Lake Tahoe – Placer County officials have announced that Homewood Mountain Resort on the west side of Lake Tahoe will remain open to the public.
The decision comes after years of discussions and speculation about whether the resort could be privatized.
This week, the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA) finalized a master plan amendment for Homewood Mountain Resort that will keep the resort open to the public.
The resort has always been privately owned but offered public access. In recent years, talk of transforming the ski area into a private resort raised concerns among residents.
Candice Wilmuth, with Keep Homewood Public, feared privatization would exclude residents and visitors and hurt local restaurants and businesses.
“That’s really important because as a ski town we don’t survive on full-time residents alone,” Wilmuth said.
The recent agreement fits closely with a 14-year works masterplan that had strong local support. Although changes over the years caused frustration among residents, the TRPA worked with developers to return to key elements of the original plan.
“We wanted to work closely with everyone that there were assurances through the master plan changes that would ensure Homewood remained open to the public and would be truly accessible to the community,” said TRPA spokesman Jeff Cowen.
TRPA says the plan includes major infrastructure upgrades such as a new gondola, while also prioritizing environmental issues and fuel reduction projects.
“We just want to make sure those projects align with the master plan,” Cowen said.
The resort was closed this season due to financial problems with its investors. However, the TRPA says they are optimistic they can be open next season with some of the improvements.