Truckee Timeshare Resort Moving Through Permitting Process

Staff Writer - The Timeshare Beat

November 15, 1999
The Town of Truckee Planning Commission held its first public hearings for the proposed Truckee Sierra Resort & Spa on November 10, and have forwarded the plans to the Town Council for consideration.

The Commission's recommendations were to: Adopt a Mitigated Negative Declaration based on the findings set forth in the Initial Study; Find that the project will have an adverse impact on wildlife resources and is subject to the DFG environmental filing fee; Approve the planned development and conditional use permit; Rescind the planned development previously adopted for the property by Ordinance No. 97-09; Approve the tentative map; and Adopt the findings supporting the Commission’s recommendations for approval of the planned development, conditional use permit, and tentative map, subject to the conditions of approval and based upon the findings contained within the staff report.

The developer of the proposed timeshare resort, the Hofman Foundation of Sacramento, CA, is requesting land use/zoning approvals to construct and operate a commercial resort/recreation facility consisting of 235 timeshare cabins, a community lodge, and recreational facilities. The project site encompasses 592 acres located near the Old Airport Flats on both sides of Interstate 80, west of the Prosser Village Road Interchange.

If all final approvals are gained, the resort would be a gated commercial timeshare project which would include a 31,000-square foot lodge, an equestrian center, three tennis courts, a recreational field and trails for cross country skiing, riding and biking.

It is not yet known who would market the resort.

According to the proposal submitted to the Town of Truckee, the timeshare cabins, lodge and internal streets would be constructed on about 59 acres of the property, which spans both sides of I-80 west of the Prosser Village Road Interchange. The equestrian facilities, tennis courts and recreation field would take up another 7 acres. The remaining 526 acres of the site would be open space.

The cabins are planned to range in size from 1,500 to 2,000 square feet.

The lodge would include 21 one-bedroom suites, as well as swimming pools, outdoor spas, a fitness and spa center, general store/deli, sales office, multi-purpose room, grand lodge room and a reception facility and office.

Other structures to be built would be a 5,400-square-foot maintenance building and a 500-square-foot gatehouse.

According to Truckee Community Development guidelines, the project falls within the General Plan description for the area, which allows for residential or lodging as long as 90% of the property remains open space. The site, which is in a wooded area, would be almost invisible from the freeway

The town planning department has been looking at a number of issues with the proposed plan, including visual, cultural and wildlife impacts.

Infrastructure for the development would include:

• A private access road from the Old Truckee Airport Road to the development area and internal streets.
• Emergency access road from the development area to the Fibreboard Undercrossing.
• Outfall sewer line from Glenshire Drive or East River Street to the project site and internal sewer collectors.
• Water main from Glenshire Drive to the project site and internal water service lines, with a 250,000 gallon water storage tank.
• Underground electrical, television and telephone utilities within the development site.

As part of their application, the property owners are requesting:

• Zoning amendment, if necessary, to allow recreational/resort uses on the portion of the property southeast of I-80 as a conditional use through the Planned Development process.
• Conditional use permit to construct and operate the project as proposed.
• Tentative map to divide the 592-acre parcel into seven parcels. The parcels will coincide with phases of the project.
• Planned development to establish the phasing and timeframes for construction of the project and to set special construction, operation and maintenance development standards for the project.

Prior to the developer's submission of the preliminary plans for the resort in April, the site was proposed as Crystal Ranch Estates, a 40-home subdivision.