Board approves $500,000 to facilitate housing in North Lake Tahoe through new trust
December 17, 2025
AUBURN, CA (MPG) – The Placer County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday approved a funds management agreement with Housing Tahoe, a regional nonprofit organization dedicated to the acquisition, preservation, rehabilitation and construction of housing in eastern Placer County. Housing Tahoe will receive up to a total of $500,000 over three phases to increase local housing capacity and address critical workforce housing needs in the Tahoe region.
This new partnership was one of the recommendations included in the Placer County 2021–2029 Housing Element, which identified the need for private housing trusts to be able to leverage contributions from public, private and nonprofit partners. The board previously affirmed the importance of such trusts in 2019, leading to the creation of Housing Trust Placer and the development of much-needed affordable housing throughout unincorporated Placer.
Recognizing the need for more housing locally, the board directed staff to move forward with an east county partnership with Housing Tahoe in November. Tuesday’s approval solidifies the funding needed to help establish the trust.
“The creation of Housing Tahoe represents a collaborative and strategic approach to increasing local capacity for developing and preserving housing that serves the workforce of the Tahoe region,” said Tahoe Housing Hub CEO Erin Casey. “We’re excited to get the county’s support as we kick-start our efforts to create more affordable housing for our community.”
Housing Tahoe is in the process of securing federal 501(c)(3) nonprofit status and will operate in partnership with the Tahoe Housing Hub, an established 501(c)(4) dedicated to advocacy and community engagement around workforce housing. While awaiting IRS approval, Housing Tahoe will use a fiscal sponsorship with The Martis Fund, allowing it to receive and administer tax-deductible land, property and financial donations in support of its mission.
The approved allocation of $500,000 will support both operational tasks and program-specific activities. This will include the following.
Organizational development: Legal and administrative setup, insurance, staffing and finalization of 501(c)(3) status
Property evaluation and due diligence: Building standardized processes to evaluate potential land or housing donations and acquisitions
Donation campaign: Targeted outreach to encourage land and housing contributions from eastern Placer property owners
Public-private partnership development: Building frameworks to leverage employer, philanthropic and investor participation in future housing projects
County funding will be distributed in three performance-based phases, each contingent on clear milestones, such as execution of key agreements, county approval of property evaluation criteria, full expenditure reporting, and demonstrated progress in securing supplemental external funding at a two-to-one ratio.
This agreement is part of a larger initiative to find housing solutions for North Lake Tahoe communities and local workers. More information on Placer County’s housing initiatives is available at https://www.placer.ca.gov/housing.