Homewood, California – The battle over the way forward for Homewood Mountain Resort has been heating up over the previous few weeks.
After a contentious Tahoe Regional Planning Company Regional Planning Fee (RPC) public assembly on September twenty fifth, Homewood Mountain Resort introduced on October eleventh that it wouldn’t be working this winter resulting from a monetary supporter backing out. Since then, their opponents have primarily managed the battle of public narrative.
Nonetheless, Homewood Mountain Resort is now pushing again. In a just lately revealed Homewood Mountain Resort Grasp Plan Often Requested Questions webpage, they detailed their reasoning behind the closure, whether or not it plans to change into a non-public ski resort, and what it’ll take to reopen.
In abstract, Homewood stays insistent that it plans to stay a public ski resort (it beforehand said in 2022 that it was planning to change into a non-public ski resort however has since backtracked). A few of its different details are that it’s updating the grasp plan to satisfy present necessities and convey the bottom terminal for its deliberate gondola nearer to the bottom space and that its 2011 grasp plan was not applied resulting from litigation introduced forth by environmental teams.
They additional elaborated on why they’re not working this season, which they beforehand cited as being resulting from its monetary backer withdrawing help. They blamed Hold Homewood Public for pushing for a “onerous reset” (outright rejection) of the brand new plan, shifting the method again to sq. one. Hold Homewood Public needs the implementation of the 2011 grasp plan, with fears {that a} new plan would result in privatization. With the method stalled, the monetary backer withdrew its help.
Homewood Mountain Resort has been owned by JMA Ventures since 2006 however has been working with Mohari Hospitality and the Discovery Land Firm (the supervisor and developer behind the non-public Yellowstone Membership and the proposed redevelopment of Colorado’s Stagecoach ski space) in recent times.
I learn by these responses, and I feel they did give some good, thorough solutions to individuals’s considerations. I used to be additionally inspired to see they’re planning to open for the 2025-26 season, albeit provided that they get their up to date grasp plan permitted. Nonetheless, there are inaccuracies, reminiscent of stating that their software is full. We contacted TRPA final week, and so they stated that “the company has not acquired the knowledge wanted to proceed our evaluation and proceed with the schedule for Governing Board consideration.”
As a advertising and marketing main, my one critique is that this could have come out both the day or instantly after their closing announcement. Within the court docket of public opinion, they’ve been dropping the narrative for the previous few weeks (at the very least), and never talking out publically on their social media retailers till now hasn’t been sensible. Homewood not often posts on social media, and the picture above was their first publish in over six months. As well as, they didn’t publish it to their Fb account.
In response to Homewood’s Often Requested Questions web page, Hold Homewood Public issued the next assertion to Unofficial Networks:
“The actual fact is that this software is caught as a result of the builders, regardless of claiming to keep up public entry, are unwilling or unable to supply enforceable specifics that will put tooth in that promise.
These two statements from HMR [Homewood Mountain Resort] are notably deceptive:
Homewood’s Response: Sure, HMR agreed to the beneath draft enforcement language supplied by TRPA. This language was included in HMR’s written group entry dedication supplied to TRPA and which HMR shared within the September twenty fifth TRPA RPC public listening to presentation.
Hold Homewood Public’s Response: The draft public entry language HMR introduced on the Sept 25 TRPA assembly doesn’t, actually, comprise enforceable specifics about public entry. In truth, TRPA referred to as out this lack as a part of their workers presentation (see the assembly recording beginning at 35:10). We’re involved that this particular language leaves loopholes by which HMR can privatize sooner or later – see examples right here.
IN RESPONSE TO THE MOUNTAIN CLOSURE, LOCAL AGENCIES SAID THEY WERE WAITING FOR ADDITIONAL DETAILS IN THE MASTER PLAN TO BE PROVIDED. WHAT IS THE STATUS OF THESE ITEMS?
Homewood’s Response: Our submittal from Could 2024 was full and we’re at present reacting to extra requests made on the September 25, 2024 assembly.
Hold Homewood Public’s Response: Per TRPA, this software will not be full, and won’t transfer ahead till the developer supplies the knowledge requested within the Sept 25 assembly. See software standing screenshot beneath from TRPA’s on-line software monitoring instrument right here.”
Picture/Video Credit: Homewood Mountain Resort
