March 24, Bear Valley Lodge

Alpine County Planning Director Brian Peters, representing the host agency, explained that the scoping session was a required part of the Environmental Impact Report process, and was the first of many county-sponsored meetings and hearings. He introduced Scott Goebl of SWCA Environmental Consultants from Sacramento. The county has contracted with SWCA to do the EIR. Peters said the scoping session would have 3 parts. First, Goebl would explain the process. Second, the developer would make a presentation explaining the proposal. Third, Goebl would take comments from the audience.

Goebl said he would be taking comments on potential impacts of the project, suggested mitigations, and alternatives to the proposal. Target date for the draft EIR is October of 2007. After public release of the draft, there is a 45 day public comment period. Then the final EIR is put together, including responses to comments. Target date for the final EIR is spring of 2008. Then the project goes to the Planning Commission for approval of parcel maps and use permits. There are public hearings at the Planning Commission meetings. The Planning Commission usually imposes conditions on use permits, and that is the public’s last chance to influence the process, including elements which don’t fall within the scope of the environmental review. If the components of the project are approved, the developer then submits building and infrastructure plans to the county.

In response to a question, Goebl said that Bear Valley does have a Master Plan. The EIR process is necessary in this case, not because the Master Plan has "expired", but because new laws require more detail than is in the Master Plan, and because the proposal may require at least one change to the Master Plan, the proposal to put a parking/condo structure on county parking lots B and C.

Chuck Toeniskoetter, representing the Bear Valley Village Partners, said they are interested in an economically sustainable community, something Bear Valley has not yet achieved. At 4 meetings in July, they presented preliminary plans and took comments. He said the three most important issues of concern in the feedback they’ve gotten so far are traffic, parking, and snowmobiles.

He said the proposal will create ski-in/ski-out condition with a chairlift to Koala Top. They want to re-route the Home Run to go past the Norwegian house on Snowshoe Road to eliminate the traverse on the present alignment. This will bring skiers down Bear Valley Road and across the present bus stop area to the lift terminal. While the Master Plan allows up to 562 units on the two parcels Village Center One and Village Center Two, the proposal cuts that down to 358 units, built in a phased orderly progression. Each unit will have its own parking in enclosed garages which Toeniskoetter called "podium parking". There will be "people areas", including a plaza and sheltered walkways. The Bear Valley Club will include lockers, fitness center, nursery, and children’s ski school facilities. There will be an amphitheater. There will be a modest-sized community center for meetings.

There will be a structure on B and C parking lots with 2 floors of parking garage and condos on top. The developer will deed the ground floor to the county for residents’ parking. It would be up to the county and the community to decide how those spaces are used. Details of a maintenance and operations agreement between the developer and the county would need to be worked out. The cost of creating garage parking is about $50,000 per stall. On top of the parking levels would be 145 condos, in addition to the 358 condos on VC1 and VC2. There would also be a swimming pool here.

Next to this structure, west of the Transportation Center, would be a 50 unit employee housing building. The area available for snowmobile parking behind the Transportation Center would be increased.

Phase One would include the Bear Valley Club, the chairlift, the nursery, and new retail space, in the area of the old Transportation Center. 38 parking places would be lost in the North parking lot, to be replaced during this phase by 50 spaces in what is now the bus stop/snowmobile parking area.

Phase Two would include buildings on the present site of the Lodge and the Commercial Center (which will be torn down), and on No Name Road which will be replaced by a road cutting through the present area of the Lodge pool.

The timing of further phases and the order in which the rest of the project is built will be determined by market conditions.

Toeniskoetter said they are not planning a hotel or a larger conference center. They commissioned an economic feasibility study which says that hotel and large conference business are not a viable business model for Bear Valley.

He said that they are working with the Bear Valley Music Festival Board to explore how their amphitheater might be used by the Festival.

Goebl took comments from the audience. Environmental impacts brought up by the audience:

1. water supply – is there enough, and will water needs reduce the amount now used for snowmaking (just added new filtration plant)
2. sewer capacity – do we have capacity, and who will pay for expanding the facilities
3. noise of construction
4. where will construction workers live
5. where will snowmobile trailers park
6. will the parking structure for residents be completed in one summer (yes), and will there be sufficient parking at all stages of development
7. will employee housing be rentals aimed at transient workers or purchasable affordable housing for workers who want to stay (some of both)
8. will there be a concrete batch plant in the village (Toeniskoetter said they are considering putting one at the ski area; the developer of the Silver Mountain condos has withdrawn his request to put a batch plant on parking lot B)
9. access for snowmobiles to get out of town
10. access to the school
11. maintaining double access to all structures for fire protection
12. maintaining loop traffic flow when No Name Road is eliminated
13. need for increased fire and police services, including ability to fight fire in taller buildings
14. need for increased snowmobile storage
15. need for auto/snowmobile loading/unloading areas
16. water delivery system should be able to supply water for firefighting without interrupting domestic supply
17. highway traffic, including effects on Arnold
18. cumulative effects when combined with other projects – Creekside, Silver Mountain, Black Forest condos, Bear Paw Ridge (must be addressed in EIR)
19. effect of parking/condo structure on adjacent Silver Mountain condo project
20. maintaining auto and snowmobile access to community transfer station
21. what if project stalls out somewhere in the middle
22. proximity of employee housing to high traffic snowmobile area
23. traffic flows during construction period
24. timing of construction (exterior and major construction done when there’s no snow, interior work could continue during snow time)
25. dust from construction
26. drainage
27. "green" building techniques and materials to reduce environmental impact
28. effects on snow removal and snow storage
29. release economic feasibility study to the public? (yes)

Deadline for comments at this stage is April 2. Comments should be addressed to Brian Peters at the Alpine County Planning Department, brian@pd.alpinecounty.com.

GO BACK TO HOME PAGE