Tahoe Marina Lodge faces lake issues

Public access to Lake Tahoe - and what type is appropriate - is at the heart of finger pointing in all directions involving the Tahoe Marina Lodge.

The 48-unit condominium development sits in the middle of lakefront public lands: Commons Beach to the north and a corridor along the Truckee River to the west which is soon to be developed into a park and bicycle trail next to the Lake Tahoe Dam.

The private enclave of condominiums is putting a crimp in public proposals to build the Lakeside Bicycle Trail from Fanny Bridge to Commons Beach and to redevelop Commons Beach.

While the pier has a shared public and private use, Tahoe Marina Lodge has fought efforts for a commercial entity to start a boat concession on the pier. So for now, the pier is not easily found by the public.

Tahoe Marina Lodge representatives have their own complaints - primarily that the pier is not being maintained and is dangerous to the public.

"I think it's a tremendous safety matter," said Paul Feldman, president of the Tahoe Marina Lodge Homeowners Association.

The pier's uprights are not safe, the lights are never on, the railings and chains are not secure and there are holes in the pier, Feldman said.

Recently, a small child leaned on one of the posts, which broke and fell into the lake, pulling the girl in with it, according to Chris Pohle, property manager for the homeowners' association. A relative pulled her out immediately.

"My concern is someone getting hurt. If that little girl was out here and drowned " Pohle said.

Fixing the pier is a problem in itself.

For over three decades, John Kearns has held the lease on the pier and operated a boat rental company for several years. During the late 1980s seven-year drought, the business was forced to close until the lake level rose again, according to Rhonda Gramanz, Kearns' daughter-in-law.

"What we have been trying to do for the last four years is reopen a pier that has been there since 1961," Gramanz said.

"If we had a business out there, it would be repaired. We'd be able to watch it," Gramanz said.

When the Kearns family tried to reopen the commercial business, it was met with opposition from the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency and the Tahoe Marina Lodge.

In the past, the boat rental facility was able to use the bathrooms and parking at the Tahoe Marina Lodge, but this time, the lodge denied those uses, Gramanz said. That made it more difficult to obtain a TRPA permit.

"That will never be a marina again," Feldman said emphatically. "We don't want them to pump gas on the pier."

The homeowners association fought the application for Kearns to restart the business and will continue to fight any additional efforts, he said.

The TRPA planning staff would not comment on the case and referred questions to its legal staff which has been unavailable for comment to the Tahoe World.

There are more implications concerning the pier than whether or not a commercial business can operate on it, Gramanz said.

The Kearns' lease with the pier owner, Lands of Sierra, expires in November 2001. At that time, the Kearns have first right of refusal to purchase the pier, but if there is not a commercial viability, Gramanz is unsure if the family can afford it.

"If we lose the pier, it's going to be private," Gramanz said.

Lands of Sierra is a land development company owned by the parent company for Sierra Pacific Power Company, according to Sierra Pacific spokesman Karl Walquist. The pier is privately owned and Lands of Sierra is trying to divest itself of all its property, Walquist said.

The homeowners association might be interested in buying the pier if Kearns doesn't buy it, Feldman said.

"If we didn't own it, we would like someone conscious about the environment and maintaining the pier," Feldman said.

No matter who owns the pier, he said he thinks the public could still use it, he said.

However, there is concern about other areas that are supposed to be open to the public at the Tahoe Marina Lodge.

"They've just slowly privatized the area and to get it back, it's hard," Gramanz said.

The public has access to the pier, pool and tennis courts, Feldman said.

"The public does have the ability to pay the going fee and use it when it's available," he said.

The cost is $7.50 for adults and $5 for children to use the pool and $20 per hour to use the tennis courts. The pool is usually only available midweek.

The parking lot is supposed to be open to the public, but the signage intimidates people, according to Steve Kastan, Tahoe field deputy for Placer County 5th District Supervisor Rex Bloomfield.

"The reality is no one is aware of this. Also, the pool has a certain capacity and first priority goes to the homeowners," Kastan said.

Placer County would like public access to the pier from the Commons Beach side. It is also concerned that Tahoe Marina Lodge is not complying with its conditional use permit which says it must be operated as a motel.

A bicycle trail, already funded by the California Tahoe Conservancy is going to be built from Fanny Bridge to the Tahoe Marina Lodge, and along Commons Beach, said Ray Lacey of the Conservancy.

This is supposed to link the North Shore, West Shore and Truckee River bicycle trails, but the link breaks at the Tahoe Marina Lodge.

"A trail is only as good as its weakest link," Lacey said.

This is causing the pressure by Placer County for Tahoe Marina Lodge to comply with its early 1970s conditional use permit.

"The motel issue would disappear tomorrow if we gave them the bike trail," Feldman said.

He says that won't happen. Since the beginning of its development 25 years ago, the units have been sold as condominiums. Half of the 48 units are second homes, while half are rental units, he said.

Placer County and the developer, Moana Corporation, even "conspired to deceive any prospective purchaser that they were condominiums," Feldman said.

The developer asked the county if it could sell them as condominiums in order to get the project financed and obtained county OK to do so. Tahoe Marina Lodge was never planned as a motel, he said.

"It's ridiculous that they would assert that now," Feldman said.

The issue is at the crux of public access, Kastan admits.

"If Tahoe Marina Lodge operated as a motel, a bike trail is really an amenity. As a condominium, it's not attractive," Kastan said.