Placer Supervisors approve funding for housing, transportation programs

June 12, 2026

By Katelyn Welsh – Sierra Sun, June 12, 2026

AUBURN, Calif. – The Placer County Board of Supervisors approved transient occupancy tax funding for two projects and extended another project at their meeting on Tuesday in Auburn, Calif.

Through the board’s action, $500,000 of transient occupancy tax (TOT) will go to the Lease to Locals program, which incentivizes homeowners to lease their properties to local workers.

Another $869,992 will go towards the TART Connect Expanded Service hours, a free on-demand shuttle service.

The board also approved an extension of the Workforce Housing Preservation Program, a down-payment assistance and deed-restriction program aimed at securing housing for local workers.

The allocated funds come from TOT generated in eastern Placer County. A local TOT advisory committee, organized by the North Tahoe Community Alliance (NTCA), vets projects and makes funding recommendations to the NTCA board and county board for final consideration.

Last year, the board approved a new 10-year memorandum of understanding with the NTCA. A part of that agreement is the development of the economic health and catalyst initiatives roadmap, meant to guide future TOT and TBID dollar investments over the next 10 years.

However, as the roadmap is being prepared, county staff identified these housing and transportation programs that needed immediate funding to avoid disruption.

The Winter and Events Park and Ride was another identified program that will come before the board at a future date.

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Tahoe City Affordable Housing Development Meets Funding Challenges

June 12, 2026

By Katelin Welsh – Sierra Sun, June 12, 2026

TAHOE CITY, Calif. – Placer County’s potential Dollar Creek Crossing Affordable Housing Development continues to meet funding challenges, according to an update at a county supervisors meeting on Tuesday.

In 2019, the county bought vacant parcels in Tahoe City across N Lake Blvd. from the 7-11 with the intention of developing housing there.

The county and a selected developer have explored potential mixed-use, mixed-income, and mixed-tenancy plans for the property over the last seven years.

In April of last year, the board directed county staff to pursue a development agreement for an affordable-only project with at least 80 lower-income units.A development agreement would mark the next step in the process; however, staff did not have one to present to the board due to funding challenges.

The developer, Related Norcal Development, LLC, is currently working with the county under a preliminary agreement (set to expire at the end of this month) and has conducted public outreach and provided a revised site plan, a milestone schedule and a financial report for an 80-unit low-income housing development.

The financial report indicates that, to make it feasible, the county would likely need to contribute $18.5 million.

Staff explained at the meeting that if the current developer’s agreement were allowed to expire, the county would be required to submit another request for proposals no later than July of next year.

While some residents during public comment questioned the project’s viability and whether to pull the plug, certain board members expressed support for allowing the project to continue on its current course.

Both Supervisor Cindy Gustafson and Bonnie Gore said obtaining funds may require creativity, with Gustafson mentioning a bond or some type of borrowing.

Additionally, staff mentioned the team is working closely with the county’s Ad Hoc Committee for Housing Funding and Fee Implementation, which may identify funding sources.

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How are two of Placer County’s Tahoe housing programs doing?

June 12, 2026

By Katelyn Welsh – Sierra Sun, May 15, 2026

KINGS BEACH, Calif. – On Monday, the Placer County Board of Supervisors received annual updates on two programs tackling housing needs for local workers in the Tahoe region of Placer County.

Lease to Locals Program

Lease to Locals is a program launched in 2022, initially as a pilot, that has continued to incentivize homeowners to lease their properties to local workers. In exchange for renting their home that previously was not a full-time rental, homeowners can receive up to $4,500 per qualified tenant (max of four for 12-month lease).

Between July of last year and this April, the program has secured 24 properties, reflecting 56 bedrooms and housing 62 people. Of those, 48 are local workers, and 14 are children. Average rent per property was $2,725 and $1,168 per bedroom. The county committed $194,000 on incentives, averaging $8,083 per property.

Since the program’s start, 147 properties have participated, providing 335 bedrooms. It has housed 357 people, including 286 local workers and 55 children. Over that time, the average rent per property was $2,617 and $1,148 per bedroom. The average income of adults housed has been $64,631. In the four years, the county has committed $1.39 million in incentives. According to Placemate, Inc., the program facilitator, 77% of properties that have graduated the program continue to rent long-term, indicating a positive long-term impact on unlocking housing for local workers.

Launchpad Program

In April of last year, the board approved the Launchpad program to support the creation of new housing through either new construction or the renovation of previously nonresidential or non-code-compliant spaces.

Upon the completion of the project and recording of a deed restriction, applicants receive their previously reserved monetary incentive. The deed restriction requires the property to be occupied by a household with at least one member of the local workforce.

Funding is reserved for projects during development through the program’s Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) process.

A pilot $1 million NOFA was issued last year and received eight applications. Four were deemed eligible. Of the four, two ADU projects declined due to the deed restriction requirements.

