Abstract
Abstract of TAHOE REGIONAL PLANNING AGENCY RESIDENTIAL ALLOCATION SYSTEM UPDATE: A STUDY OF COLLABORATION by Tiffany Jeneé Good The Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA) is updating a component of its growth management program, the residential allocation system. TRPA wanted the update to be fair and representative of current interests in the Lake Tahoe Basin. I worked with TRPA staff to design and conduct a collaborative process. The process included identifying and engaging the relevant stakeholders, conducting individual stakeholder interviews about the residential allocation system, and leading a focus group with all of the stakeholders. Through this process I determined that collaboration was a feasible and desirable way to update the residential allocation system. The stakeholders were able to reach consensus on: 1) the TRPA should continue to link residential allocation distribution to environmental performance, 2) the TRPA should retain the Permit Monitoring and Compliance performance measure, 3) the TRPA should explore how to incorporate Total Maximum Daily Load, or fine sediment discharge, criterion as a performance measure, and 4) the TRPA should defer allocation acknowledgement deadlines to the jurisdictions. Unlike more traditional growth management efforts, the stakeholders in this process continue to place emphasis on environmental improvement. TRPA’s desire to use collaboration as a decision-making tool and its steadfast emphasis on environmental improvement indicates comprehensive and modern land-use planning. As a decision-making tool, collaboration presents certain difficulties. However, collaboration is also an effective way to deliberate on problems that affect many. Growth management in the Lake Tahoe Basin is one such problem, and collaboration proved successful. Consequently, the TRPA will continue collaboration on this update and more land-use decisions in the future.