$16 million housing project at Tahoe approved

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif (AP) - A $16 million affordable housing project on Lake Tahoe's south shore has won approval from regulators.

The Tahoe Regional Planning Agency's governing board on Thursday unanimously approved the 56-unit Aspens at South Lake Tahoe project proposed by Pacific West Communities.

Shellan Miller, project manager for the developers, said groundbreaking likely won't begin until May 2011 because of the need for additional financing.

The bulk of the remaining funding for the project hinges on securing California tax credits, Miller said.

Plans call for the Aspens to include seven two-story and four three-story apartment complexes, and a community center.

Forty-eight of the apartments will be rented to households that make less than 60 percent of El Dorado County's median household income, which was $64,256 in 2007.

City officials said rents likely will run between $400 and $1,000 a month.

Jean Haymes, a representative of residents at the adjacent Villa Tahoe condominiums, said she has concerns about the adequacy of parking at the project.

But Paul Moniot, a member of Carpenters Local 1798, praised the project.

"This will help support our economy at a time when every dollar counts," he said.

Without discussion, the TRPA board also approved an expansion of the Tahoe Keys Marina in South Lake Tahoe.

Plans call for construction of a 27,000 square-foot barn capable of storing 150 boats and a 100-foot-long boat lift.

The boat lift won't be built until litigation surrounding the TRPA's shore-zone ordinance amendments is resolved, according to TRPA staff.