The Placer County Board of Supervisors approved on May 13 a five-year extension of the North Lake Tahoe Economic Development Incentive Program, which will now continue through June 30, 2031.
The extension aims to support ongoing revitalization and investment in the Placer County portion of the Lake Tahoe Basin. The program was originally established nine years ago to address high development costs for lodging in the area, where no new large-scale lodging projects have been built since the early 1960s.
District 5 Supervisor Cindy Gustafson said, “The extension of this program reinforces the county’s long-term commitment to thoughtful reinvestment in North Lake Tahoe. The program helps encourage projects that support our local economy, improve community infrastructure and enhance the visitor experience while recognizing the unique development challenges within the Tahoe Basin.”
The incentive program is intended to attract both new and remodeled lodging projects. New developments must be full-service hotels built within unincorporated Placer County after May 11, 2021. Remodel projects are required to involve existing hotels or condotels that have operated continuously for at least three years and maintained a valid transient occupancy tax certificate without past-due obligations. All applicants must obtain an approved county building permit and use a California-licensed contractor.
Participants must meet specific requirements such as completing development within set timelines—eight years for new builds and three years for remodels—maintaining property standards, complying with regulations, and remitting transient occupancy tax (TOT). Eligible projects may receive annual TOT rebates after review by county officials. The board also updated TOT rebate tiers for remodeled properties by adjusting permit value thresholds due to a reported year-over-year increase of 31% in California construction costs.
Officials say these updates reflect efforts to better align incentives with current market conditions while supporting continued investment in North Lake Tahoe.