The following funding reservations were made for the other two:

$600,000 for Steelhead Cottage Court, a project in Kings Beach replacing an uninhabitable unit with three tiny homes (completion expected late 2026)
$125,000 for an ADA-Accessible ADU on Brook Avenue in Kings Beach that will offer a wheelchair-accessible unit above a garage (completion expected summer 2027)

In February, the board approved $3 million for the next NOFA round. The county received 12 applicants and expects to use a lottery system following eligibility checks.

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Housing 101: Decoding Affordable Housing What Do “Big A” and “Little a” Really Mean?

June 12, 2026

When you hear the term “affordable housing,” what comes to mind? For many, it conjures an image of government complexes. For others, it simply means finding a place that doesn’t eat up an entire paycheck. For the North Lake Tahoe Truckee community ‘affordable’ has two meanings and understanding the difference between ‘Big A’ and ‘little a’ housing can inform innovative housing ideas and solution.

The Housing Breakdown: “Big A” vs. “little a”

Housing experts divide affordability into two distinct buckets:

“Big A” Affordable Housing (subsidized): This housing is built or preserved using government subsidies, tax credits, and other financial incentives. Because public funds are involved, the units are regulated and reserved for households that qualify based on their income. How low income limits go depends on the program funding the unit.
“Little a” affordable housing: This is housing that’s attainable because of how it’s built — its smaller size, efficient construction, or modest design — not because of a subsidy. Often called “affordable by design” (think studios, micro-units, accessory dwelling units, and small cottages), these homes usually carry no income qualification; they’re affordable on the open market because they were built and priced to be.

Not all “little a” housing is built that way on purpose, though. A large share is naturally occurring affordable housing (NOAH) — older, unsubsidized homes that rent for less simply because of their age and condition. It’s market-rate like other “little a” housing, but affordable by circumstance rather than by design.

How “Big A” Eligibility Is Measured: Understanding AMI

In California, the income parameters for “Big A” housing are set using AMI — Area Median Income.

Each year the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) estimates the median family income for every region, and the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) publishes the official state limits built from it, adjusted for household size. HCD sorts those limits into six income bands. In order, lowest to highest:

Acutely Low: up to 15% of AMI
Extremely Low: 16–30% of AMI
Very Low: 31–50% of AMI
Low: 51–80% of AMI
Median: 81–100% of AMI
Moderate: 101–120% of AMI

There’s no single income cutoff for “Big A” housing because eligibility depends on the program. The most common tool, federal Low-Income Housing Tax Credits, typically serves households up to 60% of AMI (and up to 80% with “income averaging”). But deed-restricted workforce housing, especially in resort regions like ours, often serves households between 80% and 120% of AMI and sometimes higher.

The Latest Local Updates: What Changed in 2026?

HCD released the official 2026 income limits, and the local numbers moved unevenly compared to the year before:

Placer & El Dorado Counties: a modest, steady increase.
Nevada County: a much larger jump — roughly 12.7% — in its median income figure.

Why the difference? AMI is an income estimate that HUD rebuilds each year from updated census data, so a jump like in Nevada County could come from several directions. Local incomes may have genuinely risen. The mix of residents may have shifted if lower-income households get priced out and move away. The median climbs even when no individual earns more. Or, since these are survey-based estimates, a smaller county’s figure can swing from year to year as the data refreshes. It could be any of these, or a combination.

The Bottom Line: Moving the Needle in Tahoe-Truckee

Affordability isn’t one-size-fits-all. Tracking these AMI shifts matters, because they’re the lines that decide who qualifies for subsidized “Big A” housing. But here’s the hopeful part: not every solution depends on that system.

“Big A” housing takes public capital, tax credits, income-qualified waitlists, and years to assemble. “little a,” affordable-by-design housing doesn’t. A homeowner can add an accessory dwelling unit and rent it to a local worker, attainable housing produced without a single tax-credit deal. That’s exactly what the Tahoe Housing Hub’s ADU Accelerator helps people do, alongside our work advocating for the codes and policies that let more of this housing get built. It’s how we move the needle now, while the bigger pieces come together.

To explore the data behind our local housing need and see exactly what kinds of housing our community is missing read the 2025 Tahoe-Truckee Regional Housing Needs Assessment.

