Upcoming Opportunities to Engage in Cultivating Community, Conserving the Basin
December 8, 2025 | Member Submitted
The Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA) is calling on community members, nonprofits, and partner agencies to continue sharing ideas and provide feedback on how to incentivize housing that is affordable while protecting Lake Tahoe’s unique environment. See the next box for more details on the draft proposal.
Wednesday, January 28 – The TRPA Governing Board will consider an action to move the Cultivating Community, Conserving the Basin proposed policies forward for analysis in an environmental impact statement (EIS) to be conducted next year.
Wednesday, February 11 – APC will hold an environmental scoping meeting for the Cultivating Community, Conserving the Basin EIS.
Community members can submit written comments in advance to publiccomment@trpa.gov, or attend any of the meetings virtually or in person to provide comments during designated public comment periods.
In The News – How an Incline Village HOA received a 33% insurance reduction amid wildfire driven increases and non-renewals
December 4, 2025 | Member Submitted
Originally published in the Tahoe Daily Tribune, 12/04/2025, Written by Katelyn Welsh
After a gamut of increasing premiums and a notice of non-renewal, the McCloud Condo Association in Incline Village ventured to try something new this year when it came to insurance. The result yielded a 33% premium reduction.
The association worked with RockRose Risk, a new company within this last year that is redefining how property coverage works in high-risk areas.
In The News – The Sally Fund launches its first fundraiser
November 19, 2025 | Member Submitted
Originally Published in the Tahoe Daily Tribune, 11/19/2025, Written by Eli Ramos
On Monday, St. Patrick’s Episcopal Church officially launched The Sally Fund, a community effort that will provide flexible funding to Sierra Community House and Tahoe Family Solutions. Named after longtime Tahoe resident Sally Jane Hammel, the fund will provide housing assistance and rapid re-housing to those in need.
Sally Jane Hammel was a Tahoe resident for over 30 years and was a member of St. Patrick’s as well as a U.S. Postal Service worker. When she died in 2020, she willed her condo to the church, and a portion of her gift is the seed money for the fund.
Senior Warden at St. Patrick’s Connie Skidmore said, “We wanted the love in her house to live on for others.”
During the winter of 2021/2022, a group of Tahoe based skiers, snowboarders, and filmmakers came together to explore the causes of the immediate housing shortages affecting their mountain town community and to look for real solutions. Motivated by their personal passion for skiing and snowboarding, they chose to focus on others who share that same love for the mountains, many of whom are struggling to stay in the places they call home.
The film was completed in 2023 and went on a film festival and screening tour during the 2023 to 2024 season. It traveled across the country and even made a stop in a resort town in Australia where the story deeply resonated with the local community. Want to learn more about housing issues and what can be done to help? Explore the resources listed below and feel free to drop others in the comments.
https://www.ttcf.net/housing-solutions-fun…
https://strongnorthtahoe.org/resources/com…
https://tahoeprosperity.org/housing-tahoe/…
This film was made possible due to a the generous support of donors, Alibi Ale Works for hosting our fundraiser and an early screening, the The Truckee Community Foundation, and the businesses that donated goods to our raffle (listed at the end of the film). Thank you!
The Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA) is providing opportunities over the next three months to learn about and give feedback on policies intended to increase the availability of affordable and workforce housing in the Lake Tahoe Region, the agency said today. Following a year of meaningful engagement with community members, housing experts, and decision makers through the Cultivating Community, Conserving the Basin project, TRPA will launch an environmental impact statement (EIS) process in early 2026 and is seeking feedback on draft policy recommendations to include in the study.
“Most of Lake Tahoe’s essential workers and underrepresented community members are burdened by housing costs and that’s causing impacts to both our environment and communities,” TRPA Executive Director Julie Regan said. “The Tahoe dream shouldn’t be out of reach for so many families, seniors, and local workers who are commuting into the basin for jobs. We’re driving innovative environmental policies to address this massive challenge, and we want to ensure the community’s voices are heard.”
Cultivating Community, Conserving the Basin is a multiyear project to make housing more accessible while maintaining and improving environmental quality. The project will modernize land-use policies and the regional growth management system to ensure new building and redevelopment projects increase access to affordable and workforce housing in a thriving, protected environment, according to the agency.
TRPA will hold a workshop and public presentation on draft policies to include in the EIS at the November 19 Governing Board meeting. Additional presentations are scheduled for December and January meetings to finalize the scope of the EIS.
