BV Development - Bear Valley Wiki

Discuss BV Development here, please click Edit above to add your thoughts:

My two cents from the BV development meeting held in San Jose:
Chuck Toeniskotter led the presentation. As a long time BV resident and developer, I felt odds were good for not turning Bear Valley into yet-another-Tahoe-resort throughout the development process. Chuck has an appreciation for what makes Bear Valley the low key special place it is today. We also heard from the gentleman (name?) from Dundee development. He seemed to be on the right wavelength too... showed appreciation for what makes Bear Valley different. So, two thumbs up from me on the whole plan. Some details:

current commercial center to be torn down
existing tenant status in future development? Wasn't clear, but looks like they will be offered space. Who knows if they can afford new lease rates though. Chuck mentioned Dave Johnson of the General Store has been talking about retirement... it sounded as if the retirement might coincide with the new building. IF so, Chuck promised some type of GS would be featured in the new plan. I for one hope Dave keeps going!
I will try and email for some pics of the development artist renderings. The style is intended to be one of a small Euro alpine village. Clocktower. Buildings with stone facades. Bridge walkways connect the various areas of the new village layout.
Quad chair, not gondola. Quad chair takes off somewhere near the current parking lot? Not sure. In any case, there will be snowmobile parking 'nearby' ... the whole snowmobile parking seems vague at this time, except that it appears for sure all snowmobiles will have to park on some new plowed area of Bear Valley Road, and no longer in the unplowed portion of the parking lot (the one where the shuttle bus would pick up skiers).
Quad chair will take you to Koala top, NOT Bear top. This means you have to ski down Koala and catch Kuma, whatever, to get to the top.
Restaurant being planned for the mountain top. That was vigorously applauded.
No hotel will replace the lodge. I understood that there will be a mix of 2, 3, and 4 bedroom condos. Time share ownership was discussed. Not clear to me what the plan is to accommodate weekend skiers... rental of condo type accomodations will replace the need for a hotel.
Pace of plan. Chuck squashed rumors of the village quad chair starting in '07. No definite dates for ANYTHING yet. The plan needs approval by Alpine County and who knows who else. Chuck encouraged residents and BVRI to actively ping the County with messages of support. My guess is that the village will start to undergo big construction in the 08 timeframe, and the whole thing down in 5-7 years. In a decade, BV will look quite different.
Sep 06 Update: apparently the developers are working to secure Water rights to supply the new development. Seems like many downstream rights holders need to be mollified.
Nov 06 Update: Environmental Impact Reports might take up to 2 years to complete, so real construction may not be seen until 2009?
Nov 07 Update: one tidbit I heard again is that the quad chair to the village won't actually start until 2009, and it will be a two year project. Without the quad chair I think the investments made by the new owners will not return... with the quad chair, just maybe, if real estate within the Village is cleaned up and more housing options added.

The direction of the chair lift has been staked off. It starts about 20 yards off the dirt service road that runs between the Village and Creekside Rd. It has been staked with pink markers for the lift and green markers for the easment. It runs straight toward the dumpsters and crosses Creekside at the dumpsters. It then heads up the ridge and straight to the top of Koala.

(1-8-08) Don't know if this is the right place to post this (Dan, I assume you can point in the right direction if not), but I have the beginnings of a site up about the Bear Valley development, at

http://www.bvdevelopmentwatch.org - I had hoped to develop it a little more by now, but time and circumstances have intervened to prevent that from happening. In other words, it's still on the rough side. Anyway, just thought I'd add it to the mushpot... (Btw, I'm in OH for the next few months, and the powder-drool is reaching some unhealthy proportions, what with 4 ft of new snow and more on the way. Grrrr...)
Rafi

You might consider using this form for submitting comments on the DEIR. Just click on the thumbnail to the left and print.

Comments:

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2008-01-08 17:21:21 Rafi, that is a nice site.. thanks for posting the link. —TonyZuccarino

2008-01-09 09:30:27 Rafi, you are doing what I wished for. Excellent job on the BVDW- You have my kudos. —SusiLewis

2008-01-10 11:53:06 Wow, am I impressed. There is a growing movement of involvement by talented people that are concerned about BV. I will spread the word about this website. —JohnDralla

2008-01-11 08:08:01 Thanks for good words, all. I would definitely appreciate input from other people, so if you have any suggestions or info, please email me and let me know. (And is the EIS out yet for public comment?) —RafiYouatt

2008-01-11 08:33:44 Per a 10/29/08 email to me from Brian Peters, Alpine County Planning Director, "fyi - we now have a revised schedule for the EIR - the draft EIR is not expected to be complete and released for public comment until mid May 2008." That was 2 1/2 months ago, so if anyone has a new date please post it. —JohnDralla

2008-01-11 08:34:46 that was 10/29/07! I guess I have rewired my brain for 2008 check writing. —JohnDralla

2008-01-12 16:41:10 Over the holiday, I skiied(with tele skins on) the Village Lift easement up to the Koala ridge where the chair will drop you. One questiion...This summer I noticed that there were actually 3 different Lift easments marked that crossed the Koala Access trail. Does anyone know why they need 3 easements? —SteveTroyer

