Ski Run Marina parking debaccle

unedited 3/09 Tahoe Mt. News

By Kathryn Reed

Once upon a time the powers that be thought most people who visited Ski Run Marina would do so by public transit.
They thought people dining at Riva Grill would get there by bus. They thought families would lug their beach gear and gaggle of kids on a bus.
They were wrong.
Now Mansoor Alyeshmermi, owner of the marina, is left scrambling to comply with rules that are economically unsound and environmentally questionable. The city owns the 29 spaces in question that are mostly used by Riva for valet parking.
Those spaces were to be temporary. Now that the five-year agreement is up, Alyeshmermi is supposed to relinquish use of them and the land be restored.
“Parking is the life blood of a commercial center. A solution must be found lest we choke off the viability of this commercial center,” Alyeshmermi told the City Council March 3. “Given the economic times, regulation hurdles and failed ground transportation system, making the current parking permanent is the obvious solution.”
The city agreed to work with the marina owner to come up with a solution.
One reason the 29 spaces in question can’t automatically be made permanent is that they are in a view corridor – meaning they inhibit the view of drivers during the split second they drive by that area. If the town were pedestrian and bike friendly, the argument would be made the parking lot affects those people’s experience as well.
The fact that the lot is lower than the highway was not part of the discussion. The fact that the land is covered in asphalt was not discussed. Nor was it brought up what impacts demolishing the parking lot might have on the nearby Lake.
Alyeshmermi has made great strides to improve the marina, including the view corridor. This was done when he removed the bridge that people used to get to the Tahoe Queen and beach. No one has given him credit for improving the view.
Councilmembers Hal Cole and Bill Crawford admitted they were on the council that saw fit to OK a project with insufficient parking. They apologized for that decision.
For now the spaces stay while the city and marina owner work on a more permanent solution that may mean redefining view corridor.