Ruling termed significant win for Tahoe landowners

TRPA and the Tahoe Sierra Preservation Council got U.S. District Judge Ed Reed's ruling Tuesday on a 14-year-old lawsuit which lawyer Larry Hoffman, representing the preservation council, sees as one of the nation's biggest land-use cases.

Filed in 1984, the lawsuit targets TRPA's alleged taking of property in the 1980s. The case finally went to trial in December 1998, and Reed's ruling says that TRPA is liable for some of the taking.

The 72-page decision doesn't rule entirely in either side's favor, and appeals can be filed by either side. But Hoffman said he's pleased.

"It's a very significant win for the property owners. It's the first time property owners have had a trial judge rule in their favor (against TRPA)," Hoffman said.

"I would sort of describe it as we're on second base trying to get home. It wasn't a total home run, but a double isn't so bad at this stage."

TRPA officials said Reed's ruling was split - some parts supporting TRPA, some parts supporting the property owners.

"This decision is another in a long line of decisions in this case," said John Marshall, legal counsel for TRPA. "This is just another step in what will probably be a long battle."

The lawsuit has more than 400 plaintiffs and was filed after TRPA issued a series of moratoriums that stopped property owners from developing in environmentally sensitive areas. By law, the preservation council members argue, TRPA should have compensated property owners.

Marshall said that Reed's ruling recognizes the importance of Lake Tahoe's clarity and that development in stream environment zones hurt the lake's quality.

The ruling also indicated TRPA's actions in the 1980s were essentially the best and only fix to the problem, Marshall said.

"That for us is an affirmation of TRPA and its mission and chosen direction," he said. "It validates what we're doing."

However, Reed ruled that, at least for part of the time the moratoriums were in place, TRPA is liable for compensation.

"We find that kind of incongruous," Marshall said. "But that's what he found."

The trial was set to determine if TRPA was liable and a later trial is supposed to determine the amount of damages. The original lawsuit claimed more than $30 million in damages.

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