The Placer County Planning Commission’s decision to approve the proposed Village At Squaw Valley project really should not have come as a surprise to anybody. Placer County is indeed pretty near to the heart of the 1848 California Gold Rush. The discovery of gold near Coloma did indeed bring people from all over the world that were hoping to make a quick buck. The county is even named “Placer”, which is defined as the gold deposits that most miner’s were seeking in that initial rush.
It wasn’t until a few years later that smart businessmen and politicians realized there was far more money to be made from the miners than from the gold itself. Thats very similar to the idea that KSL Capital and Placer County have decided that it really is not about the skiing at Squaw Valley, or the Lake Tahoe experience, that is important. It’s more about the fact that there is billions to be made from real estate development in the Tahoe region.
Sure we can lay some blame on the 4 planning commissioners that voted in favor of the project. But can they help it? Some might say that mining for gold is in their genes, or at least it is all they know. It’s a skill that has been handed down from generation to generation in Placer County. A trip to the Placer County courthouse will confirm the importance of gold mining in the county, as there are several major displays. They are proud of that heritage.
The Village At Squaw Valley, by most estimates, will bring over a billion dollars into the coffers of KSL Capital and their investors. The potential for increased property taxes, increased Transient Occupancy Taxes, and that last minute stunt with the Squaw Valley Foundation certainly must have drawn in the attention of the Planning Commission, just like those glints of gold in a gold pan drew miners from around the world 168 years ago.
In modern times, the people of Placer County have been frequently seduced by the call of gold. Because of that call, they live with the consequences. To them, the sprawl and traffic of the Roseville Galleria area is part of their everyday life. The Roseville Automall is what they consider normal, as is one one of the largest casinos in California, the Thunder Valley Resort. Just the Bass Pro store in Rocklin spans 120,000 square feet and bears a remarkable resemblance to the proposed Mountain Adventure Center in Squaw Valley. The people that are the decision makers in Placer County, including the Planning Commission and the Board Of Supervisors, view all of that as “normal.”
As we, the residents and frequent visitors to the Tahoe Basin, know – that is far from the reality that is needed for Squaw Valley and the Tahoe Basin. It is our job to educate them, and we don’t have a lot of time. The Board of Supervisors will meet to approve or deny the plan sometime this fall – and we need to make sure that does not happen. Talk to the supervisors, contact State Attorney General Kamala Harris and ask for her help in stopping the plan, write letters to the editor of Placer County publications – and most importantly get involved, before money wins over common sense.
People keep suggesting that “money always wins.” That is not the case. From the early 1850’s until 1884, California gold miners found they could extract gold more quickly than ever through the use of hydraulic mining. The powerful jets of water could move material through a sluice box very quickly, recovering far more gold than a miner with a shovel and a gold pan. Although mining companies struck it rich and the State of California’s coffers will quickly filled from taxes, it was causing severe damage to the ecology and farm production of California. In 1884, the US District Court in San Francisco banned hydraulic mining. More than 130 years later, the scars of hydraulic mining still show in the Sierra foothills.
Let’s make sure we band together as a solid community to defend everything that we love about Squaw Valley, Alpine Meadows and the Lake Tahoe Basin. Hopefully people won’t be asking in 130 years “What were they thinking?”
Priceless….stop hydraulic mining in Squaw Valley….no monstrous waterpark needed!
Great analogy Mark.
Mark, I think your estimate of what this will bring into the coffers of KSL is a little high. KSL will make a profit on the units sold, and/or the rights to build. But a little math suggests a very different sum. Assume 1000 units to be sold (perhaps a few more or less, based on the 1400 beds they promote, spread among hotel rooms, condos and fractional cabins.) Figure a generous $1 million per unit. That gives a total sales of $1 billion. Deduct construction costs, marketing costs, time value of money, etc., and you have a much smaller number indeed. Also, note that Whistler was sold to Vail for about $1 billion, and Squaw is not, nor every will be, the scale of resort that Whistler is. KSL will make money in other ways, including fees, etc. And this will certainly enhance the value of Squaw/Alpine if they opt to sell out. A tidy profit, indeed, but $1 billion is a huge stretch, and exaggerating will not win friends or convince the BOS.
That number did not come from me. Several industry insiders have suggested that is a reasonable number for discussion.
I really thought common sense could prevail but that was wishful thinking. What sort of “representatives” would approve a project that is obviously so contrary to the wishes of the people who live and work in North Lake Tahoe. Bald faced greed prevailed. All sense of proportion has departd our elected officials. They suck. Thank god we live in Alpine. KSL, be gone. Andy Wirth, go skydiving.
The new mountain experience may just include indoor sky diving. It’s safer you know.
Their minds are already made up…Look at Homewood. The hearing is a mere formality. Dollars speak and Common Sense is no more! The powers to be seek to further destroy God’s work for the dollars.
Yes indeed, excellent analogy, Mark. You outdid yourself. As far as Hor Piste’s comment, it has a lot of merit. But regarding the mention of infrastructure and construction costs, don’t forget that KSL’s probable intention is to do no construction whatsoever, just get the permits and then make its profit from the value differential between on the one hand what it paid for Squaw and Alpine to achieve a majority ownership position plus the cost of its running the two resorts the past few years including the cost of the improvements it’s put in and on the other hand the increased value of the holdings that will accrue from its having secured the development entitlements. Private equity deals are short term and this one’s already gone on longer than anticipated. No way was the deal offered to those who invested in it meant to include the construction timeline.
I’ll agree with the comments on a good analogy Mark. Once the gold is gone, so will KSL and what a mess they will leave behind. The most frustrating part of this is that the only improvements that are “needed” are ignored. A parking structure and employee housing. What should have been proposed was some needed mountain improvement and a five or six floor parking structure with a top floor for some employee housing. Off course decent parking enhances the “experience” but doesn’t bring revenue to these KSL carpetbaggers.