The Tahoe Prosperity Center is pleased to share the second of three reports as part of our Envision Tahoe, economic recovery and resiliency plan, funded by the US EDA. A few highlights:
* Tahoe residents – regardless of their specific location around the Lake or individual situation – are unified in their concern that housing, traffic congestion, and other visitor impacts pose the biggest threats to the quality of life in the Tahoe Basin.
* 2020 U.S. Census data shows that Tahoe median home prices have tripled in nine years, from $345,000 in 2012 to $950,000 in 2021, while the number of housing units has only increased by 1%. Compared to updated income data, there are zero homes presently listed for sale in Tahoe in a price range that is affordable to a person or couple earning a median Tahoe area wage of $53,000.
* Natural Beauty, Lifestyle and Recreation Make Tahoe a great place to live: Strong majorities of residents cite Tahoe’s natural beauty (75%), its outdoor mountain lifestyle (61%), and unique access to outdoor recreation (58%) as the most important factors that make Tahoe special.
*Solutions Should Prioritize Housing, Tourism Fees, Transportation, and Restrictions on Second Homeownership: 79% of respondents said that expanding economical housing opportunities for workers should be a “very high” or “high” priority. 75% said priority should be on imposing public access fees on tourists to pay for investments in the environment, transportation, and community services.
We look forward to putting an action plan into place to help Lake Tahoe tackle these challenges and are happy that we are more united than divided in the solutions.
Get involved and learn more about Envision Tahoe at tahoeprosperity.org