The EIS will analyze short- and long-term effects of proposed policies on regional environmental goals, including improved water quality, reduced vehicle use, and evacuation planning by emergency management and law enforcement agencies. Visit TahoeLiving.org for more information and to get involved.
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The Tahoe Regional Planning Agency leads the cooperative effort to preserve, restore, and enhance the unique natural and human environment of the Lake Tahoe Region, while improving local communities, and people’s interactions with our irreplaceable environment.
In The News – The Sally Fund launched to provide local housing assistance, prevent homelessness
November 12, 2025 | Member Submitted
Originally Published in The Tahoe Daily Tribune, 11/12/2025, Staff Report
St. Patrick’s Episcopal Church, Incline Village, announces the creation of The Sally Fund to generate support for our housing-insecure neighbors in North Tahoe-Truckee. Using part of a generous bequest from a longtime member as seed money, St. Patrick’s invites our community to add to this fund–and help prevent homelessness.
Donations will flow to those in need through two outstanding partners—Sierra Community House and Tahoe Family Solutions—who serve individuals and families struggling to enter housing or to stay housed.
As Connie Skidmore, St. Patrick’s Senior Warden states, “When Sally Jane Hammel willed her Incline condo to her church family on her passing in 2020, St. Patrick’s leadership intentionally made a decision to spread her spirit of generosity. The legacy of her home, where Sally shared warmth and hospitality, as well as Sally’s known desire to help others, inspired us to launch a housing assistance fund in her name.”
Housing insecurity seems to be a chronic problem in resort communities like Incline Village. It affects our business owners, business professionals, service workers, retirees, and the young singles we hope will settle down and start families here. When temporary assistance is needed, our family advocacy organizations, such as Tahoe Family Solutions and Sierra Community House, are the boots on the ground. Their resources for financial assistance are limited. Recently, St. Patrick’s Episcopal Church introduced the Sally Fund to raise funds and encourage collaboration among all providers. Some of you may remember Sally Hammell, a longtime resident. The Sally Fund is her legacy. Donate directly to St. Patrick’s Episcopal Church.
I know it’s a trite phrase, but it is so true. It takes a Village…here’s how some other organizations are involved in workforce housing.
IVCBA Housing Committee educates and convenes the community on housing issues. Sign the housing pledge and get on the mailing list. Go to the Housing page to learn more about housing programs in Incline Village. Both Rotary clubs help fund IVCBA’s housing committee.
IVCBA businesses such as Sun Bear Realty and Incline Vacation Rentals also handle long-term rentals. Something not often discussed but deserving of mention is the assistance and forbearance that landlords quietly offer to local tenants who are in a bind.
PLACEMATE is a program funded by Washoe County that gives assistance to landlords willing to lower the rent for locals.
TRPA Living Communities is the regional agency that works to implement policies that would open up and enable multi-family dwellings to be built in the basin.
Word of mouth and social media will always be the ultimate go-to network!
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In The News – IVCBA Workforce Housing Series presents ‘Housing Insecurity in Paradise: A New Solution to a Chronic Problem’
November 4, 2025 | Member Submitted
Originally published in the Tahoe Daily Tribune, 11/4/2025, Staff Report
Its easy to see the housing crisis escalating in our region: not only in the headlines, but in the stories of friends and neighbors who’ve been priced out or pushed out of their homes, jobs, schools, and communities by rising financial pressure. Housing insecurity is a reality the Incline Village Crystal Bay Association are called to address in North Tahoe-Truckee.
Come to this engaging community presentation–part of National Homelessness Awareness Month–to better understand this problem and also its solutions. New collaborations are forming among local faith-based organizations, social services, civic organizations, and philanthropies to make a difference.
You’ll learn about The Sally Fund to support our neighbors with housing assistance and rapid rehousing funds. Launched by St. Patrick’s Episcopal Church, this fund will be distributed to those in need by Sierra Community House and Tahoe Family Solutions. Representatives from the church and these vital social service agencies will explain the fund’s inspiration by long-time resident Sally Jane Hammel–and its power to change lives.
The Sally Fund – Housing Security in North Tahoe-Truckee
October 21, 2025 | Member Submitted
THE SALLY FUND helps our neighbors stay securely housed in the North Tahoe region: Incline Village, Kings Beach, Tahoe City, Truckee, and all unincorporated areas. Launched by St. Patrick’s Episcopal Church in Incline Village, this community fund is a model of the collaboration needed to address our local housing crisis.
