, what is all this about? Well I just read the following article, Tahoe faces new development battle: green vs. green, and from the court history we have been exposed to, it seems odd that environmental groups are criticizing the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency as being too pro-development. From an outsider's perspective, the exact opposite would seem appropriate.

As you read the article it becomes clear that the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency really has not changed from its positions in the 80's and 90's. They are promoting smart growth, encouraging re-use of sites over stripping greenfields for new development, and ultimately hoping that smart redevelopment can undo the years of destruction that occurred to the Tahoe environment before their creation. The opposition appears to prefer that these greyfield areas be reverted to greenfields.

So, now 28 years after the creation of the original moritoria on growth the battle lines over the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency are still drawn, the agency's position does not appear to have changed much, but one's perspective on the agency may have changed. The Tahoe Regional Planning Agency has grown wiser.