2026 State Income Limits – Area Median Income (AMI) per Number of Persons in Household

Number of Persons in Household	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8
Adjustment Factor	70%	80%	90%	Base	108%	116%	124%	132%

Nevada County Area Median Income: $140,400

Income Category	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8
Acutely Low	14,750	16,850	18,950	21,050	22,750	24,400	26,100	27,800
Extremely Low	26,300	30,050	33,800	37,550	40,600	44,360	50,040	55,720
Very Low Income	43,800	50,050	56,300	62,550	67,550	72,600	77,600	82,600
Low Income	70,050	80,050	90,050	100,100	108,100	116,150	124,100	132,150
Median Income	98,300	112,300	126,350	140,400	151,650	162,850	174,100	185,350
Moderate Income	117,950	134,800	151,650	168,500	182,000	195,450	208,950	222,400

Placer County Area Median Income: $124,000

Income Category	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8
Acutely Low	13,000	14,900	16,750	18,600	20,100	21,600	23,050	24,550
Extremely Low	27,600	31,550	35,500	39,400	42,600	45,750	50,040	55,720
Very Low Income	46,000	52,600	59,150	65,700	71,000	76,250	81,500	86,750
Low Income	73,600	84,100	94,600	105,100	113,550	121,950	130,350	138,750
Median Income	86,800	99,200	111,600	124,000	133,900	143,850	153,750	163,700
Moderate Income	104,150	119,050	133,900	148,800	160,700	172,600	184,500	196,400

El Dorado County Area Median Income: $124,000

Income Category	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8
Acutely Low	13,000	14,900	16,750	18,600	20,100	21,600	23,050	24,550
Extremely Low	27,600	31,550	35,500	39,400	42,600	45,750	50,040	55,720
Very Low Income	46,000	52,600	59,150	65,700	71,000	76,250	81,500	86,750
Low Income	73,600	84,100	94,600	105,100	113,550	121,950	130,350	138,750
Median Income	86,800	99,200	111,600	124,000	133,900	143,850	153,750	163,700
Moderate Income	104,150	119,050	133,900	148,800	160,700	172,600	184,500	196,400

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Voices for Housing Episode 4: Alison Part 2

May 20, 2026

This is part 2 of Alison’s story. After years of moving from one rental to another, she and her family reached a tipping point – move out of the area or stay and find a forever home. Alison shares more about the difficulty of first-time home ownership in the Tahoe region and how they made it work.

The Voices for Housing campaign is made possible thanks to a generous grant from the North Tahoe Community Alliance’s TOT-TBID Dollars at Work Program.

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Voices for Housing Episode 3: Alison Part 1

April 14, 2026

In this episode of Voices for Housing, we introduce you to Alison. Her work is critical to the environmental protection of Lake Tahoe. Alison explains how difficult it is to hire and retain quality workers simply because they cannot find affordable housing. This impacts not just the workers themselves, but the businesses who want to hire them. Building a thriving local economy is tied directly to having safe, dignified, affordable housing for local workers. This is Part 1 of Alison’s story.

The Voices for Housing campaign is made possible thanks to a generous grant from the North Tahoe Community Alliance’s TOT-TBID Dollars at Work Program.

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Voices for Housing Episode 1: Mary

February 23, 2026

We are thrilled to launch Voices for Housing, a new campaign dedicated to sharing Tahoe Truckee housing stories from our community. Over the next several months, we will introduce you to local residents from diverse personal and professional backgrounds who all have a unique housing story to share.

We start with Mary, a local artist and retiree who explains her deep connection to Kings Beach. Her story is a perfect example of why housing for all matters for the creative heart of our community.

The Voices for Housing campaign is made possible thanks to a generous grant from the North Tahoe Community Alliance’s TOT-TBID Dollars at Work Program.

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Building Trust: A Faster Way to Preserve and Create Housing in Tahoe-Truckee

January 26, 2026

Sierra Sun, December 22, 2025

Link to story HERE

TRUCKEE, Calif. – You don’t need to follow the news or attend public meetings to feel the undercurrent of anxiety and frustration related to housing in the North Lake Tahoe-Truckee region. Renters are barely hanging on, long-time local families are moving out of the area and employers are struggling to find and retain workers. The housing crisis isn’t new, and while progress has been made in advancing housing solutions, the need continues to outstrip what our current tools can deliver.

Over the last several years, Placer County and other local jurisdictions have taken important steps—dedicating staff capacity, advancing policy tools, investing in programs, and partnering regionally to increase housing options. That leadership matters. And at the same time, residents and employers are still asking the question that continues to surface across the region: What more can we do, and how do we move faster?

A little over a year ago, the Tahoe Housing Hub put out a call to the local community. They launched the ADU Accelerator Pilot program and invited homeowners to be part of the solution. The community stepped up in a big way. Staff from the Tahoe Housing Hub met with homeowners, walked their property, brought in engineers and planners, and tried to make the numbers pencil.

“It was incredible to see how many local people wanted to step up and be a part of the housing solution,” said Erin Casey, CEO of the Tahoe Housing Hub and Housing Tahoe. “They were willing to share their personal space with other members of the community so that local workers and families could also have a place to call home in Tahoe.”

