Homewood's gargantuan $500 million development plan just came to a screeching halt after environmentalists suing the master plan were able to show a federal judge that developers never adequately considered a smaller plan. Apparently the developers misled the local planning agency and county into thinking a smaller development would lose the mountain money, when they had only considered lift ticket sales in their revenue projections, and not income from hotels and condos proposed in the project. The $500 million project would have built a 5-star hotel with 75 rooms and nearly 240 additional townhouses, condos, chalets, and penthouses, turning the sleepy downhome ski area into a luxury resort with a Northstar-style base village. The Homewood Master Plan received unanimous approval from the local planning board in December 2011, with the lawsuit popping up less than a month later. Environmentalists led by Earthjustice claimed the ruling as a win for the sanctity of Lake Tahoe, which sits literally across the street from Homewood's North base.
· Federal judge halts major Lake Tahoe ski resort expansion [Sierra Sun]