Sierra Colina Village
P. O. Box 129
Lake Tahoe, NV 89448

Planning for...
LEED* Green Certification
Energy Star Rating
Pedestrian & Bike Trails
All Fire Sprinklered Homes
Preserving Open Space
Moderate Income Homes

Sierra Colina Village, if approved by the TRPA Governing Board, will bring needed SEZ enhancement and preservation of open space to the SEZ located inside the Sierra Colina Village boundaries.  Sierra Colina is proposing an open space land conveyance to a public entity to protect all 2.4 acres of SEZ on the parcel.

Through a proposed open space land conveyance of approximately 10.7 acres, Sierra Colina intends to create an open space to be preserved which will include the entire sensitive stream zone inside Sierra Colina SEZ, as well as additional forested land outside the boundaries of the stream zone.  The future preserved open space on Sierra Colina will contain all portions of Burke Creek that cross Sierra Colina on two separate parts of the property.

Sierra Colina is Enhancing 1.13 acres of SEZ

At TRPA’s request, Sierra Colina has to date conducted no fuels reduction or forest health restoration work inside the SEZ portions of Sierra Colina (although fuels reduction and forest health restoration has been performed on the non-SEZ portions of the property).  The Sierra Colina EIS now recommends that Sierra Colina perform SEZ “enhancement” on 1.13 acres of the SEZ on the parcel as mitigation for the creation of homes outside the SEZ and outside the SEZ setback.  No prior SEZ enhancement has been performed on the portion of Burke Creek that occurs on the Sierra Colina land.  Enhancement goals include improving riparian wildlife habitat functions, including maintenance of native riparian vegetation communities; provision of continuous habitat linkages within the watershed; and provision of suitable habitat conditions for riparian-obligate wildlife species.  Enhancement and restoration measures include a combination of actions, including conifer removal within riparian habitat, re-vegetating or enhancing vegetation and hydrologic conditions in appropriate locations, and decommissioning and restoring unauthorized trails and stream crossings.

The following provides a list of actions, based on field investigation and mapping by EDAW and TRPA, which would constitute riparian enhancement under this measure:

• ·         Reduction of conifer encroachment within the riparian zone through a combination of mechanical and prescribed fire treatments, where applicable, to improve wildlife habitat. Measurable riparian improvements would be demonstrated by reduction in lodgepole pine or white fir density, increased vegetative structural diversity, and increased aspen or willow regeneration.
• ·         Removal and restoration of unauthorized trails, removing large piles of downed wood (fuels reduction), and erosion control treatments on unstable banks in accordance with the TRPA Handbook of Best Management Practices to enhance vegetation conditions.
• ·         Enhancement of hydrologic conditions and water quality through bank stabilization, and removal of debris associated with human activity.

Sierra Colina is participating in Burke Creek EIP #161 (Restoration of Burke Creek)

TRPA is currently pursuing an Environmental Improvement Project for Burke Creek (EIP #161).  All neighboring properties that contain portions of Burke Creek (USFS, NDOT, the Douglas Country Recreation Center, the UPS Store/formerly Burger King commercial center), as well as Sierra Colina, may be asked by TRPA to participate in some aspects of the EIP #161 Burke Creek Restoration.  Currently, Sierra Colina Village Project is cooperating with TRPA on restoration efforts under EIP #161 on the portion of Burke Creek located on the Sierra Colina parcel. To date, such participation has consisted of the applicant funding and delivering to TRPA a study by Northwest Hydraulic Consultants entitled, “Burke Creek Restoration Potential and Design Concepts For Portions Both Inside and Outside the Sierra Colina Parcel and for Consideration in the TRPA Burke Creek EIP #161”, and participating as a member of the Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) of EIP #161. Prospectively, in conjunction with the approval of the Sierra Colina project, Sierra Colina’s participation may include (i) participation as a member of the TAC of EIP #161; (ii) funding of Northwest Hydraulics Consultants to provide technical advice to the TAC; and (iii) providing access and construction easements to EIP #161 for necessary construction or restoration work on the portions of Burke Creek inside the Sierra Colina parcel which may be part of EIP #161.

Sierra Colina Village is situated so the vast majority of the project area drains away from Burke Creek. 

Of the 18-acre Sierra Colina site, 7 acres on the southeast portion of the parcel (39% of the total parcel) naturally drain toward the portion of the Burke Creek channel on the property, and the remaining 11.0 acres (61% of the total parcel) naturally drain toward Lake Village Drive/Echo Drive or U.S. Highway 50, through the drainage systems along these streets.  Most of the area proposed for development (5.4 of the 6.2 acres of project area within the 18-acre parcel) naturally drains toward Lake Village Drive /Echo Drive or U.S. Highway 50 and away from Burke Creek.

DEIS Exhibit 4.7-7 depicts a white boundary line on the 18-acre project site showing the size and location on the parcel of the approximately 6.2 acre disturbed development area where the proposed 50 residences and access roadway LPF 3 would be constructed (see Exhibit 4.7-7 at DEIS page 4.7-26).

Approximately 5.4 acres (87%) of the 6.2-acre Alternative 1 project area to be developed drains naturally towards Lake Village Drive/Echo Drive or U.S. Highway 50, through the drainage system along these streets; and, 0.8 acres (13%) of the 6.2-acre development area under Alternative 1 drains naturally toward Burke Creek.

The temporary BMPs installed during construction and the permanent BMPs planned for the project would collect and infiltrate the stormwater runoff from homes in the development area to prevent a continuation of the existing flow of stormwater run off from the portion of the property that drains into Burke Creek.

Sierra Colina homes will be located outside the SEZ & SEZ Setbacks determined by the TRPA.

No homes are proposed within the SEZ or the TRPA determined “SEZ setback” on the parcel. The project complies with non-disturbance rules of the TRPA Code of Ordinances, except the area proposed to be covered by a portion of LPF 5 which would provide a guided route to the public through the SEZ and over Burke Creek. (Sierra Colina DEIS Chapter 4.4 Biology, at page 28), intended to protect the SEZ.

Sierra Colina will restore an existing dirt road in the SEZ.

The existing conditions of the parcel include a compacted utility road through the SEZ.  The utility road is a water quality concern for the SEZ.  From a water quality standpoint, the Sierra Colina Project includes restoration of the utility road.  This measure will reduce pollutant loading relative to the existing condition (nhc Supplemental Water Quality Analysis (Sierra Colina Final EIS Appendix AA)).

Sierra Colina will decommission existing unauthorized trails in the SEZ.

The existing conditions of the parcel include numerous unauthorized dirt trails through the SEZ.  The dirt trails are water quality concerns for the SEZ. From a water quality standpoint, the Sierra Colina Project includes decommissioning of the dirt trails as part of a mitigation measure to enhance riparian habitat (EDAW, 2008b).  This measure will reduce pollutant loading relative to the existing condition (nhc Supplemental Water Quality Analysis (Sierra Colina Final EIS Appendix AA).

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