What the pilot program made clear is that willingness is not the limiting factor—today’s costs and financing realities are. Programs like Placer County’s Launchpad incentives represent leadership and a commitment to housing. Yet even with those tools, many homeowners still face structural barriers: construction costs, financing constraints, insurance and utility realities, and the long-term requirements that often come with deed-restricted housing. In short: people want to help—and even with meaningful progress from local partners, many good-faith efforts still stall before they can become homes.

For years the North Lake Tahoe-Truckee community has been grappling with the same questions – what more can we do and how do we move faster to reach our housing goals? From the early efforts of Mountain Housing Council to programs like the ADU Accelerator and Launchpad, many ideas have been tried, each moving the conversation forward. The reality is that building in mountain communities is complex and expensive—and those pressures have intensified in recent years. At the same time, existing housing continues to sell at prices unattainable for many local workers and families.

That’s where Housing Trust Tahoe comes in – a new mechanism to immediately preserve existing housing and add units on a small scale, while working alongside local jurisdictions and regional partners. As a 501(c)(3) charitable organization, Housing Trust Tahoe is poised to acquire and preserve existing homes, accept donations of land or property, and leverage private dollars from employers, philanthropy, and individual donors alongside public investment. That means a homeowner or business who wants to help has more than one path: they can build, they can sell or donate a home or a lot, or they can contribute financially to keep naturally affordable housing in local hands.

Housing Trust Tahoe isn’t just “another nonprofit.” It is the culmination of years of community energy, leadership and urgency focused on providing homes for our neighbors – the people who teach our children, serve our food, plow our roads, and care for our elders. On December 9, 2025, the Placer County Board of Supervisors approved $500,000 to support the formation of Housing Trust Tahoe which will develop processes and feasibility assessment tools for property acquisition and launch land/housing donation campaign.

Housing Trust Tahoe now has a new call to action for the local community. Do you have a home or an empty lot that you’d like to donate in exchange for a tax deduction? Do you have resources—financial or otherwise—that you want to put to work locally? Housing Trust Tahoe is ready to partner with the community to purchase units and turn donations into homes for local workers and families.

“We are already in the process of accepting our first donation which will directly translate into homes for local workers. Housing Trust Tahoe is a culmination of all those years of energy, frustration and urgency that we’ve felt for so long. We finally have a mechanism to do more and do it quickly,” says Casey.

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New housing trust launches to preserve workforce housing in North Lake Tahoe, Truckee

January 26, 2026

Story by Maria Palma, KUNR Public Radio, December 18, 2025

Link to story HERE

Published December 18, 2025 at 12:04 PM PST

Housing affordability continues to strain workers and families in the North Lake Tahoe–Truckee region, where rising costs are pushing longtime residents out of the area.

Earlier this month, the Placer County Board of Supervisors approved $500,000 to support the formation of Housing Trust Tahoe, a nonprofit that will work alongside the Tahoe Housing Hub to preserve and expand workforce housing. The funding will be used to support staffing, legal setup, property evaluation, and outreach efforts related to housing and land donations.

“The $500,000 isn’t to make any particular purchases,” said Tim Cussen, a Tahoe housing specialist with Placer County. “It goes toward diligence for future property acquisitions or donations. We’re looking at preserving workforce housing, and maybe even adding units when possible.”

Housing Trust Tahoe builds on years of local housing efforts, including the Tahoe Housing Hub’s ADU Accelerator Pilot Program.

“It was incredible to see how many local people wanted to step up and be a part of the housing solution,” said Erin Casey, CEO of the Tahoe Housing Hub and Housing Trust Tahoe. “We finally have a mechanism to do more, and do it quickly.”

As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, Housing Trust Tahoe can acquire and preserve existing homes, accept donations of land or property, and combine private and public funding to help keep housing affordable for local workers.

Leaders say the organization is already in the process of accepting its first property donation.

Placer Supervisors approve funding for housing, transportation programs

Tahoe City Affordable Housing Development Meets Funding Challenges

How are two of Placer County’s Tahoe housing programs doing?

Lease to Locals Program

Launchpad Program

Housing 101: Decoding Affordable Housing What Do “Big A” and “Little a” Really Mean?

The Housing Breakdown: “Big A” vs. “little a”

How “Big A” Eligibility Is Measured: Understanding AMI

The Latest Local Updates: What Changed in 2026?

The Bottom Line: Moving the Needle in Tahoe-Truckee

Voices for Housing Episode 4: Alison Part 2

Voices for Housing Episode 3: Alison Part 1

Voices for Housing Episode 1: Mary

Building Trust: A Faster Way to Preserve and Create Housing in Tahoe-Truckee

New housing trust launches to preserve workforce housing in North Lake Tahoe, Truckee

Housing affordability continues to strain workers and families in the North Lake Tahoe–Truckee region, where rising costs are pushing longtime residents out of the area.

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