Pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), the Conservancy is required to individually evaluate whether a project will cause a direct physical change in the environment or a reasonably foreseeable indirect change in the environment, and to avoid or mitigate those impacts. Your project may be exempt, or could require the preparation and approval of an environmental document (see below). Even if your project is exempt under CEQA, certain activities may require additional environmental review. (Cal. Code Regs., tit. 14, § 15300.2.)
The Conservancy Board must take an action if a project requires an environmental document. The Conservancy holds Board meetings as needed, four times per year. Please allow an additional three to five months to complete this type of transaction. The buyer shall pay a $2,500 fee for transactions requiring an environmental document, made payable to the California Tahoe Conservancy, in addition to the standard administrative fees.
More Information
Does your project require the preparation and approval of an environmental document by local (city or county) or state government? By this we mean an Environmental Impact Report (EIR), Negative Declaration (ND), or Mitigated Negative Declaration (MND) under CEQA.
If you wish to purchase land coverage, low capability restoration credits, or other marketable rights from the Conservancy’s Land Bank, and your project requires an environmental document as described above, please be aware that the Conservancy Board must approve the sale of the requested rights at a public meeting along with adoption of the environmental document. The Conservancy Board typically meets four times per year.
If your project requires the adoption of an environmental document, Conservancy staff needs the following items from you in an electronic format, at least 10 weeks prior to the Conservancy Board meeting:
- Signed Initial Study (IS)/Environmental Checklist (EC) describing the project and the potential transfer of rights, and identifying the potential environmental impacts associated with the project and the transfer of these rights;
- Draft Negative Declaration (ND), Mitigated Negative Declaration (MND), or EIR;
- Copies of all written comments to the publicly circulated IS/EC, Negative Declaration, or EIR, along with the response to all comments;
- Final Environmental Document: ND, MND, or certified EIR with the date local government approved the project and adopted the environmental document;
- Filed Notice of Determination (NOD), stamped by the Recorder-Clerk’s office or the State Clearinghouse, and posted at least 30 days prior to the proposed Conservancy Board meeting date;
- Signed filing receipt documenting the payment of required fees to the California Department of Fish & Wildlife;
- Complete Land Coverage or Select Marketable Rights Application Form;
- Copy of the most current vesting deed for your project area (i.e., the owner of the property);
- Most recent version of site plans with all land coverage calculations;
- Evidence of submittal to local building jurisdiction;
- Evidence of Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA) allocation (if applicable);
- Evidence of final Individual Parcel Evaluation System (IPES) score or Bailey Land Capability (LCV) for your project;
- Non-refundable administrative fee ($350 for Land Coverage or Restoration Credit transactions; $800 for transactions for Existing Residential Units of Use, Potential Residential Units of Use, or Commercial Floor Area) made payable to the California Tahoe Conservancy; and
- $2,500 non-refundable environmental document review fee made payable to the California Tahoe Conservancy.