PLEASE ADD YOUR SUPPORT!
Why is The Sally Fund needed? We see the housing crisis escalating in our region: not only in the headlines, but in the stories of friends and neighbors who’ve been priced out or pushed out of their homes, jobs, schools, and communities by rising financial pressure. A bad weather season; a serious illness; a sudden jump in rent can upend lives and livelihoods. Without well-timed and well-targeted support, your neighbors may risk homelessness. The Sally Fund is a coordinated way you can help.
What does The Sally Fund do? Our two outstanding partners—Sierra Community House and Tahoe Family Solutions—both serve our community members struggling to enter housing or to stay housed. Their programs criss-cross city, county, and state lines because our workers and residents do the same. We have a regional housing problem.
By funding each agency equally, The Sally Fund is a two-way solution for housing assistance (financial aid to help individuals or families pay their housing costs, housing cost arrears, or utility bills so they can secure and maintain stable housing) and rapid re-housing (tenant-based rental assistance, security deposit, and services for 1–6 months, to help people obtain housing quickly, increase self-sufficiency, and stay housed). Our partners assess and assist clients; our donors fuel their work.
Who is Sally? Sally Jane Hammel, a beloved Tahoe neighbor for over 30 years, was well known as a bright, exuberant personality; an accomplished singer, artist, and thespian; and a longtime local U.S. Postal Service worker who always greeted us with spirit and a smile. A devoted member of St. Patrick’s, Sally willed her Incline condo to her church family on her passing in 2020; a portion of this generous bequest is the seed money for this fund. Her gift of a home, where she shared warmth and hospitality, inspires us to do the same.
How can you help? Please uplift our community, as Sally did, by giving to the fund established in her name (your tax-deductible donation is payable through the QR code below or with a check to St. Patrick’s Episcopal Church, 341 Village Blvd., Incline Village, NV 89451, with The Sally Fund in the Memo Line). Ask your church, temple, organization, or business to become an official co-sponsor/funder by contacting St. Patrick’s at 775.831.1418. Come to the fund’s launch Nov. 17, followed by future fundraisers. And spread the word!
Originally published in the TRPA Newsletter, 10/17/2025, Written by Julie Regan
A cheerful crowd of community members, state and local leaders, and affordable housing advocates gathered on the campus of Lake Tahoe Community College (LTCC) earlier this month to commemorate the opening of a truly remarkable student housing project. As the Tahoe sky did its Fall dance, flashing from hot sun to gray drizzle and back again, we marveled at the new 100-bed dormitory and listened to a moving speech by a student leader that reminded us how important access to safe, affordable housing is in the Tahoe Basin. On behalf of Team Tahoe, congratulations to LTCC for bringing a game-changing affordable housing project to the Tahoe Basin.
The speaker was Hudson Conners, one of the first full-time students to move into the facility. “With scarce housing and high rent, housing became a difficult barrier that had to be overcome,” Conners said. Like many students, some of whom are local high school graduates and hospitality workers, housing became a serious barrier not just to his education, but to the course of life.
The dedication ceremony came less than two building seasons from the start of construction, a speed record of sorts for a major project in the Tahoe Basin and a record-setting completion date for the State of California community college affordable housing initiative. The Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA) played an important role in the permitting process, similar to the 248-unit Sugar Pine Village affordable housing project in South Lake Tahoe where 68 units are already occupied and the next 60 units are under construction.
Team Tahoe came together for both projects, showing we can protect Lake Tahoe and deliver quality affordable housing at the same time. However, much more needs to be done. In addition to the human toll of housing insecurity, today more than half of Lake Tahoe’s workers live outside the basin, which adds to traffic and vehicle emissions that harm air and water quality. We need to be able to scale these successes up in ways that will protect Lake Tahoe’s environment and meet the region’s housing needs.
Enter Cultivating Community, Conserving the Basin. Over the next year, TRPA is leading a public process to advance new policies that maintain environmental protections and current growth limits while creating incentives and lowering costs for many types of affordable housing throughout the region. Earlier phases of this work have made it easier to add accessory dwelling units, created a monitoring and compliance program to protect existing deed-restricted housing, and set new policies for building design that will reduce the cost to create multi-family homes and apartments as long as they are deed-restricted for local workers or certain income levels.