2008-01-17 08:55:47 Rafi, I would suggest you add a link to the Alpine County website,

http://www.alpinecountyca.gov/. Our BV development is governing by actions taken, in large part, by the Planning Dept and Supervisors. In particular, I would also suggest that you list as a public document on the BVDW site, the "Bear Valley Village - Traffic and Parking Impact Analysis" pdf located on the Alpine County site. This document is critical to understanding how the BVVP development will affect how we move about the village as the development proceeds. —JohnDralla

2008-01-17 09:00:15 Does anyone know the comment process when the Draft BVVP EIR is released to the public sometime in May? Is it only 30 days? If so, most people will not have enough time to read, understand and respond. —JohnDralla

2008-01-20 09:10:17 Thanks for the pointer John, I've added the Parking Analysis and a link to Alpine County.gov. The BVRI website says the public comment period for the EIR is 45 days - still not that long but beter than 30. Depending on how long the EIR is, I will see about putting a shorter summary document together for folks who don't have time/desire to read the whole thing. —RafiYouatt

2008-01-20 09:48:44 Rafi, thanks. For those following the details of the EIR process, I just looked up the following information on the CEQA site,

http://ceres.ca.gov/ceqa/flowchart/lead_agency/Draft_EIR.html. This link may be useful for FAQ. "4. How long is the review period for a draft EIR? Review periods for draft EIRs should not be less than 30 days nor longer than 60 days from the date of the notice except in unusual situations. The review period for draft EIRs for which a state agency is the Lead Agency or a Responsible Agency is at least 45 days unless the State Clearinghouse approves a shorter period. —JohnDralla

2008-01-21 13:51:49 A FAQ page is a good idea too... —RafiYouatt

2008-01-21 18:19:29 Draft EIR Release Date Update: At the BVRI Board meeting yesterday afternoon, it was reported by Terry Woodrow, that the draft EIR is now scheduled for this summer 2008, a revision of the mid-May 2008 date as indicated by Brian Peters. —JohnDralla

2008-01-21 20:01:57 any chance of going for the center of the BV lodge as a historical structure? what will happen to the indian grinding rock there in the fireplace? I know of where it came from...and it should probably be put back according to what is right these days. Someone donated a picture of it's original location in the meadow to the museum. I treasure that photo, as I do the cathedral lounge. What to do? —SusiLewis

2008-01-22 08:25:12 Rafi, If we were to set up a FAQ page, how would we review the question and answer before posting it? We are not experts on all topics, but collectively, there is a big knowledge base of concerned BV people. For example, could we have a FAQ posted for review and hold it for say 5 days as preliminary, then take all the input and post it? I have a large number of FAQs but would like the BV community to assist in making them as accurate as possible. —JohnDralla

2008-01-22 09:50:17 Postponement of the EIR (again) duly noted, I wonder what the hangup is? Regarding the FAQs, a couple things. First, it might make sense to write/answer some baseline FAQs, and post them online for review/input/corrections/additions. And then for new FAQs, one solution would be to have a) a community forum where questions could be posted, and answered by anyone who has the knowledge, and then b) to have a summary FAQ page, which gathers and distills that info (if it's clear what the answer is, anyway). Though I could host the "distilled FAQs" at BVDW, I haven't figured out to get a working community forum going there, so maybe this is something to try and figure out here at the wiki, which is really a more community-friendly setup anyway. —RafiYouatt

2008-01-22 10:00:53 from a technical point of view, what this wiki needs is a forum/bbs... because what happens is these comment chains substitute poorly as a forum. I am going to look into a better solution for how to integrate a forum.. I have some ideas - will take a look in my copious spare time. —TonyZuccarino

2008-01-29 14:05:57 BVVP Draft EIR Release Date: I am correcting a piece of information I posted on this page. The date of the release is mid-May and not this summer. Brian Peters clarified that it is his office in the Alpine County Planning Dept. that controls the contractor preparing the report and its release date. BVVP has the responsibility to pay for the report. —JohnDralla

2008-09-21 10:02:39 The Bear Valley Village Draft EIR has been released for public review and comments. The announcement and document are available for download at the Alpine County website,

http://www.alpinecountyca.gov/, under recently added documents. Key dates: Public meeting Sat October 18 2008 at 10 AM in BV Lodge, Comment period closes Fri November 7 2008 at 5 PM. Please submit your comments to Brian Peters, Alpine County Planning Director, brian@pd.alpinecountyca.gov —JohnDralla

2008-10-13 19:35:19 Anyone going to the EIR meeting this weekend? I am —SteveTroyer

2008-10-13 19:37:20 I skimmed the report, mostly paying attention to the automobile parking issue...If I read it right, there will be a shortage of parking available during "peak" periods. —SteveTroyer

2008-10-13 19:38:11 They plan to mitigate this, by selling memberships in the BV Club at first only to new and existing homeowners. —SteveTroyer

