TRPA charts new course for customer relations

Tahoe Regional Planning Agency needs to spend less time irritating the public with building permit delays and more time on big-picture environmental issues, said TRPA Executive Director John Singlaub during boat trip back from the North Shore on Thursday.

He delivered the message to members of the TRPA Governing Board, who toured the lake as part of a retreat to discuss changes to be made at the bistate land management agency before the end of the year.

First, Singlaub said, the organization must reduce the time it takes for building projects to be approved, especially less complicated projects. Permit-tracking software and the conversion of thousands of paper documents into electronic ones should allow projects to be reviewed more quickly.

"Before we talk about the big issues, we have to get our arms around the project review thing," Singlaub said. "We can't engage until we fix that part of the organization."

Big issues involve things like air quality, transportation and protecting Tahoe's fragile shoreline.

TRPA staff has worked on regulations to protect the shore for the last 14 years. In June, TRPA will release a draft report on regulations proposed for the shorezone. The boat trip was an opportunity for TRPA staff to explain to the board complex issues created by things like piers, buoys, boat lifts and homes.

"The shorezone (environmental impact statement) is probably the most controversial thing the board is going to have to deal with this year," Singlaub told the group.

Members of the Governing Board on the boat trip included Nevada Secretary of State Dean Heller; commissioners and supervisors from El Dorado, Washoe and Douglas counties and Carson City; and private citizens appointed by the governors of California and Nevada.

Singlaub outlined goals for the year during the afternoon:

n Improve service to the public

n Reorganize departments within the TRPA to increase the sharing of information and make operations more efficient.

n Reach out to the public inside and outside of the Lake Tahoe Basin and work more closely with agencies within the basin.

Shelly Aldean, a Governing Board member and a Carson City supervisor, said she thinks the agency is moving in a more moderate, holistic direction that hopefully will make it more user friendly.

"Efficiency is key," Aldean said. "Streamline the process so the TRPA can focus on its true mandate."

Gregory Crofton can be reached at (530) 542-8045 or by e-mail at gcrofton@tahoedailytribune.com