2008-10-13 19:40:38 I am not so sure I like the idea of paying more money(on top of the property taxes we have been paying the county to keep the lots open) to a private entity for the same privilege —SteveTroyer

2008-10-13 19:42:10 Did I read this wrong? —SteveTroyer

2008-10-13 20:27:51 Interesting... I only skimmed the report, but will read in depth more before Sat. I'll be there. —TonyZuccarino

2008-10-15 10:49:13 Steve, my wife Gloria and I will be at the meeting. Your concern about peak winter automobile parking is justified. We know from informal winter night parking surveys that there are a handful of available parking spaces in the evening, on peak winter holidays and weekends. The proposed acquisition of Alpine County owned lots B and C by the developer to create the South Village and associated covered parking structure is very far off in the future. The DEIR makes reference to phases 3 & 4 for 2015 and beyond depending on market conditions. It does not state, unless I missed it, when and if the South Village and parking structure would be built. I assume well after 2015. Therefore, any reduction in currently available spaces associated with start of any construction and the availability of a South Village parking structure would significantly impact the existing homeowners. For example, the removal of the spaces along the former transportation road associated with early construction phases. —JohnDralla

2008-10-15 20:35:55 thanks John. I plan to be in Bear Valley after 2015 so I care enough to come to the meeting. Look forward to meeting you there. —SteveTroyer

2008-10-18 10:16:57 Please represent us well. I've got company in town and have to stay down here. If the idea is really to take away county-owned land used for parking that we already pay property taxes on, and then charge us back for the parking through a membership fee, that is absurd. Seems like the parking issue has been sidestepped and deliberately left vague all the way so far. Existing homeowners should be assured parking at no additional cost! —DianeLundquist

2008-10-18 16:40:22 I missed the meeting... got head faked by a potential car buyer... well, I look forward to the reports from wiki users. —TonyZuccarino

2008-10-22 12:32:29 Tony, I wrote a long comment and it did not get posted. —JohnDralla

2008-10-22 12:34:14 Let me try again. The meeting presented the basic contents of the DEIR. The meeting attendance was not great. Many questions and comments were made. —JohnDralla

2008-10-22 12:38:45 The DEIR did not adequately address the winter issues of automobile traffic flow, automobile parking for homeowners and their guests, automobile unloading to snowmobile and pedestrian sleds zones, snowmobile access to new commercial center, snowmobile emergency routes, snowmobile traffic flow within BV to access homes, automobile parking during construction phases, etc. —JohnDralla

2008-10-22 12:42:37 At one point in the meeting the representative of the company preparing the DEIR candidly admitted that he had never come across a situation like BV where snowmobile use and impacts were part of a DEIR. I have contacted the ISMA (International Snowmobile Manufacturers Association) and they could not tell me of other communities that were reliant upon snowmobiles to access there homes. —JohnDralla

2008-10-22 12:44:11 DOES ANYONE KNOW OF A COMMUNITY IN THE USA OR CANADA THAT IS SIMILAR TO BV IN ITS DEPENDENCE ON SNOWMOBILES FOR WINTER TRANSPORTATION ACCESS TO HOMES? —JohnDralla

2008-10-23 10:26:44 John, —TonyZuccarino

2008-10-23 10:29:12 John, thanks for the comments... wish I had been there. Well, it's interesting that BV is a rare (we can't possibly be unique?) example of closed roads in the winter. So what did you conclude were the actions from the meeting?? —TonyZuccarino

2008-10-28 19:21:22 Tony, I would suggest submitting comments to Brian Peters, Alpine County Planning Director. I will email you the form. You can also send him an email, but in case the email is lost, a paper trail provide some evidence the comment was received. —JohnDralla

2008-10-28 19:22:33 FYI, Alpine County has added four new PDF files which are the appendices of the DEIR. Watch out, they are many pages. —JohnDralla

2008-11-01 13:32:55 A review of the 4 recently added appendices for DEIR on the Alpine County website, reveals that Appendix H Snowmobile Study, discusses some of the snowmobile use changes. Please read it to see if you agree with the assumptions. Comment to Brian Peters if you think you have constructive proposals to make the system work better than it is exists today or will be modified in the future. —JohnDralla

2008-11-01 13:34:18 In additional to the post of the form by Tony at the top of this page, Brian Peters agreed to add the form to the Alpine County website. —JohnDralla

2008-11-01 13:34:55 IMPORTANT: The public review and comment period closes at 5:00 pm on November 7, 2008. Written comments should be addressed to Brian Peters, Planning Director, 17300 Highway 89, Markleeville, CA 96120 (brian@pd.alpinecountyca.gov). —JohnDralla

2009-03-20 04:46:35 So what's next for BV development? It seems that the development momentum has slowed, just as the economy. —BobRynd

2009-03-22 09:55:51 yes... well I would not be surprised if all the money had not completely dried up. —TonyZuccarino

2009-03-22 18:42:04 lastest EIR is due out of the Planners ofc late Spring. According to our Supe at the last CSA meeting, the Dev co will not start soemthing they can't finish. But, are scheduled to proceed once the EIR etc is done and finished. Will see. —SusiLewis